Unit 6
Transforming the Nation
Chapter 21: A Diverse Nation
I. A Land of Promise
A. Hopes and Fears–Between 1866 and 1915, more than 25 million immigrants poured into the United States.
1. Push Factors – Conditions that drive people to leave their homes.
a)Lost their jobs.
b) Suffered religious and political persecution.
2. Pull factor- Conditions that attract people to a new area.
a)Hopes for a better life.
b) The promise of freedom.
c) Industry
B. The Unforgettable Voyage – Voyages across the Atlantic Ocean to America were often miserable. Disease spread quickly in crowded ships. Some would not survive the journey.
- A welcome symbol- For most European immigrants, the voyage ended in New York City. The Statue of Liberty greeted them.
2. A last Hurdle – The ships stopped at Ellis Island.
a) Passengers traveling in steerage had to pass a medical and legal inspection. On average 2% were sent back to their country of origin.
3. Asian Immigrants – On the west coast, immigrants from Asia had to face an even harder inspection. They were processed on AngelIsland in San FranciscoBay.
C. Changing Patterns of Immigration
1. In the early 1800’s most immigrants were from northern and western Europe.
a) English, Irish, German, and Scandinavian immigrants had settled the frontier and built cities.
b) They became known as “old immigrants.”
2. By the late 1800’s, large numbers of people were arriving from Southern and Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
a) Few of these “new immigrants” spoke English.
b) They had many different religions.
c) East Coast – Italians, Poles, Russians, Greeks, and Hungarians.
d) West Coast – Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Asian Indians, and Filipinos.
D. Adjusting to the NewLand – New immigrants found it harder to adapt to life in the U.S. By the time they arrived much of the good farmland in the west had been taken. As a result, most stayed in the cities where they had first arrived.
1. Ethnic Neighborhoods – Across the United States, cities were mad up of sections of Italians, Irish, Polish, Hungarians, Germans, Jews, and Chinese.
a) ethnic group – people who share a common culture.
- Finding jobs – They found jobs through friends, relatives, and employment agencies.
3. Becoming Citizens – Often they were torn between old traditions and new American ways.
a) assimilation – the process of becoming part of another culture.
b) Children assimilated easier than their parents and often learned to speak English in school.
E. Anti-Immigrant Feeling Grows – Many workers resented immigrants because they took jobs for low pay.
1. Barring Chinese Immigrants – Most Americans didn’t understand Chinese culture. Also, some Chinese did not try to learn American ways.
a) The Chinese Exclusion Act( 1882) –The Act barred immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. Congress renewed the law several times. It was finally repealed in 1943 (China was our ally in WWII).
2. Other Limits on Immigration – In 1887, the American Protective Association was formed.
a) Wanted laws to restrict immigration.
b) 1917 - literacy tests were required.
II. The Growth of Cities
- City Populations boom
1. Causes
a) Flood of immigrants
b) Most of the land in the West was taken.
c) Some pioneers gave up their farms in search of a better life in the cities.
d) African Americans headed north after the Civil War try to escape racism, segregation, and poverty.
e) Factories needed workers.
B. City Life
1. Cities grew outward from their downtown sections.
a) Poor families lived in the center of the city, usually in the oldest section.
b) Tenements – buildings divided into small apartments. Many had no heat, windows, or indoor bathrooms.
c) Middle class families lived further out in a neat row of houses or new apartment buildings.
d) The wealthy lived on the outskirts of the city in fine built homes with lawns and lots of trees.
C.Cleaning up Cities
- By the late 1880’s reformers were demanding change.
a)Passed building codes.
b)Hired workers to collect garbage.
c)Zoning laws kept factories out of neighborhoods were people lived.
d)Professional fire companies and police forces were set up,
e)New water systems were designed.
D. Help for the Poor
- The Catholic Church helped the needs of the Irish, Polish, and Italian immigrants.
- The Salvation Army offered food and shelter to the poor.
- The YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) taught classes, organized team sports, and held dances.
4. The settlement house movement – By 1900, a 100 such centers had opened in American cities. The best known of these was the Hull House, set up by Jane Addams in Chicago.
a)Settlement house – a community center that offers services to the poor.
b)They taught classes in American government, the English language, and health care.
c)Provide free daycare for the children of working mothers.
d)Organized sports and theater for young people.
e)Hull House volunteers fought for better health laws, and supported amendments to end child labor and give women the right to vote.
III. The Changing Face of Cities
A. Cities take on a new look in the late 1800’s.
1. Skyscrapersbecame an increasingly common sight in the centers of big cities where land was scarce.
2. Public Transportation
a) 1887 – street cars, also called trolleys, were designed by Frank Sprague.
b) 1897 – Boston opened the first subway.
c) 1870-New York built the first “el” – an elevated train. This system expanded over the next few decades.
3. Cities plan parks
a) NYC’s Central Park –designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. The first major park intended entirely for public use. And they knew the Park would be a healthy refuge from the over-crowded living sections in southern Manhattan.
B. A New world for shoppers
1.Department Stores
a) 1902- R.H. Macy openedthe first department store in NY Herald
C. Sports - Fun Outdoors
1. Baseball – By the 1870’s there were several teams around the country who formed a league.
a)1880’s-African Americans were barred. They formed their own league.
b) It became America’s favorite sport.
2. Football – grew out of soccer.
a) Many players were injured.
3.Basketball – developed by the YMCA out of a need to find an indoor sport to play during the winter.
D. Other Entertainment
1. Music – symphony orchestra and operas
a) attended by the wealthy
2. Vaudeville – a variety show that included comedians, song and dance routines, and acrobats.
a) attended by the middle class
3. Ragtime – a unique type of music with a rhythmic sound
a) Scott Joplin, and African American composer, helped make it popular.
4. Popular songs swept the country because of Edison’s phonograph.
5. Traveling shows
a) acting companies performed plays
b) circuses – P.T. Barnum
c) Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show
IV. A New American Culture
A. Growth of Education
1. Public Schools Improve
a)As industry grew, America needed an educated work force. b) In the North – passed laws that children must attend school until 6th grade.
c) In the South – built schools for African Americans and white students.
d) Schools taught English to immigrants.
2. High schools and colleges
a) By 1900, the United States had 6,000 high schools.
b) New private colleges and state universities were built.
c) African Americans, Chinese, and other non-whites had fewer opportunities to get an education
3. Public libraries-
a) Wealthy individuals gave money to build public libraries
B. Headlines and Scandals- as education spread, people read more.
- Newspapers kept people informed.
a)Reported on important events of the day.
b)They featured stories about local government, businesses, fashion, sports, and comic strips.
c)Newspapers gave people a sense of belonging (ex. New Yorkers, Bostonians, etc.).
- Joseph Pulitzer - In 1883 he created the first modern mass circulation newspaper, The New York World.
a)Introduced pictures and bold headlines.
b)Added sports pages and comic strips.
c)Splashed crimes and political scandals across the front page.
d)He sent a female reporter, Nellie Bly, around the world.
e)As a result, circulation went from 20,000 to one million.
3. William Randolph Hearst – He bought the New York Journal and soon challenged Pulitzer.
a) tried to print more scandals, crime stories, and gossip than The New York World did.
b) yellow journalism – sensational reporting style.
- New reading habits - By the late 1800’s, Americans started reading magazines and books as well.
1. Magazines – Each magazine had a special audience.
a) Ladies Home Journal – middle class white women
b) Harper’s Monthly and the Nation - politics
2. The paperback revolution – In the late 1800’s paperbacks became popular.
a) Bestsellers were often dime novels- low priced paperbacks offering thrilling stories. Wild West stories were popular.
b) Rags to riches stories were also popular and offered hope to many immigrants.
c) Horatio Alger – wrote more than 100 dime novels for children. His books taught hard work and honesty lead to success.
3. The Realists –wanted to show life as it was.
a) Stephen Crane wrote about a girl who is born and dies in a filthy slum.
b) Hamlin Garland described the hard lives of farmers.
c) Jack London wrote about the hardships faced by miners and sailors.
d) Kate Chopin wrote stories about children breaking out of traditional roles.
e) Paul Laurence Dunbar was the first African American to make a living as a writer.
4. Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) – He was the most popular author of this period.
a) He wrote Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
- Realism in Art – Artist set out to capture local color and the harsh, gritty side of modern life.
1. Winslow Homer -
a) drew scenes of Civil War battles for magazines.
b) He later painted realistic scenes of New England.
2. Thomas Eakins
a) known for painting the human body accurately, he painted sports scenes and medical operations.
3. Henry Tanner – The first African American Artist to gain international fame.
a) painted pictures of black sharecroppers
4. Americans Abroad – Other American artists preferred to work in Europe.
a) James Whistler – His work influenced young European artists.
b) John Singer Sargent – painted portraits of wealthy Europeans.
c) Mary Cassat – painted bright colorful scenes in everyday situations.
Chapter 21 Notes1