• OLD IMMIGRATION—Western Europe prior to 1890• Through the Golden Door: NEW IMMIGRATION (Eastern European, Asian,

and Mexican)• When? 1890S• How did they get here? STEAMSHIP (Atlantic 1 week v. Pacific 3 weeks)

Origins Eastern Europe Japanese and Chinese

West Indies and Mexico

WHY?? Religious persecution and Lack of land

Independence

Wanted to see fortune in gold and Jobs

Lack of jobs and political turmoil

Where East Coast (mostly Ellis Island)

West Coast (mostly Angel Island)

South and West

ARRIVAL: Ellis Island, NYC Harbor: Immigration Processing Center

• New arrivals were taken by ferry to the main building at Ellis Island. Opened in 1892, the first immigrant to arrive was a 15-year-old girl from Ireland named Annie Moore to join her parents in New York City.

Baggage

Immigrants entered the main building through its ground floor baggage room. They left their trunks, suitcases and baskets here until they were finished. Immigrants with only a few belongings carried their things as they climbed the stairs to the Great Hall for medical and legal examinations.

6 Second Medical Exam

• The first test the immigrants had to pass became known as the "six second medical exam." As the immigrants climbed the stairs to the Great Hall, doctors stood at the top and watched. They were looking for anyone having difficulty coming up the steps. If a medical problem or disability was suspected, one of seventeen different chalk marks was put on the person's clothing. They were then sent for a full physical examination. If they weren't marked, they went on to wait in the Great Hall.

Medical Exam

• By 1917, complete medical exams were required for every immigrant. The main purpose of these exams was to find persons with contagious diseases or conditions that would make them unable to work. If their problem was curable, immigrants were sent to the island's hospital. If it was not, the steamship company that brought them would have to pay to send them back.

The Great Hall

• The Great Hall was the large waiting room of Ellis Island. Immigrants waited here for their interviews with legal inspectors after finishing their medical exams. At best, the entire process through Ellis Island took three to five hours. But sometimes problems came up, like family members waiting for a relative to be treated in the hospital ward. Some families stayed for days on Ellis Island, others for weeks, and still others for months.

Legal Inspection

• After passing the medical exams, immigrants had to prove they could legally come into America. They had to prove their country of origin and where they expected to live and work once they entered the country. Inspectors rejected any immigrant with a criminal record or those suspected of being indentured servants. By 1921, immigrants had to pass a literacy test and show a passport and visa

•

Money Exchange

• In the money exchange area immigrants exchanged the money of their homeland for dollars, and purchased any train tickets they needed. Laws passed in 1909 required each immigrant to have at least 20 dollars before they were allowed to enter America.

Exit: at the Kissing Post

• Just beyond the money exchange was the exit from Ellis Island. Staff members referred to this spot as the kissing post because of all the emotional reunions that were witnessed there. Two thirds of the new Americans then boarded a ferry to New Jersey, where the next leg of their American journey would begin. The remaining third took the ferryboat to Manhattan to begin their new life in New York City, only one mile away.

Immigrants Arrive

• Angel Island, San Francisco harbor: harsh conditions• Ellis Island, New York city harbor• Culture Shock: faced with finding a job, finding a place to

live, language and cultural barriers. • In result ethnic neighborhoods develop and even today still

exist in most major cities. Chinatown, Little Italy, etc.• Melting Pot: idea that refers to a blending of cultures• Natvisim (began with Know-Nothings): Americans feel

threatened by immigrants and favor native born citizens. Results in the Chinese Exclusion Act which bans immigration of Chinese into the United States.

• Americanization (assimilation): idea of adopting the American life style and culture

• Cultural Pluralism —adopting the American culture while maintaining unique ethnic identity.

Challenges

• Strange new place

• Separation of families

• Find Housing

• Find Employment

• Language barriers

• Completely new life

Urban Growth• Urbanization: growth of cities• 1/12 in 1840 1/3 in 1900 due to immigrant

settlement• Results: decline in farming, closing of the frontier,

industrialization, and new cultural opportunities• Unlimited workforce• Cultural opportunities

Urban Problems• Poor housing: cramped

conditions, poor sanitiation, overcrowded, people lived in row houses or tenements

• Transportation: how to deal with large number of people mass transit begins to develop

• Influx of people + lack of police = increased crime

• Few city services like water, electricity, fire departments, sewer…

Water• How do cities provide drinking water?

• Public works must be built to meet demand

• Few have indoor plumbing, instead they have to take pails out to the street to get water

• Access to safe drinking water is limited

Sanitation• As cities grow, so

does the challenge of keeping them clean

• Horse manure, garbage, and sewage flow in open gutters in the street

• Disease is prevalent• Tenements and the

such were likewise very unsanitary—poor lighting, very dirty, limited ventilation...etc.

Danger

• Crime: pickpockets and thieves flourish, police departments are too small to have any real impact

• Fire: limited water = spread of fire easily• Most cities were packed with wood dwellings• Use of kerosene = fire hazard• First paid fire department didn’t develop until

1853 in Ohio• Eventually buildings will be replaced with brick,

stone, steel, and concrete

GREAT FIRES

• Chicago fire of 1871: burned for over 24 hours, 300 people died, 100,000 were left homeless, and 3 square miles of the city is destroyed

GREAT FIRES• San Francisco

Earthquake: lasted for 28 seconds, fire resulted which burned for 4 days, 1,000 die, 200,000 are left homeless, 5 miles of city is destroyed

Urban Problems = Reform

• Social Gospel movement: preached salvation through service to the poor = organizations like Salvation Army

• Reformer: Jacob Riis “How the Other Half Lives” book about poor living conditions in the slums

“How the Other Half Lives”

• Long ago it was said "one half of the world does not know how the other half lives." That was true then. It did not know because it did not care. The half that was on top cared little for the struggles, and less for the fate of those who were underneath, so long as it was able to hold them there and keep its own seat.

• Life in the tenements in July and August spells death to an army of little ones whom the doctor's skill is powerless to save. . . .

Settlement Houses emerge: community centers in slum neighborhoods ran mostly by middle class white women providing educational assistance and

other services.Movement founded by Jane Addams—1st settlement house is Hull House in

Chicago

Activity• Complete matching vocabulary activity• Write a letter to a family member:

1. telling them of your experience coming to America (where from (Europe) and why did you come, how did you get here, etc.) 2-3 sentences

2. briefly describe the process you underwent at Ellis Island 2-3 sentences

3. detail the challenges you faced once you were admitted to the United States and what life was like in the city. 5-6 sentences

Activity• Complete matching vocabulary activity• Write a letter to a family member:

1. telling them of your experience coming to America (where from (Europe) and why did you come, how did you get here, etc.) 2-3 sentences

2. briefly describe the process you underwent at Ellis Island 2-3 sentences

3. detail the challenges you faced once you were admitted to the United States and what life was like in the city. 5-6 sentences