Chapter 15 Life at the Turn of the 20th Century Section

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Chapter 15 Life at the Turn of the 20th Century
Section Notes
Video
Life at the Turn of the 20th Century
New Immigrants Urban Life Politics in the Gilded
Age Segregation and Discrimination
Maps
Ethnic Neighborhoods in Chicago, 18801910
History Close-up
Early Skyscrapers
Images
Quick Facts
Political Cartoon Old and New Immigration Politic
al Cartoon Boss Tweed The Populist
Movement Mexican American Worker
Old and New Immigrants Visual Summary Life at
the Turn of the 20th Century
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New Immigrants

• The Main Idea
• A new wave of immigrants came to the United
  States in the late 1800s, settling in cities and
  troubling some native-born Americans.
• Reading Focus
• How did patterns of immigration change at the
  turn of the century?
• Why did immigrants come to America in the late
  1800s, and where did they settle?
• How did nativists respond to the new wave of
  immigration?

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Changing Patterns of Immigration

• The old immigrants
• 10 million immigrants came between 1800 and 1900.
  Known as the old immigrants, they came from
  Northern and Western Europe.
• Most were Protestant Christians, and their
  cultures were similar to the original settlers.
• They came to have a voice in their government, to
  escape political turmoil, for religious freedom,
  or fleeing poverty and starvation.
• Most immigrants came for economic opportunity,
  attracted to the open farm land in the United
  States.
• Chinese immigrants had been lured by the gold
  rush and jobs building railroads.

• The new immigrants
• From 1880 to 1910, a new wave brought 18 million
  people to America.
• Most came from Southern and Eastern Europe.
• They were Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians
  and Jews. Arabs, Armenians, and French Canadians
  came as well.
• Smaller numbers came from East Asia. Severe
  immigration laws reduced Chinese immigration, but
  90,000 people of Chinese descent lived in the
  U.S. by 1900. Japanese immigrants arrived by way
  of Hawaii.
• The makeup of the American population had
  changed. By 1910 about 1 in 12 Americans were
  foreign-born.

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Coming to America

• Desire for a better life
• Most immigrants were seeking a new life, but they
  left their homelands for many reasons, including
  religious persecution, poverty, and little
  economic opportunity. If you were willing to work
  hard in America, prosperity was possible.
• The journey to America
• The decision to come involved the entire family.
  Usually the father went first and sent for the
  rest of the family later. Travelers made their
  way to a port city by train, wagon, or foot to
  wait for a departing ship. They had to pass an
  inspection to board, and prove they had some
  money. Most traveled cheaply, in steerage, and
  they still had to make it through the immigration
  station.
• Ellis Island
• Opening in 1892 as an immigration station, 112
  million immigrants passed through Ellis Island.
  Immigrants had to pass inspection before they
  were allowed to enter.

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Coming to America
West Coast immigrants were processed in San
Francisco at Angel Island. Many Chinese
immigrants were detained in prison-like
conditions while awaiting a ruling. Poverty and
discrimination awaited many newcomers.
Angel Island
Many new immigrants lived in poor housing in
teeming slums near the factories where they found
work. In the Northeast and Midwest, immigrants
settled near others from their homeland. Cities
became a patchwork of ethnic clusters. Residents
established churches and synagogues to practice
their religious faith. They formed benevolent
societies, aid organizations to help new
immigrants obtain jobs, health care, and
education.
Building urban communities
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Nativists Respond
Some native-born Americans saw immigrants as
threats to society. Nativists felt they brought
crime and poverty and accepted jobs for lower
wages, keeping wages low for everyone. They
wanted to close Americas doors to immigration.
Threat to society
Chinese workers were tolerated during good times,
but with a worsening economy Denis Kearney led
an active opposition to their presence. Chinese
workers were not allowed state jobs, and local
governments could ban them from communities or
restrict them to certain areas. The Chinese
Exclusion Act was passed in 1882, banning Chinese
immigration for 10 years. None of the Chinese in
the U.S. would be allowed citizenship. The law
was renewed in 1892, and Chinese immigration was
banned indefinitely in 1902.
LimitingChinese immigration
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Limits to Immigration

• Japanese
• Nativists also resented the Japanese. Japanese
  students in San Francisco were segregated from
  other children.
• Theodore Roosevelt negotiated a Gentlemens
  Agreement with Japan.
• No unskilled workers from Japan, and in return
  Japanese children could attend schools with other
  children.

• Other immigrants
• Nativists opposed immigration from Southern and
  Eastern Europe.
• They claimed these folks were poor, illiterate,
  and non-Protestant and could not blend into
  American society.
• They called for a literacy test to see if test
  takers could read English.
• The Literacy Test Act was passed in 1917, over
  President Wilsons veto.

Americanization occurred in many places.
Newcomers were taught American ways to help them
assimilate. They learned English literacy skills
and American history and government.
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Urban Life

• The Main Idea
• In cities in the late 1800s, people in the upper,
  middle, and lower classes lived different kinds
  of lives because of their different economic
  situations.
• Reading Focus
• How did American cities change in the late 1800s?
• How did class differences affect the way urban
  dwellers lived?
• How did the settlement house movement work to
  improve living conditions for immigrants and poor
  Americans?

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American Cities Change

• Compact cities
• Before industrialization, cities had no tall
  buildings and most people lived within walking
  distance of their work, schools, shops, and
  churches. In the late 1880s, they ran out of room
  and started to build up.
• Tall buildings and transportation
• Steel frames and Elisha Otiss safety elevator
  made taller buildings possible. With mass
  transit, people moved farther away.
• Green spaces
• Urban planning was used to map out the best use
  of space in cities. Frederick Law Olmsted
  designed city parks to provide residents with
  countryside. New Yorks Central Park is his most
  famous endeavor.

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Class Differences
The wealthy in America inherited fortunes, but
they made them from industry and business as
well.
The newly rich made a point of conspicuously
displaying their wealth. Grand city houses and
magnificent country estates were commonplace.
High-society women read instructional
literature detailing proper behavior. The ideal
woman was a homemaker who organized and decorated
her home entertained visitors and supervised her
staff and offered moral and social guidance to
her family. Some women lent their time and
money to social reform efforts.
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Class Differences

• The middle class
• The urban middle class grew as jobs for
  accountants, clerks, managers, and salespeople
  increased.
• Educated workers like teachers, engineers,
  lawyers, and doctors were needed.
• The rise of professionalism required standardized
  skills and qualifications for certain
  occupations.
• Married women managed a home. With time for other
  activities, some participated in reform work or
  other activities, expanding their influence to
  the outside world.

• The working class
• Many lived in poverty, with a growing population
  keeping wages low.
• Housing shortages led to crowded and unsanitary
  tenement conditions.
• Housekeeping was difficult with no indoor
  plumbing, water had to be hauled inside from a
  pump.
• Clothes were boiled on the stove and hung on
  lines to dry.
• Many women also worked low-paying jobs outside
  the home.

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The Settlement House Movement

• London reformers
• Founded the first settlement house in 1884.
  Volunteers provided a variety of services to
  people in need.
• They taught skills people could use to lift
  themselves from poverty.
• Hull House
• Jane Addams founded Hull House, one of the first
  settlement houses in the U.S., and the movement
  spread quickly. The movement gave women the
  opportunity to lead, organize, and work for
  others.
• Religious views
• The Social Gospel was the idea that religious
  faith should be expressed through good works and
  that churches had a moral duty to help solve
  societys problems.
• Social Darwinists disagreed they felt people
  were poor because of their own deficiencies.

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Politics in the Gilded Age

• The Main Idea
• Political corruption was common in the late
  1800s, but reformers began fighting for changes
  to make government more honest.
• Reading Focus
• How did political machines control politics in
  major cities?
• What efforts were made to reduce political
  corruption?
• How did the Populist movement give farmers
  political power?

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Political Machines

• Political Machinewas an informal group of
  professional politicians controlling the local
  government who often resorted to corrupt methods
  for dealing with urban problems.
• Immigrantswere a loyal support base for the
  political machines. In Boston, the Irish rose in
  the ranks to control the political machine in
  that city.
• CorruptionPolitical machines used illegal
  tactics to maintain control, buying voter support
  and resorting to election fraud.
• The Tweed Ringwas a notorious political machine
  headed by William Marcy Tweed.
• Thomas Nasta political cartoonist who attacked
  the corruption in Harpers Weekly.

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Federal Corruption
Grants presidency was marred by several
scandals. Crédit Mobilier cost the taxpayers 23
million and tainted the nations leaders. The
Whiskey Ring was responsible for diverting tax
collections.
Scandals
Reformers wanted to end the spoils system, and
the next president agreed. Hayes issued an
executive order that prohibited government
employees from managing political parties or
campaigns. The Stalwarts wanted to continue the
spoils system.
Hayes and reform
Republicans compromised on James A. Garfield as
the next president, but he was assassinated four
months after taking office. His successor,
Chester A. Arthur, turned against the spoils
system and passed the Pendleton Civil Service
Reform Act.
Civil service reform
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The Populist Movement

• Farmers hardships
• Crop prices were falling, and farmers had to
  repay loans.
• Railroads were charging high fees for transport
• Merchants made money from farm equipment.
• Everyone made money but the farmer doing the work
• Outraged farmers organized to help themselves.
• Local groups formed to aid farmers

• The National Grange
• First major farmers organization
• Campaigned to unite farmers from all over
• As membership grew, pushed for political reform
  and targeted railroad rates
• Munn v. Illinois gave state legislatures the
  right to regulate businesses that involved the
  public interest.
• Wabash v. Illinoisfederal government could
  regulate railroad traffic.

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The Alliance Movement and money supply
The Farmers Alliance helped with practical needs
such as buying equipment or marketing farm
products. They also lobbied for banking reform
and railroad rate regulation.
In the South, the Colored Farmers Alliance
formed. With more than 1 million members, the
Alliance advocated hard work and sacrifice as
keys to gaining equality in society.
The Alliances felt that an expanded money supply
would help farmers by inflating prices, with
inflation easing farmers debt burden. Money was
tied to the gold standard, and farmers wanted it
to be backed by silver as well. Now politically
active, candidates supported by the Alliance won
more than 40 seats in Congress and four
governorships.
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The Populist Party

• Encouraged by their clout in national elections,
  the Alliance decided to form a national political
  party. The Peoples Party was born in Nebraska in
  July 1892. This coalition of farmers, labor
  leaders, and reformers became known as the
  Populist Party.
• Party PlatformSupported the National Grange and
  Alliance demands, with a platform calling for an
  income tax, bank regulation, government ownership
  of railroad and telegraph companies, and free
  coinage of silver.
• 1892 electionSpeaking for the common people
  against the ruling elite, the Populists took
  several state offices and won seats in Congress.

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Economic Depression and a New Election

• The Panic of 1893
• The nation plunged into another depression,
  investors pulled out of the stock market, and
  businesses collapsed.
• Cleveland focused on silver as a cause of the
  national depression. When silver decreased in
  value, people rushed to exchange paper money for
  gold.
• Cleveland called for Congress to repeal the
  Sherman Silver Purchase Act. The country stayed
  on the gold standard.

• The election of 1896
• William McKinley, a believer in the gold
  standard, was the Republican nominee, and the
  Democratic candidate was William Jennings Bryan.
• Bryan hailed the free coinage of silver as the
  key to prosperity.
• The Populists threw their support to Bryan.
• McKinley won the election, and the Populist Party
  soon faded away. But the groundwork for reform
  was laid.

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Segregation and Discrimination

• The Main Idea
• The United States in the 1800s was a place of
  great changeand a place in need of even greater
  change.
• Reading Focus
• What kinds of legalized discrimination did
  African Americans endure after Reconstruction?
• What informal discrimination did African
  Americans face?
• Who were the most prominent black leaders of the
  period, and how did their views differ?
• In what ways did others suffer discrimination in
  the late 1800s?

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Legalized Discrimination

• Restricting the vote
• Once white Democrats had regained control over
  their state legislatures, they passed poll tax
  and literacy requirements to prevent African
  Americans from voting.
• Most African Americans were too poor to afford
  the poll tax, and many had been denied the
  education needed to pass the literacy test.
• Some poor or illiterate white men could not meet
  the requirements, but they were given a
  grandfather clause allowing them to vote.

• Legalized segregation
• Designed to create and enforce segregation, Jim
  Crow laws were passed in the South.
• African Americans filed lawsuits, wanting equal
  treatment under the Civil Rights Act of 1875.
• In 1883, the Court ruled the Act to be
  unconstitutional, determining the 14th Amendment
  applied only to state governments.
• Congress had no power over private individuals or
  businesses.

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Plessy v. Ferguson

• Thirteen years later, another key case came
  before the Supreme Court. The matter involved a
  Louisiana state law requiring railroads to
  provide equal but separate accommodations for
  the white and colored races.
• Homer Plessy sat in a whites-only train
  compartment to test the law and was arrested. He
  appealed based on the 14th Amendment.
• In Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) the court upheld the
  practice of segregation, with only Justice John
  Marshall Harlan dissenting.
• The Court ruled that separate but equal
  facilities did not violate the Fourteenth
  Amendment. The Plessy decision allowed legalized
  segregation for nearly sixty years.

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Informal Discrimination
Strict rules of behavior, called racial
etiquette, governed social and business
interactions. African Americans were supposed to
know their place and defer to whites in every
encounter.
Racial etiquette
If an African American failed to speak
respectfully or acted with too much pride or
defiance, the consequences could be serious. The
worst consequence was lynching, the murder of an
individual usually by hanging, without a legal
trial. Between 1882 and 1892, nearly 900 lost
their lives to lynch mobs. Lynchings declined
after 1892, but continued into the early 1900s.
Lynching
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Prominent Black Leaders
With the turn of the century, two different
approaches emerged for improving the lives of
African Americans.
Born into slavery, Booker T. Washington believed
that African Americans should accept segregation
for the moment. Farming and vocational skills
were the key to prosperity, and he founded the
Tuskegee Institute to teach practical skills for
self-sufficiency.
W.E.B. Du Bois, a Harvard-trained professor,
believed in speaking out against prejudice and
striving for full rights immediately. African
Americans should be uplifted through the
talented tenth, their best educated leaders. Du
Bois launched the Niagara Movement to protest
discrimination in 1905. Later, he helped found
the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP).
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Others Suffer Discrimination
They encountered hostility from white Americans,
often not speaking English well and taking the
most menial jobs for little pay. Debt peonage
tied many of them to their jobs until they could
pay off debts they owed their employer.
Mexican Americans
Chinese and Japanese Americans had to live in
segregated neighborhoods and attend separate
schools. Housing was difficult, because most
house owners did not want Chinese tenants.
Several states also forbade marriage with whites.
Asian Americans
Native Americans faced continuous government
efforts to stamp out their traditional ways of
life. Children were sent away from their parents
to be Americanized. Reservation life held
little opportunity for economic advancement.
Native Americans
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