Immigration & Urbanization

The Causes and Effects

Immigration and Migration

• Poverty, Persecution cause millions of people to leave Europe, Japan, China, Mexico, and the Caribbean– Jews leave Europe b/c of pogroms-

religious persecution

• Immigrants are forced to adapt to new language and new culture– Hull house helps w/ assimilation

Immigration and Migration

• Changes in agriculture cause people to migrate from rural U.S. to cities in search of work– B/c Inventions, like mechanical reaper,

farms no longer need as many pple to work

• Immigrants face discrimination in their efforts to find jobs and housing– Most live in tenement houses

Urbanization

• Influx of immigrants and migrants cause a population BOOM in cities– Cities can’t keep up with sanitation,

transportation, housing, fire, crime

• City services such as sanitation are stretched to the limit

Urbanization

• Reformers try to fix urban problems through education, training, charity, & political action– Jane Addams- Hull House– Jacob Riis- How the Other Half Lives– Horace Mann- Public Education

Politics

• Political Machines develop to take advantage of the needs of Immigrants and Urban Poor.– b/c uneducated they do not know

that they are being cheated out of tax $$$.

– Cont. to vote for politicians b/c politicians reward them w/ jobs, housing, etc

Politics

• City politicians use fraud and graft to maintain political power– Graft-reward people who help you get

elected– “Boss” Tweed leader of Tammany Hall,

most famous of them all

• Corruption in National Politics results in the call for civil service jobs to be awarded on basis of merit– Pendleton Service Act

• Take test to get job

Politics

• Big business’s growing influence on politics defeats tariff reform that would aid wage earners– Business takes over gov’t politics