A Rising Tide of Immigration: 1880-1920

1. A Rising Tide of Immigration:1880-1920

4. A Great Migration Largest Mass Movement in Human History • About 46 mill. left their own homes to settle in other countries. The majority of immigrants- over 50%- came to the US. • B/t 1880-1921, more than 23 mill. imms arrived on US shores. Demographics of Immigrants After 1880 • Ethnic makeup of immigrants changed after 1880. • B/t 1880 -1921, approx. 70% of all imms entering the US came from S & E Euro. • Besides being from S. or E. Europe, the typical immigrant was young, male & either Catholic or Jewish. • Most spoke little or no English. • Most were very poor & unskilled agricultural laborers.

6. Push & Pull Factors Economic Decline in Europe • Maj. of imms came to US for econ. reasons. ($) • Farmers w/o machines found themselves unable to compete with those who did • Local craftsmen couldn’t compete with factories(which made goods cheaply & faster) • Rising populations put more strain on Euro economies • Resulting in more people competing for fewer resources- land, food, and jobs. Political & Religious Persecution in E. Europe • Other Euro imms, esp. E. Euro Jews, left to escape poli. & religious persecution.

7. Push & Pull Factors • 1880-1921, over 2 million Jews – 1/3 of Europe's Jewish population - came to the US. • Other ethnic minoritiescame to US escaping poli. & econ. repression. • Including Greeks from Turkey, & Poles from Russian & Austro-Hungarian rule. Pull Factors • Newspaper articles & letters from family in US often painted it as a "magic land" of unlimited opportunity & riches. • In addition, some American businesses & factories sent reps overseas in search of available, cheap labor. • Often the info was inaccurate or outdated, such as pamphlets advertising cheap land that was actually no longer available in the American West.

10. Journey Across Atlantic Living Conditions in Steerage • Most imms came across in steerage- • uncomfortable @ best; inhumane @ worst • Passengers spent most of voyage deprived of sky, sunlight, & fresh air, with an unbearable smell • Passengers were so crammed together that diseases such smallpox and typhoid spread quickly. Cabin Class • Ships realized changes were necessary- created new class • It consisted of cabins that held 2, 4, or 6 beds, providing more privacy. • In addition, passengers had access to better and more toilet facilities, a dining room, and a lounge.

12. Arrival in America • B/t 1890-1920, approx. 75% of all imms who entered the US passed through Ellis Island, located in New York Harbor. • Imms were processed in hours or at the most, days • Angel Islandcontrasted w/ Ellis Island completely • Designed to hinder immigration, not make it smooth • Asian imms who came through were detained for weeks or months • Conditions cramped: 100 women in 30 x 30 room; 3 tiered bunks

14. Medical Inspections • All new imms faced some kind of inspection • But 1st & 2nd class passengers had much shorter inspections (usually on board by an immigration inspector who checked for contagious diseases & then asked a few routine questions. • Steerage passengers were transported to Ellis Island- for a longer ordeal • Frequently, imms underwent an unknown “6-second exam” while they walked up the stairs from the Baggage Room to the Great Registry Hall. • Immigrants were observed for limps, itching, or general poor health • At the top of the steps, imms were given an inspection card and given a more thorough examination • Many imms found the med. inspection a painful ordeal- emotionally. • They were forced to undress and probed closely for lice or physical abnormalities • They also used a “buttonhook” to peel back the eyelid to inspect for trachoma • Asian imm women endured indignities that Euro women did not

17. Legal Inspections • Legal inspections essentially same for all imms; lasted approx. 2-3 minutes. • Inspector asked 32 questions to determine whether imm, "was coming to this country for a legitimate reason, had a proper moral character, and was unlikely to become a ward of the state, or a violent revolutionary." • Before 1921, few were denied entrance to the US. • U.S. officials detained approx. 20% of all imms after the legal inspection, but only 2% actually sent back to their homeland

20. Ethnic Enclaves • After arriving in US, about 2/3 of imms settled in cities, such as NYC, Chicago, Boston, & Philly. • By 1920, 75% of foreign-born U.S. residents lived in cities. • Initially stayed with friends or relatives, maj. of whom lived in ethnic neighborhoods, or “enclaves”, in US cities. • Provided imms with sense of community & security • Familiar customs, food, language, & institutions of their homeland surrounded the immigrants.

22. Living Conditions • Most cities ill-equipped to handle needs of increasing pops. • Streets often flooded w/ waste- bad sewage systems. • Decent housing scarce. • Most imms lived in tenements-run-down, low-rent apartment buildings clustered together in the poorest parts of town. • Tenements typically had 6 or 7 floors, each of which usually contained 4 four-room apartments. • Most tenement apartments were filthy, run-down, and had little ventilation, light, or conveniences • Row houses built single family, connected buildings • Fires, disease, and death were common among imm tenement communities.

23. Living Conditions- Add-ons(No need to add to your notes) • Typically, $10-20/month, one NYC social worker counted 1,231 people living in just 120 rooms in one part of the city. • Jacob Riis wrote, “In a room not thirteen feet either way slept twelve men & women, two or three in bunks set in a sort of alcove, the rest on the floor . . . Most of the men were lodgers, who slept there for five cents a spot.“ • One historian noted 40% of NYC’s immigrants had contagious lung disease, tuberculosis, and 60% of immigrant babies died before their first babies.

25. Working Conditions • Majority of imms worked in industrial jobs, for a variety of reasons • 1st, most US industries growing & needed workers. • Most imms desperate for work. • 2nd, a substantial # of immigrants had been farm laborers in Europe. • Didn’t want to go back to back-breaking labor in fields • Third, a majority of imms - about 80% either unskilled or semiskilled. • Few had specialized skills which could earn $$, such as bookkeeping, carpentry, or tailoring. • Many imms sought industrial jobs- no skills or even a strong command of English • Imms vulnerable to exploitation; many worked in intolerable conditions. • Few employers paid immigrants a living wage.

26. Working Conditions • Families typically needed about $16/wk to make a min. standard of living.- most imms brought home far less. • The average worker's salary was about .10/ hr, & child workers often made 1/2 that. • In addition, many employers demanded that their employees work from 12-16 hours/day. • One statistic revealed that women garment workers typically worked a 108-hour week! • Working conditions in industrial occupations were often unsafe, unsanitary, & uncomfortable. • Most factories had poor ventilation, and employees often breathed in dangerous chemical fumes, smoke, and airborne fibers.

28. Am. Treatment of Immigrants • Many native-born Ams viewed new imms. w/ combo of fear, anger, & suspicion. • Believed threat to native-born Ams & their way of life • Stealing jobs from native-born Ams • Nativists held deep prejudices about imms. • Based on religion, ethnicity, race(which was equated with ethnicity), poli & social beliefs • N & W Euros were considered superior- • “Free, energetic, & progressive” v. historically down-trodden, in-bred, & stagnant • Nats began working to restrict # of imms entering the US in several ways • 1st- pushed for harsher inspections @ Ellis • 2nd- Called for laws restricting immigration –Quota Actamongst others • Most imms forced to assimilate • Americanization movement pushed them to drop their cultural uniqueness & adopt “American culture”

29. Rising Tide of Immigration 1880-1920 • The End.