Cites: the Splendid and the Gross.

So now that we've talked about immigrants flocking to he the country, where did most of them live and work?

During the late 19th century America had experienced whats known as urbanization. This meant that people who lived in the cities lived different from the life of a farmer. They had schedules, rode trolley cars, paid rent to live in apartments, and fun stuff like that.

So what did this change do to cities? Well, first skyscrapers. These were super tall buildings, because in the city there may not have been space to move around, but they could always go up. 

Mass transit was also a thing that came out of this. Mass transit was a public system, a large number of people could ride without lots of expense. So we had street cars & subways making their debut during this time.

But as usual, there were some problems with the growing cities.

Tenements were low cost, multifamily housing designed to squeeze as many families and possible into them. So with all the immigrants moving in, guess where they went? 

There were a lot of people crammed into these tenements.

Also, we had water and sanitation problems. Cities were gross and the streets were often unpaved and there were even dead horses in the streets. I wish I were joking, but I'm not. Alleys between the tenements were littered with trash and waste. This is like a horror movie.

And along with everything else there were fires, crime, and conflict, oh my! 

One of the biggest examples of the fire can be seen in the history of Chicago. In 1871 a fire rushed through and destroyed Chicago killing 200-300 people and leaving 100,000 people homeless. 

That's a lot.

The Immigrant Experience

Coming to America was a big thing.

They needed money, and things that they couldn't live with out. Those things were usually some clothing, a picture of Grandma, and a musical instrument. We're talking very minimum luggage.

The first stop for would be Americans were places like Ellis Island In New York City or Angel Island in San Francisco. They had to prove they had money, were healthy, and had a skill to get in. 

Once they did that they entered the United States and would begin their life in a new place.

They of course had to do a few things in order for the lives to work out. 

They had to learn a new language.

They also had to find work and housing. 

Most of the new immigrants stayed in the city because it was close to the factories and other industrial jobs. 

They formed close knit little neighborhoods that would take some of the stuff they found helpful and became places like Little Italy and Chinatown. 

Of course...they were problems.

A big problem was Protestants were leery of Catholics, because Catholics have secrets?

Some Americans (Protestant white people) signed restrictive contracts agreeing not to rent or sell to Catholics, Jews or African Americans. When it came to jobs it was just as hard for the Catholics, Jews, and African Americans.

Despite opposition, things transformed in America.

It became the "melting pot" of society. The blending of so many cultures and lives is what has made America America.

This might be a Neil Diamond song...

Because, "everywhere around the world, they're coming to America!"



Immigration is the cornerstone of American life, if you're reading this, you most likely descended from immigrants, its how the U.S. rolls.


In the 1840s and 50s it was Germans and Irish Catholics.

In the 1870s it was the Protestants from northern and western Europe.


Then in the 1870s there was a group known as "new immigrants.

Ladies and gentlemen....a brand new shiny immigrant!

 

So who were these new immigrants? They were often unskilled, poor, Catholic, and Jewish. They came from Italy, Greece, Poland, Hungary, and Russia.

By 1900 immigrants fromm Southern and Eastern Europe made up more than 70% of all immigrants.

That's a lot.

Many native born Americans felt threatened by these new people with their weird-o cultures.