Transcript Chapter 6: Urban America Section 1: Immigration

Chapter 6: Urban America
Section 1: Immigration
Pages 214 - 219
Europeans Flood Into America
• Between 1865 – 1914: 25 million Europeans
immigrated to the United States
• More than half were Eastern and Southern
European: Italy, Greece, Russia, Austria, and
Serbia
• Many came to escape religious persecution
(Jews in Poland, Catholics in Ireland)
The Atlantic Voyage
• Most immigrants booked passage in steerage,
the cheapest accommodations on a ship
• Europe to New York: 14 day trip
• Passengers embarked at Ellis Island, a tiny
island controlled by New York and New Jersey
in New York Harbor
Ellis Island
• 12 million immigrants passed
through Ellis Island between
1892 – 1954
• Immigrants had to visit a
doctor first
• “H” for heart problems, “K” for
hernias, “Sc” for scalp
problems (head lice), “X” for
mental disorders
• Those who failed the medical
inspection would be sent back
to Europe
Ethnic Cities
• By the 1890s, immigrants made up a large
portion of the population in New York, Detroit,
Chicago, and Milwaukee
• Map of New York City colored in lines of the
different cultures would have more stripes than a
zebra
• Cities separated in ethnic groups: Little Italy,
Greektown, Chinatown, etc.
Asian Immigration
• Mid-1800s: China’s population reached 430
million and the country was suffering from a
depression
• Taiping Rebellion caused civil unrest
• Central Pacific Railroad offered work
Nativism Resurges
• Feelings of nativism is an example of dislike of
immigrants by native-born people
• Surfaced during the wave of Irish immigration
between 1840 – 1850
• Opposed immigration of Asians, Jews, Poles,
Catholics, and other Eastern Europeans
Prejudice Against Catholics
• American Protective Association: founded in 1887 by
Henry Bowers, was an anti-Catholic organization
• Members vowed not hire or vote for a Catholic
• Most aggression was directed towards Irish-Catholics
• White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) was the
dominant culture in America
• WASPs considered the Irish to be lazy
Restrictions on Asian Immigration
• In 1882 Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion
Act which barred Chinese immigration for 10
years and prevented Chinese already in the
country from becoming citizens; law renewed in
1902, repealed in 1943
• Gentleman’s Agreement: Between President
Roosevelt and the San Francisco School Board,
Roosevelt agreed to curtail Japanese immigration
and the San Francisco School Board agreed to
revoke its segregation order
The Literacy Debate
• 1905: Roosevelt commissioned a study on how immigrants were admitted
to the nation
• Recommended a literacy English test
• Two years later recommended a literacy test in any language
• “New immigrants” vs “Old immigrants”
• Both Presidents Taft and Wilson rejected the law
• Eventually passed in 1917 over Wilson’s second veto
• Purpose to reduce immigration from southeastern European nations