Chapter 15 Section 2 Critical Thinking #5

5) What effects did the migration from rural areas to the cities in the late 19th century have on urban society?


The migration from rural areas to the cities in the late 19th century had effects on the quality of life in the cities. The urbanization lead to many problems such as crime, housing issues, transporation, and sanitation among other things (p. 470). It also caused tension between blacks and whites as they competed for jobs (p.469).
The rapid urbanization of cities caused many problems. One of these was the issue of housing. When citydwellers started living in tenements, they were meant as an improvement over the row houses and cramped boardinghouses. But due to poor sanitation measures by the city, garbage was infrequently picked up and people would dump garbage out the air vents, which would attract vermin and they would then be forced to board up the windows to keep the smell out. Getting water that was safe for drinking in the cities was also a problem. Cities such as New York and Cleveland built public waterworks, but many cities were still receiving inadequate piped water into the 1860s. This assisted in the spread of diseases such as cholera and typhoid fever (p. 470). Fires were a problem that were not helped by the lack of water. Most city dwellings were wooden. Candles and kerosene heaters were fire hazards, and when blazes did spring up, there wasn't enough water to put the fires out. This resulted in the formation of the first full-time, paid firefighter squad in Cincinnati, since often firefighters weren't available when they were needed. This lead to advancements, such as automatic fire sprinklers and the replacement of wood with stone, brick of concrete. Crime increased as well, as city populations grew. The first full-time police force was organized by N.Y.C. in 1844, but it wasn't enough to make a big impact (p. 471). Basically the problem was that cities weren't able to keep up with their huge growth, and things started to come apart. Sanitation and tranportation were also problems.
Urbanization caused tension between blacks and whites as well. Many southern farmers lost their jobs when advances in technology were made that meant that less laborers were needed for the same jobs. Many of the farmers who lost their jobs and had to move to cities to make a living were African Americans. They often moved North or West to cities like Chicago or Detroit to try to escape political opression, racial violence and economic hardship, but things weren't much better in these cities, and job competition caused racial tension between them and the whites (p. 469).

Chapter 15 Section 2 Critical Thinking #4

4) Which solution (or attempted solution) to an urban problem discussed in this section do you think had the most impact? Why?


The attempt made at finding a solution for housing had the greatest impact, though it was a negative one. Tenements were multi-family dwellings in the city that several immigrant families would live in together when the previous working class inhabitants of the home left the city. The alternatives were to buy a house in the outskirts of town and face problems with transportation or rent small boardinghouses in the city. Row houses were established as well; these were single-family dwellings shared walls with the other houses and crammed many families onto one block. Though tenements were in the central city and not as cramped as boardinghouses, they were often unsanitary and overcrowded. New York City passed a law in 1879 to improve the squalid conditions, setting minimum standards for plumbing and ventilation, and landlords started to build tenements with air shafts and windows in every room, but since garbage was picked up infrequently, people started to dump the garbage into air vents. This would attract rats and other unpleasant creatures one wouldn't like to have in their house, and people started to nail up the windows to keep the smell of rotting garbage out. Even though tenements were supposed to have been an improvement over row houses, boardinghouses and houses far from the city, they quickly ended up in terrible condition, cramped, filthy, unsanitary and worse than the original options (all p. 470).

Chapter 15 Section 1 Critical Thinking #4

4) What were the effects of the massive influx of immigrants to the U.S. in the late 1800s?

The results of the massive influx of immigrants to the United States in the late 1800s largely caused Americans to dislike immigration. Nativism was one of the things that rose as immigration grew, or overt favoritism towards native-born Americans. Nativism lead to anti-immigrant groups and and demands for immigration restrictions. Not all immigrants, however, were given a problem by nativists; if the immigrants were Anglo-Saxons, and from a country like England, Germany, or Scandinavia. Immigrants from Mexico and Asian countries were from the "wrong" countries. If the immigrants were of an unfavorable religion, they would be prejudiced against as well. The foundation of the nativist group the American Protective Association launched attacks again Catholics and many businesses and clubs wouldn't allow Jews in (p. 464).
As well as the rise of nativism and anti-immigrant groups, there was fear that immigrants would take all of the jobs available and leave native-born Americans without jobs or money. Particularly in the West, many native-born workers were afraid that all jobs would be taken by immigrants (Asians in the West, for the most part), who accepted lower wages. These fears led to movements passes by Congress, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act and The Gentleman's Agreement; there were many segregation movements pushed by anti-immigrant groups (p. 465).

Chapter 15-1 Critical Thinking #3

3) Which immigrant group do you think faced the greatest challenges in the United States? Why?



The Asian immigrants faced the greatest challenges in the United States. For one, the trip from Asia to Angel Island took 3 weeks, as opposed to the 1 week trip from Europe to Ellis Island. The majority of immigrants couldn't afford more than steerage, which was cramped, and dirty, and they would be crowded in with hundreds of strangers with unknown diseases with no fresh air (p. 462). Asians arrived in Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. Procedure was very different than the orderly way of doing things at Ellis island, almost opposite. Immigrants faced harsh questioning and long detention in filthy building where they waited to find out if they were going to be sent back to Asia (p. 463).
All immigrants faced problems once they actually got to the U.S., such as prejudice, and the difficulty of finding a home, but it seems that the Asians were received more hostility than other immigrants who were Anglo-Saxon, or from the "right" countries. Nativists were concerned that Asians were going to take the jobs of native-born Americans, since they accepted lower wages (p. 464). During the depression of 1873, when jobs were scarce, labor groups pressured the government to restrict Asian immigration, and anti-Asian feelings intensified. In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned entry to the U.S. to all Chinese except for students, teachers, government officials, merchants, and tourists. The law wasn't repealed until 1943 (p. 465). In addition to this, the local board of education in San Francisco segregated the schools so that the Japanese had to go to a different school. Japan was infuriated at this, and luckily the Gentleman's Agreement was figured out between President Roosevelt in 1907, in which the school board agreed to desegregate the schools if Japan would restrict the emigration of unskilled workers coming to the United States (p. 465).

Chapter 15 Section 2 Guided Reading

15-2 GUIDED READING

1)

Reasons for being drawn to cities in the Northeast and Midwest:

Immigrants: Cities were the cheapest and most convenient places to live. They also offered many jobs for unskilled laborers at mills and factories.

Farmers: Advances in technology made farming more efficient but fewer laborers were needed to work the land. Many farms merged, and many rural people moved to cities to find work.

African-Americans: Many left their homes to escape racial violence, economic hardship, and political oppression.

2)

Problems and what were done about them:

Lack of safe and efficient transportation: Innovations in mass transit were made to enable workers to get to jobs easier. Street cars were introduced in San Francisco in 1873 and electric subways to Boston in 1897.

Unsafe drinking water: Cities such as New York and Cleveland built public waterworks. Filtration was introduced in the 1870s and chlorination in 1908, because the piped water was still unsanitary and inadequate, if the people had any at all

Lack of sanitation: By 1900 many cities had developed sewer lines and created sanitation departments, although this did not solve the problem completely. Private contractors called scavengers were hired to sweep the streets, collect garbage, and clean outhouses; however, they often did inadequate jobs.

Fire hazards: Cincinnati solved the problem of firemen not always being available by starting the first paid fire department in 1853. Most cities had professional fire departments by 1900. The introduction of the practical automatic fire sprinkler and the replacement of wood with brick, stone of concrete as building materials also made cities safer.

Crime: New York City organized the first full-time, paid police force in 1844, but most of them were too small to have much of an effect.

Urbanization: The growth of cities.

Social Gospel movement: A program that preached salvation thorough service to the poor.

Settlement houses: Inspired by the Social Gospel movement, some reformers established settlement houses, community centers in slum neighborhoods which provided help and assistance to the people, especially immigrants, in the area.

Jane Addams: One of the most influential members of the Settlement house movement and Ellen Gates Starr founded Chicago’s Hull House in 1889; one of the first. By 1910, about 400 settlement houses existed throughout the country.

Chapter 15 Section 1 Guided Reading Questions

Chapter 15-1 Guided Reading Questions

1)

Southern and Eastern European Immigrants:

Came from: Italy, Austria-Hungary, and Russia.

Came to the U.S. because: Many wished to escape religious prosecution; many Jews were forced out of Russia by pogroms. Others left because they wanted lives of freedom and independence in America. Others left because of the rising populations. The promise of plentiful jobs was a lure, as well.

Entered the U.S. at: Ellis Island; the East Coast.

Asian Immigrants:

Came from: Japan, China.

Came to the U.S. because: They were seeking their fortunes after the discovery of gold in California, as well as for jobs; the railroads were largely built by Asian immigrants.

Entered the U.S. at: West Coast; Angel Island.

Caribbean Islands and Central America:

Came from: Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and other Islands.

Came to the U.S. because: Jobs were scarce and the Industrial boom in the U.S. seemed to promise jobs to everyone. Mexicans came because of political turmoil. The 1902 National Reclamation Act, which encouraged the irrigation and farming of arid land, drew Mexican farmers to the North. Political and social upheavals in 1910 caused more immigration.

Entered the U.S. at: Southeast and Southwest.

2)

The Difference Between Native-Born and New Immigrant Americans:

Immigrants: Nativism, or the overt favoritism towards native-born Americans, became a problem for immigrants when immigration grew. Anti-immigration groups were formed, and demands for restrictions on immigration were made. Many immigrants didn’t want to give up their cultural identities. Nativists often had no problem with Anglo-Saxon immigrants, but objected very much to immigrants from Asian and Latin countries. The immigrants also faced religious prosecution. Immigrants generally accepted lower wages. The Chinese Exclusion Act was passed by Congress in 1882, which for 10 years banned all immigrants except for students, teachers, merchants, tourists, and government officials. The law wasn’t repealed until 1943. The Gentleman’s Agreement was enacted in 1907, the terms of which were: Japan had to limit emigration of unskilled workers in exchange for the repeal of a San Francisco segregation order which put Japanese children into separate schools.

Native-Born Americans: Had a fear that immigrants (particularly Chinese immigrants) would take all of their jobs. Natives were preferred to immigrants, treated better, given higher wages, etc. Native-born Americans considered the country to be a “melting pot” where everybody of different races and cultures blended together to make one country, and were angered when immigrants wanted to keep their cultural identities.

Chapter 14 Section 3 Critical Thinking

Do you think that the tycoons of the late 19th century are best described as ruthless robber barons or as effective captains of industry?
-management tactics and business strategies
-contributions to the economy
-attitude toward competition

I think that the tycoons were better described as ruthless. Their cutthroat tactics and strategies for making more money were cruel to their workers and deceptive to their buyers. For example, oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller started off processing 2 to 3% of the country's crude oil, and within a decade, he controlled 90%. When he had monopolized the market, he raised his prices to be much higher than what they were. He also got large amounts of money because of how little her paid his workers; whole families would have to work in the factories in order to support themselves. I addition, the factories were poorly kept and dangerous, but if an employee was injured, they would not be given compensation. Work hours were long and there were no vacations; it was often a 7 day work week. While the average man made $498 and the average woman $267 in 1899, Andrew Carnegie made $23 million with no income tax.
The attitude of tycoons towards the competition was either to try to buy them out or run them out of business. In horizontal integration, companies would buy their competition and they would merge as one company. Alternatively, there was vertical integration, in which the companies would buy out their suppliers and thus be in charge of transportation and raw materials, which would make it much harder for their competition to get supplies. The policy seems to have been a "join or die" type of thing.