I. Immigrants and the New American City

A. Immigration facts and figures

1. 11 million immigrants entered the US between 1870-1900. During that time period, US Population exploded from 40 million to 79 million.
2. Between 1860-1890, most immigrants were from northern Europe. Of the 10 million that arrived, 3 million were German, 2 million from Great Britain and 1.5 million were Irish. 800,000 French Canadians also moved to New England and nearly one million Scandinavians moved to the upper Midwest. 81 thousand Chinese were present on the West coast.
3. Beginning in the 1890’s, most immigrants were from Southern and Eastern Europe. These new immigrants were mostly Italian, Slaves, Greeks, and Eastern European Jews.
4. In 1890, 4 out of 5 New Yorkers were either foreign born or second-generation immigrants!
5. Push factors for immigrants included overpopulation, crop failure, famine, religious persecution, violence, and industrial depression in their home countries.
6. Pull factors included more job opportunities, personal freedoms as well as abundant and cheaper land
7. Wealthier immigrants from Germany and Scandinavia tended to settler further west, where land was cheaper. Poorer immigrants from Italy and Ireland tended to remain in East Coast cities. Few Immigrants settled in the South.
8. Immigrants tended to cluster not only among people of their country, but more specifically people of their region.
9. Most immigrants were single young men, although single Irish women also came. Immigrants tended to establish themselves in the US until they could afford to bring families.
10. Grueling ocean trips caused immigrants to frequently arrive ill. Immigrants were checked for disease and disabilities. Immigrants with serious infections were returned, some were quarantined upon entry.
11. Major ports of entry were Ellis Island in NY and Angel Island in San Francisco
12. Many immigrants had their names Anglicized upon admittance to the US
13. Large immigrant groups like the German and Irish quickly acquired political clout in cities where they represented a substantial pert of the population. These groups tended to exclude other newcomers from desirable jobs
14. Northern Europeans were unlikely to face racial discrimination. Southern and Eastern Europeans, however were viewed and treated as non-white

B. Urban Life

1. Between 1860 – 1900, American cities grew tremendously. The percentage of urban population increased from 20% to 40%
2. By 1890, Philly, NY, and Chicago had over 1 million residents and West Coast cities like San Francisco, Seattle and LA grew exponentially
3. New residents included not only immigrants but also Americans migrating away from rural areas in search of better wages and more job opportunities
4. A leading group of American migrants were young farm women, particularly in the Northeast
5. Class distinctions were quite apparent in cities. Most immigrants lived in squalid tenement row houses closer to the center while wealthier inhabitants tended to live in large houses on the outskirts. Fashionable suburbs began during this period.
6. Immigrants and minorities tended to live in clustered neighborhoods. While this was mostly by choice, some immigrant groups and minorities were purposefully segregated into ghettos. These tended to be noisy and dirty
7. As transportation systems improved (trolleys and trains) cities began to sprawl and develop more suburbs
8. Spatial separation along with divergent living conditions for rich and poor led to greater ethnic racial cultural and class divisions