Unit 5C: Life in Cities

Notes

Immigration

• From 1880 to 1921, a record 23 million immigrants arrived in the U.S looking for jobs and opportunities

• The USA did not have quotas (limits) on how many immigrants from a particular country could enter the country

• 70% of all immigrants to the USA came from southern and eastern Europe (Italy, Poland, Austria-Hungary, Russia)

• New immigrants were typically young, male, either catholic or Jewish, and spoke little or no English

• The majority were unskilled agricultural laborers with little money or education

• 75% of all immigrants entered the USA through the immigration center at Ellis Island, In New York

  • Immigrants had to pass a health examination and anyone with a serious health problem or disease was not let in

• Many Americans expressed nativism and viewed immigrants with a sense of fear, suspicion, and hostility

  • Nativists had deep-seated prejudices about immigrants based on ethnicity, religion, political and social beliefs

  • Many Americans accused immigrants of taking jobs away from real Americans and called for quotas that would limit the number of immigrants

Growth of cities

• the gilded age experienced massive urbanization

• city growth was due to rural Americans moving to cities and immigrants entering the USA

• as cities grew larger and beyond walking distance, trolley lines elevated rail lines and subways were created

• most urban immigrants lived in tenements: low rent apartments built in the poorest parts of town called slims

• 2/3 of immigrants settled in cities such as New York Chicago, Boston, Or Philadelphia and lived in ethnic neighborhoods called enclaves

Working Conditions

• the majority of immigrants worked in industrial jobs

• industries were rapidly growing and in need of cheap workers

• most immigrants were unskilled and were willing to accept almost any kind of job no matter how unattractive or low paying

• In response to the low wages, long hours, and dangerous working conditions, many workers joined labor unions to collectively bargain for improvements

• one of the first labor unions in america was the Knights of Labor

  • the Knights of Labor was open to all workers regardless of race gender or skill

• The most successful union was the American Federation of Labor (AFL) led by Samuel Gompers

  • The AFL only included skilled workers, but it used collective bargaining to gain better pay, shorter hours, and better working conditions for its union members

• Business leaders resisted strikes by hiring replacement workers (scabs) or private police to break up strikes

• During the Chicago Haymarket Strike (1886) unionists demanded an 8 hour work day; When violence broke out, public opinion turned against unions viewing them as violent and “un-American”

• Violence erupted in the Homestead strike (1892) at carnegie’s steel plant; Federal troops were called to re-open the factory with replacement workers

• Railroad workers led a National strike when the Pullman Palace Company cut wages by 50%

Government

• The Gilded Age was an era of political corruption in national, states, and urban government

• Many city governments were run by political machines

  • Political machines were parties led by a powerful boss who controls a network of politicians

  • Many politicians used fraud to win elections, used their influence for personal gain (graft), or took bribes

  • Most notorious urban politician was Boss Tweed of New York Tammany Hall political machine

• Many government positions, such as tax collectors or post office officials, were appointed as rewards for loyalty to a political party (called patronage)

• Congress passed the Pendleton Act in 1883 that created merit-based exams for most civil service jobs in the federal government

• Throughout the GIlded age, laissez-fiare policies by the national governmnet led to powerful monopolies and unfair working conditions for laborers

• Congress created the interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) in 1886 to regulate railroads and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act in 1890 to regulate companies that restrict trade

• The worst scandal was Credit Mobiliere which involved bribes by railroad companies to gain lands grants

Conclusion

• the industrial revolution created jobs in eastern factories

• millions of new immigrants swarmed the us from eastern and southern Europe swelling american cities

• urbanization stimulated industry and modernized cities but led to terrible conditions of workers and immigrants

Dates

• 1880-1921: 23 million immigrants arrive in the US

• 1886: Chicago Haymarket Strike

• 1892: Homestead Strike

• 1883: Pendleton Act

• 1886: Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)

• 1890: Sherman Anti-Trust Act

Vocab

• Tenements: low rent apartments built in the poorest parts of town called slims

• Scabs: replacement workers

• Political Machine: parties led by a powerful boss who controlled a network of politicians

• Graft: use of political influence or power for personal gain, often involving bribery or corruption

Key Points

• Knights of labor

• American Federation of Labor (AFL)

• Chicago Haymarket Strike

• Homestead Strike

• National Strike on Pullman Palace Company

• Political Machines

• Political Corruption (graft)

• Boss Tweed + Tammany Hall

• Pendleton Act

• Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)

• Sherman Anti-Trust Act

• Credit Mobiliere Scandal

YAWP Ch.18

YAWP Ch.18 1

• Rudyard Kipling visited Chicago in 1889, describing it as a city overwhelmed by technology and greed.

• He noted it was a rushed, crowded place with a maze of wires and dirty streets, lacking beauty.

• Kipling observed that conversations focused on money and progress, with little appreciation for the environment.

• Chicago represented the rise of American industrialization, with a booming meatpacking industry.

• By the late 19th century, large corporations and bureaucratic management dominated business.

• Chicago's Union Stock Yards were the largest meat processing area in the nation, symbolizing its agricultural links.

• The city grew rapidly from 30,000 in 1850 to 1.7 million by 1900, recovering swiftly from the Great Chicago Fire in 1871.

• The explosive growth reflected national urbanization trends, with a majority of U.S. citizens living in cities by 1920.

• Immigration changed, with early German and British settlers replaced by a diverse influx from Southern and Eastern Europe by 1890.

• By 1900, nearly 80% of Chicago's population was either foreign-born or children of immigrants.

• Kipling's visit coincided with a revolution in production, urbanization, labor, wealth inequality, and social challenges in America.

YAWP Ch.18 2

• Railroads created massive corporations and fortunes, defining the Gilded Age.

• National railroad mileage tripled after the Civil War, linking towns and cities.

• Railroads necessitated new corporate structures and management techniques.

• Government support played a crucial role in railroad expansion through subsidies and land grants.

• Railroad construction drove economic development and new systems of labor, creating organized labor unions.

• Industrialization connected urban consumers and rural producers, forming a national market.

• Chicago’s stockyards became a hub for meat production, transforming landscapes into agricultural centers.

• Technological innovations, such as electric power and lighting, accompanied economic development.

• Thomas Edison pioneered the commercialization of electric power, revolutionizing factories and urban infrastructure.

• Rapid industrialization led to profound cultural, social, and economic changes in American life.

YAWP Ch.18 3

• Between 1870 and 1920, over 25 million immigrants arrived in the U.S.

• By 1920, a majority of Americans lived in urban areas due to manufacturing needs.

• New immigrant groups included Italians, Poles, and Eastern European Jews, surpassing Irish and German arrivals.

• Immigrants were motivated by push and pull factors, mainly economic opportunities in the U.S.

• They formed ethnic neighborhoods to maintain cultural identities while adapting to American life.

• Political machines, like Tammany Hall, provided services in exchange for immigrant support, despite corruption.

• Rapid urban growth led to overcrowding and crime in slums.

• Rural areas faced decline, prompting calls for conservation and recognition of agricultural issues.

• Suburbs developed to balance urban and rural living, with Los Angeles as a model for residential growth.

YAWP Ch.18 4

• Henry Grady called the old South of slavery and secession dead in his 1886 speech, promoting a "New South" embracing industrialization.

• He aimed for economic growth through northern investment and southern labor but acknowledged the old South's lingering influence.

• The South's economy suffered after the Civil War, with destruction and loss of political power.

• Emancipation disrupted the social order, leading to violence and discrimination against freedpeople.

• Post-Reconstruction, white southerners took control, enacting Jim Crow laws to disenfranchise African Americans.

• Lynching became widespread, with thousands of African Americans murdered, often as public spectacles.

• Prominent figures, including Rebecca Latimer Felton, supported lynching as a means of maintaining white supremacy.

• Black and white activists, like Ida B. Wells, worked to outlaw lynching and raise awareness of its brutality.

• White political violence targeted African American political participation, particularly during the Populist movement.

• Jim Crow laws enforced racial segregation in public and private life across the South.

• Legal measures denied Black voting rights through literacy tests and poll taxes.

• The "Lost Cause" ideology romanticized the Old South and glorified the Confederacy.

• Southerners constructed monuments and celebrated Confederate history, while attempts to modernize faced cultural resistance.

• Railroads and industrial growth became focuses for the New South, but segregation persisted in labor markets.

• The region saw the rise of textile, tobacco, and other industries, but jobs were often segregated and poorly paid.

• While industrialization occurred, racial discrimination and poverty remained prevalent, challenging the idea of a truly "New South."