Peopling & Migrations
Before 1880: The "Old Immigration"
|
After 1880: the "New Immigration"
|
Jacob Riis
An increase of the amount of poor immigrants in America led to a massive increase in the number of slums in America. Jacob Riis was an immigrant from Denmark who became a photojournalist and took photos of the brutal life in a New York City’s slum. His photos showed the truth and that these people were in poverty even though sometimes he posed them in his pictures. Children in New York city were suffering without shelter, food, and education. Jacob Riis believed rescuing these children, America's future leaders, would better the government.
"For, be it remembered, these children with the training they receive--or do not receive-- with the instincts they inherit and absorb growing up, are to be our future rulers, if our theory of government is worth anything."
- Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives
"For, be it remembered, these children with the training they receive--or do not receive-- with the instincts they inherit and absorb growing up, are to be our future rulers, if our theory of government is worth anything."
- Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives
Th e original half (Other Reactions: "go back home!")
- Nativism, or the policy of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants, was a result of New Immigration. Even immigrants from the Old Immigration disliked the new immigrants.
- Nativist organizations emerged with new laws such as the American Protective Association which formed in 1887 against Catholic people voting. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 restricted immigration of all Chinese workers.
moving to cities
- The American population had doubled and the amount of cities had tripled from 1870-1900.
- Cities expanded with trolleys and skyscrapers. New buildings and sites attracted many people to move to cities.
- Cities also had stores, plumbing, lights, and phones to make life easier. This also attracted many people and families.
- Sanitation was much worse in cites than in rural areas.
- There were many jobs in cites and an increase in businesses and industry.
- 68,000 African-Americans moved to northern cities from the south