The growth of industry and a wave of immigrants marked this - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

The growth of industry and a wave of immigrants marked this period in American history. The production of iron and steel rose dramatically and western resources like lumber, gold, and silver increased the demand for improved transportation. Railroad development boomed as trains moved goods from the resource-rich West to the East. Steel and oil were in great demand. All this industry produced a lot of wealth for a number of businessmen like John D. Rockefeller (in oil) and Andrew Carnegie (in steel), known as robber barons (people who got rich through ruthless business deals). The Gilded Age gets its name from the many great fortunes created during this period and the way of life this wealth supported. 

The Gilded Age 1878-1889

Writer and humorist, Mark Twain, wrote the novel 

The Gilded Age

 ridiculing Washington D.C. and many of the leading figures of the daySlide2

ImmigrationThe masses come to AmericaSlide3

The earliest waves of settlers to the Americas, up through the first half of the 19th century, constitute the era of "old" immigration.These settlers came to America mostly from western and northern Europe.The Era of "Old" Immigration1820-1860Slide4

English, Scotch, Irish - mostly colonial settlers who were English citizens or lived in English territoriesDutch, German, Swedish, Scandinavians -  many western and northern European nations contributed to the early growth of the colonies and the newly formed United StatesAfricans - many early immigrants came to the Americas as slaves, to work the plantations of the agricultural south, this continued until the ending of the slave trade in the early 19th century

Who were they?Slide5

Political Reasons - Many of the governments of Europe were dominated by nobility and landed elite.The common man found that he had little to no say in the government of his homeland. As a result many came seeking a political voice or freedom from an oppressive government.Others such as the Germans and French in the early 1800's were seeking to escape political

unrest and violent political turmoil at home.Social Reasons –

Religious freedom is the greatest example of social motivation in immigration. The Pilgrims, the

Quakers and many other groups came to the Americas seeking freedom from religious intolerance in their homelands. This tradition of religious freedom had become a fundamental principle in American government. 

Why Did They Come?Slide6

Economic Reasons - Seemingly the greatest motivating factor for most immigrants. Vast numbers of the earliest American settlers came to America seeking land, as much of the land in Europe was controlled by nobles or the church, leaving little opportunity for the common farmer to achieve success. The vastness of the Americas and easy access to land, drew many of these opportunity seekers.The Irish immigrants of the early 1800's sought land and escape from the deadly potato famine that gripped their homeland.African slaves were brought over for economic reasons, ones that did not serve them, but instead served the economic interests of the slave owner.

Why Did They Come?Slide7

The contributions of early immigrants cannot be overstated. The very foundation of America is built upon the ideas, skills and culture they brought with them. The English settlers formed the governments, language and major cultural traditions that would become America. Many Irish workers constructed transportation routes (railroads, etc...) Germans

and others brought farming techniques and education traditions.

What Impact Did They Have?Slide8

Old immigrants were:From northern or western Europe English, Irish, SwedishProtestant (Baptist, Calvinists, Methodists)Literate and skilledCame in familiesQuick to assimilateExperienced in ways of democracyHad some money in their pockets (some wealthy)Tall and fair Spoke English Similar customs and traditions as AmericansTo Sum Up!Slide9

“New Immigration”1880-1921Slide10

Turn of the Century Immigration to the U.S.188049% from NW Europe27% from Eastern and Southern Europe24% from the Rest of the World

1910

16% from NW Europe

73% from Eastern and Southern Europe

11% from Rest of the WorldSlide11
Slide12

From Southern and Eastern EuropeMany young malesMany Catholics and JewsMostly unskilled agricultural laborersLittle money or education“I once thought to write a history of the immigrants in America. Then I discovered that immigrants WERE American history.”

--Oscar Handlin (Journal 1)

Characteristics of the “New Immigrant”Slide13

Economic decline in Europe Effect of Industrial Revolution (lost their property as a result of the commercialization of agriculture)Rising

populations, decreasing death rate More

people + fewer resources = TROUBLE!!Political and Religious Persecution in Eastern Europe

*Legal restrictions on Jews

Pogroms=an organized massacre of helpless people; specifically :such a massacre of Jews *Minorities that had come to Europe

to fill jobs of the Ind. Rev. were

persecuted by the natives who didn’t

want them there

Push Factors (Get OUT!)Slide14

The Lure of Life in America (Work, land, and LIES!!)“That was the time, you see, when America was known to foreigners as the land where you’d get rich. There’s gold on the sidewalk– all you have to do is pick it up!”-Lithuanian immigrantBirds of Passage:Many of the millions of immigrants who arrived in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries did so with the intention of returning to their villages in the Old World. Known as “birds of passage,” many of these eastern and southern European migrants were peasants who had lost their property as a result of the commercialization of agriculture. They came to America to earn enough money to allow them to return home and purchase a piece of land. 

Pull FactorsSlide15

This sketch of "Gotham Court" from Jacob Riis's How the Other Half Lives shows the bitter side of tenement life.

The pen, or the camera, is sometimes mightier than the sword.

It may be a cliché, but it was all too true for journalists at the turn of the century. The print revolution enabled publications to increase their subscriptions dramatically.

What appeared in print was now more powerful than ever. Writing to Congress in hopes of correcting abuses was slow and often produced zero results.

Publishing a series of articles or photographs, had a much more immediate impact. Collectively called MUCKRAKERS

, a brave

group

of

reporters and photographers

exposed injustices so grave they made the blood of the average American run cold.

MuckrakersSlide16

Jacob Riis documented lives of immigrants with photographsSlide17

Journey Across the Atlantic

Steerage on the SS Pennland 1893Slide18

Steerage Conditions

Crowded, unsanitary, little food, enclosed!

–Journal 3Slide19

Arrival in America—AT LAST!!

75% go thru Ellis Island (1892-1920)aka “Island of Tears”

--”Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore…I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

–Statue of Liberty inscriptionSlide20

Unloading and BaggageSlide21

Time For Inspections

                                                                                         Slide22

Medical Inspections

                            Slide23

Legal Inspections– Registry HallSlide24

The Final Inspection

Journal Entry 4Slide25

Make travel arrangementsExchange moneyCollect baggage2/3 going elsewhere; 1/3 stay in NYWelcome to America…Now what???Leaving Ellis IslandSlide26

Ethnic Enclaves2/3 settle in urban centers (community, familiarity)Newspapers, customs, food, churches, clothing“Here no one goes to bed on an empty stomach because one Pole will save another, if he can.” –Polish immigrantSlide27

Living Conditions5 cents a spotSlide28

Tenement Living

60% die before 1st birthday

120 rooms for 1231 people

Journal Entry 5Slide29

Many of the immigrants who came to the U.S during this period of time spoke a language other than English and had customs and religious beliefs that were far different from those of many Americans.Settlement houses began in the 1880s in London in response to problems created when large numbers of people began moving into cities, working in factories, and emigrating from other countries.Settlement HousesSlide30

Settlement houses were often started by middle-class, educated people who moved into poor city neighborhoods in order to provide assistance.By 1900, the U.S. had over 100 settlement houses.The first settlement house in the U.S. was started in Chicago, Illinois, by Jane Addams and was known as Hull House.Hull House was located in a densely populated neighborhood that had German, Greek, Irish, Italian, Polish and Russian immigrants.

Hull House and Jane AddamsSlide31

Those who lived in settlement houses taught immigrants English and what they needed to know in order to become citizens. They also helped people find jobs and learn the customs and traditions of the U.S. It was a way to help them transition into life in their new home.Purpose of Settlement HousesSlide32

Working ConditionsImmigrants Seek Industrial JobsHigh supply/high demand

Prefer to agricultural work80% unskilled workforceSlide33

Sweatshop workers often work long hours for very low pay. Child labor is common. Sweatshops may have hazardous materials and situations. Employees may be subject to employer abuse without an easy way, if any, to protect themselves.Sweatshops

146 people died as a result of the fire in a shirt factory fireSlide34

Struggling FamiliesSlide35

Child Labor

Journal Entry 6Slide36

 ”the political position of demanding a favored status for certain established inhabitants of a nation as”Motive for NativismFear, hostility, and suspicionPrejudices based on race, ethnicity, religion

Old Immigrants vs. New Immigrants

“The immigrants are an invasion of venomous reptiles…long-haired, wild-eyed bad-smelling, atheistic, reckless foreign wretches, who never did a day’s work in their lives.” –from a newspaper editorialSome similarities to

today’s resistance to immigrants (i.e. jobs)

NativismSlide37

Political cartoons sometimes played on Americans' fears of immigrants. This one, which appeared in a 1896 edition of the Ram's Horn, depicts an immigrant carrying his baggage of poverty, disease, anarchy and Sabbath desecration, approaching Uncle Sam.American Opinion is ExpressedSlide38

Americans’ Treatment of Immigrants/NativismSlide39

Call for laws restricting immigration1917 Immigration Act provided for literacy tests for those over 16Quota Act of 1921-limited immigrants to 3% of each nationality present in the US in 1910In 1924 quotas were changed to 2% based on numbers in US in 1890The ‘Golden Door’ Slams Shut

Journal Entry 7Slide40

New immigrants and old--what people said

The old immigrants. . .

The new immigrants. . .

came from northern or western Europe

came from southern or eastern Europe

were Protestant

were not Protestant--were Catholic, Orthodox, Jewish

were literate and skilled

were illiterate and unskilled

came over as families

came over as birds of passage

were quick to assimilate

were clannish and reluctant to assimilate

were experienced in the ways of democracy

were radicals or autocrats

had some money in their pockets

arrived impoverished

were tall and fair

were short and dark

Put it all together!