Chapter 16 Politics Immigration and Urban Life 1870

Chapter 16 Politics, Immigration, and Urban Life: 1870 -1915

Chapter 16 Ø Section 1, “Politics in the Gilded Age” Ø Section 2, “People on the Move” Ø Section 3, “The Challenge of the Cities” Ø Section 4, “Ideas for Reform”

The Gilded Age • Coined by Mark Twain. • Gilded – “covered in a thin layer of gold”. – Means a thin but glittering layer of prosperity covered the poverty and corruption of much of society. • Golden time for industrialists. – So much that it covered: • The immigrants poverty • Abuse of power in business and gov’t.

The Gilded Age: Vocab • Subsidy- a payment made by the gov’t to encourage the development of a key industry – Example: Railroad • Blue laws- regulations that prohibit certain private activities (no alcohol on Sundays). • Civil Service- non-elected gov’t workers(those appointed to positions). • Pendleton Civil Service Act- ended the Spoils System in 1883 after Garfield was assassinated by a disgruntled office seeker. • Laissez-faire – gov’t is hands off with business.

Popular Issues • The Spoils System was beginning to become a problem, as many became aware of how encompassing it had become. It became a point of pride for President Hayes, who shunned patronage when he was elected, and appointed a qualified cabinet. • Railroad regulation was important to many, as many felt they were being gouged by the companies. • Munn vs. Illinois – Allowed states to regulate some businesses within their borders. • The Interstate Commerce Act (1887) – Passed to make sure rates were fair and applied equitably. – Didn’t work too well.

Politics • Republicans favored: – Money backed by gold – High tariffs – Large pensions for Union Soldiers – Railroad Aid – Immigration Limits – Enforcement of Blue Laws – Waving “the bloody shirt” • Democrats favored: – Money backed by Silver – Low tariffs – Higher farm prices – Less government aid to big businesses – Fewer Blue Laws

Politics in the Gilded Age • Rutherford B. Hayes (1876 -1880) – Does not honor the Spoils system • Doesn’t run again b/c of this. • James A. Garfield, Republican candidate (1880 -1) – VP: Chester A. Arthur (got jobs thru s. s. before) – July 2, 1881 – shot by Charles Guiteau who wanted a job thru the spoils system. • Showed America the spoils system NEEDED to be reformed. • Chester A. Arthur (1881 -84) – Ends spoils system officially thru the Pendleton Civil Service Act.

Election of 1880

Garfield’s Assassination

Cleveland’s Victory (1884 -88) • Ran against R – James Blaine. • Supported by Republican “mugwumps” – Those who didn’t like the spoils system. • During campaign it was discovered he had fathered a child while single. – Republicans said, “Ma, where’s my Paw? ” – Democrats said, “Going to the White House, ha, ha!” • Grover Cleveland was elected in 1884 – 1 st Democrat Pres in almost 30 years. • His moderate policies appealed to supporters from both parties. • Supported low tariffs, took back 80 million acres from RR, and favorite tight money control.

1884 Presidential Election

The Tariff of 1888 • After the Civil War, Congress raised tariffs to protect new US industries. • Big business wanted to continue this; consumers did not. • 1885 tariffs earned the US $100 mil. in surplus! • Tariffs became a major issue in the 1888 presidential election.

Benjamin Harrison 1889 -1893 • • Republican who beat Democratic Cleveland. • Signed the Sherman Antitrust Act. • Increased tariffs, helped the rich! • Used Federal funds to pay pensions to families of Union Soldiers. • Hurt the economy with excess spending.

The Election of 1888

Cleveland Again 1893 -1897 (Not well liked this time) • Panic of 1893. – Worst in US History, people lost jobs, wages slashed… gov’t is laissez-faire. – He defends the gold standard! • Jacob Coxey has a march on Washington to demand the gov’t create jobs for the unemployed. • Used federal troops to put down the Pullman Strike • Plessy v. Ferguson: “Separate But Equal” legislation that upheld the Jim Crow laws of the South. (would not change until 1954 with Brown v. Board of Education. • Doesn’t get parties’ nomination again.

William Mc. Kinley – 1897 -1901 • Beat W. J. Bryan and Populist Party! • Helped Republican’s status by bringing economy out of Harrison’s recession. • President during the Spanish -American War. • “Open Door Policy” with China. • Assassinated by a mentally ill anarchist, shortly after being elected to his second term.

Immigration • Religious Persecution, Economic strife, and the promise of a better life in America brought millions of European immigrants to the country in the late 1800’s. – B/t 1865 -1920, over 30 million people came to USA. • The population doubled!!! • Many Europeans were either sent home or quarantined when they arrived due to illness or disease. • Families were often separated when a parent was determined to be afflicted with an illness.

The Journey • With new steamships, journey was one week. • Most stayed in STEERAGE. – Large open area beneath ship’s deck. – Limited toilets, no privacy, poor food. – Cheap fare. • From Europe? – Came to Ellis Island on East Coast, “The Golden Door. ” (NY) • From Asia? – Came to Angel Island on West Coast. • Most used to be from Germ, GB. – Now, they were from Eastern Europe and the Middle East. • Russia, Italy, Greece.

Immigrants from Europe • 1892, US Gov’t opened Ellis Island, with Statue of Liberty, to immigrants. – Seen as a symbol of the US as a place of refuge and hope. • All immigrants had to have a physical. – If they had a contagious disease, went into quarantine. • Could be deported, like those with trachoma (eyes). • Criminals waited on ports to trick immigrants out of money with fake jobs/lodging. • Went and settled in areas where previous settlers of their homeland were. – Mostly in port of entry, only 2% went south. • Found jobs with less than average wages.

The Statue of Liberty “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse your teaming shore. Send these, the homeless tempest tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden shore. ”

Immigration • On the West Coast, Asian immigrants found America less tolerant than the east coast. Cultural differences made Asians the target of suspicion and hostility. • Discrimination caused Chinese immigrants to settle together (Chinatown, etc…). • Labor Unions excluded the Chinese, as they drove wages down, and eventually, even the government discriminated, passing the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882.

Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. • In 1882, the U. S. slammed the door shut on Chinese immigration for ten years. • It banned entry to all Chinese except students, teachers, merchants, tourists, and gov’t officials. • This ban was not repealed until 1943.

Japanese Immigration • The Japanese were also • The Japanese government became angry with discriminated against. reports of discrimination, The Anti-Asian bias and in response, caused San Francisco to Roosevelt negotiated a segregate their school Gentleman’s Agreement system, forcing with Japanese officials, in Chinese, Japanese and which segregation was Korean children to ended in exchange for attend a separate school. fewer issued passports. • 1913, Cali passed the Webb Alien Land Law, which banned Asians from owning farmland.

Immigrants from Mexico • 1902, Newlands National Reclamation Act – Promoted irrigation of southwestern lands. – Irrigation turned desert into arable farmland. • This meant new jobs! • More than 100, 000 Mexicans headed north b/t 1900 and 1910. • During WWI, about 1 million (10% of Mexico) came to the US. • 1921, Immigration Restriction Act, stopped more immigrants from Europe and Asia… so many more came from Mexico. • By 1925 Los Angeles had the largest Spanish-speaking population in North America, outside of Mexico.

The Growing Cities Not only were immigrants moving to the cities, Americans were migrating to the cities to escape the economic problems facing farmers.

Growing Cities • The percentage of America’s population living on farms fell from 72% to 54%. • Technological advances reduced the need for farm labor. • Racial discrimination drove many African Americans out of the South. • The influx of people forced new construction, especially subways and skyscrapers.

Vocabulary • Suburbs- residential communities surrounding the cities. • Tenements- low cost apartment buildings designed to house as many families as the owner could possibly pack in. • Ghettos- areas where one ethnic or racial group dominates. • Restrictive Covenants- agreements between homeowners or building owners not to sell their property to certain groups of people.

Suburban Growth • Motorized • transportation speeded the growth of the suburbs. • Cable cars, trolleys, subways, and horsedrawn rail cars allowed many to live outside the cities. 1887 -1888 -15 th & Curtis. Trolley cars from horse car to 1 st electric car in Denver

Suburban Growth © Steel Girders allowed the construction of high-rise buildings, and the elevator also contributed to many living in tall buildings. © N. Y. Tribune Building, 1873 -75

The large cities faced many problems, such as: • Disease, filth and fire. • Disease spread quickly, as a large number of people lived in a small area with very few ways to stay clean. – Epidemics – yellow fever, malaria, tuberculosis. • Fires started and spread easily due to the proximity of the buildings, as well as wooden streets, and large amounts of garbage. • The Great Chicago fire of 1871 claimed 18, 000 buildings and left over 100, 000 homeless. – Caused damage of over $2 billion in today’s standards.

The Great Chicago Fire The Rush for Life Over the Randolph Street Bridge, 1871 (Harper's Weekly, from a sketch by John R. Chapin)

Jacob Riis • Came to America at age 21, lived in NY. • Became a police reporter. • Allowed him to see realities of city life. • Wrote, “How the Other Half Lives. ” – Exposed horrors of tenement life to a shocked American public. – Included actual pictures! • Influenced NY to pass first meaningful laws to improve tenements.

An immigrant family trying to make it.

Women’s Lodging

The Result of City Growth • In the late 1800’s middle and upper class began to move to the suburbs. • The reason for this move was middle and upper class were trying to avoid and exclude themselves from the urban problems. • This resulted in the gap of well-to-do and the poor.

Cont. City Growth • Political Divisions – Rapid urban growth put pressure on city officials to improve police, fire protection, transportation system, and any other forms of protection and services. – For this improved plan to work officials had to raise taxes. • Problems this caused – Increased revenue and responsibilities gave city governments more power. – Competition grew stronger and there was a deeper separation with the upper middle class and lower class/immigrants.

Cont. City Growth • The rise of Political Bosses – Out of these clashing interest, the political machine was born. – This is a unofficial city organization designed to keep a particular party or group in power and usually headed up by a single, powerful”boss. ” • How does this political machine work? – Political machines work through the exchange of favors. Example: Machines are used by ward leaders, each of whom managed a city district, to hand out city jobs and contracts to residents – in return those residents supported the machine candidates on election day.

Political Machines • Many people attributed the success of political machines on the large number of urban immigrants. • They charged that immigrants were being taken advantage of due to the lack of education and experience. • Immigrants would still select these machines because they would help the poor when others would not.

Cont. Political Machines • After a while people who wanted or needed a favor from the city could get it by paying some money to the machine. • Graft – the use of one’s job to gain profit, was a major source of income for the machines.

William Tweed • William Tweed was the corrupt boss of Tammany Hall, who used false receipts and bills to illegally plunder the New York city Treasury. • He was eventually exposed by a political cartoonist, Thomas Nast, and was convicted and sent to prison, although Tammany Hall dominated the political arena for another half century.

Section Four: Ideas for Reform • Many blamed city problems on immigration, and thus sought control over immigrants. • Some tried to control immigration, others the behavior of the immigrants. • Nativism- favoring native-born citizens over foreigners. • The nativists were angry that many employers recruited immigrant workers so they could pay lower wages.

Definitions • Temperance Movement – movement to restrict alcohol consumption. • Prohibition – a ban on the manufacture and sale of alcoholic products. • Vice – immoral or corrupt behavior. • Social Gospel Movement – sought to apply the teachings of religion to society. • Settlement House – a kind of community center where social services were offered.

Improvement in Urban Poor • The social reforms and settlement houses drastically improved the state of the urban poor during the early 1900’s. • Most settlement houses were staffed by volunteers, and they performed invaluable tasks, such as watching immigrant children so that their parents could work.

Hull House in Chicago • Hull House was opened by Miss Jane Addams in 1889 in the Charles Hull mansion. • Aided by Ellen Gates Starr, Miss Addams helped hundreds of Chicago immigrants and others gain a place of self-respect in society. • Had cultural events, classes, display exhibits of foreign (home for many) arts/crafts, child care, playgrounds, etc.