Tensions in the West
Why did the Plains Indians move to reservations?
They were forced to reservations because of railroads and people coming to take their land. The bison were also exterminated and went extinct.
How were farms changed during the growth of big business?
The use of new machines allowed farmers to help harvest more crops.
What is assimilation? What is its connection to immigrants in America?
Put in another way, they need to give up their first culture and embrace the new culture.
What is the transcontinental railroad?
a railroad that crosses a continent
Which group was most negatively affected by the railroad?
Native Americans
Which group was most responsible for building the transcontinental railroad?
Chinese
What effect did high tariffs on imported goods have on the economy?
It made it so foreign competition decreased.
What was the quota system and how did it impact immigration?
The quota system was put into place in 1921. By 1927, it made it so that only 150,000 immigrants were allowed to come into the U.S per year.
Immigrants from East Asia were completely excluded.
This ended the Great Wave of Immigration.
money or other things of value, such as land, that a government contributes to an enterprise (business) considered to be benefit to the public
What is urbanization?
What was the Homestead Act and what were some of the effects?
Made it so that people who went West could eventually get land for free. It led to an increase in farms and railway lines. It decreased the land the Indians had.
What was a key aspect of industrialization?
The products stopped being made by humans and were made by machines. It allowed goods to be produced more quickly.
Where did many Europeans land when coming to America?
Ellis Island (in New York)
What is mass production?
The use of interchangeable parts and assembly lines to make large quantities of identical goods
What did Thomas Edison invent? How did it help cities?
Thoma Edison made the lightbulb. He also built the first electrical station and distribution system in NY. It provided electricity to homes, stores, and factories.
How did the U.S. Government entice railroad companies to build the transcontinental railroad?
They gave businesses subsidies where they could gain free land for every mile of railroad track they put down.
How did mass production of goods affect life in the U.S.?
-more factories were built
-more people were employed (had jobs)
-products were more affordable (cheaper)
Why did immigrants form ethnic neighborhoods (neighborhoods with people from similar cultures as them?)
They were not easily accepted in other places. It also allowed them to feel closer to home.
What is pogrom?
An organized and violent persecution of a minority group
Short Answer Review:
In your opinion, did the benefits of industrialization outweigh the costs? Give at least two specific reasons covered in chapter 18.
Benefits:
Improved technology (steel, electric, phones, mass production, air transport)
Corporations and businesses grew
Stock market
Cities grew larger, more population to work, grew upward (skyscrapers)
Labor Unions came to help workers/people started to protest and organize
Cons:
Trusts/monopolies controlling an industry/business
Cities were crowded, usually with no heat/water, often dangerous places to live
Working conditions (Triangle Factory example)
Low pay
Crowded
Locked doors
Hot in summer/cold in winter
No fire escapes
How did American Indian thoughts about land differ from others in the United States?
They didn't believe land could be "owned".
What were labor unions and why were they created?
Labor unions were created to represent the interests of workers. They wanted to make the working conditions better.
What were some things the United States could offer immigrants that their home countries could not?
More jobs, opportunities, freedom from persecution for their religion
What is nativism?
An attitude of resentment and superiority toward foreign-born people
Short Answer Review!
Describe one group of immigrants that came to America during The Great Wave. Where were they from, why did they come to America, and what was their life like once they arrived?
Italian Immigrants
Came to escape poverty (many struggled to be farmers and there weren’t many factories in Italy)
Came by ship
Many were “bird of passage” (young men who wanted to earn money and go back home.
Some felt they weren’t better off in U.S. than they were at home. Lived in places like “Little Italy”. They were able to have fun and practice Catholicism.
They were often looked down upon because they were poor and uneducated.
Jewish Immigrants
Fleeing persecution, often from places in Europe like Russia and Germany (other parts of Eastern Europe)
Came through Ellis Island, often moved to New York City’s Lower East Side
They established shops, community centers, and places to worship
Made sure their children attended school since it was public here
Chinese Immigrants
Originally came to seek gold in California; others came to help build the transcontinental railroad
Faced discrimination from whites who pushed Chinese off of their mining claims
1882: Law was passed called Chinese Exclusion Act that banned Chinese immigrants from coming to US and/or the rights to become citizens
Chinese who were born her started to arrange to have their families brought. “Paper relatives” arrived at Angel Island in San Francisco Bay.
Many Chinese started laundries because it didn’t take a lot of money but could be a good business
Many settled in neighborhoods like San Francisco’s Chinatown
Many Chinese immigrants were men. Over time, more women and children started to arrive.
Mexican Immigrants
Came to escape revolutions and civil war
Some crossed borders without passports or money
Welcomed by employers for railroads and large-scale farmers
Agriculture (farming) most popular
They weren’t paid very much and often lived in camps near the fields.
After harvest season, often moved to nearby towns.
Many planned to work and then return to Mexico after the civil war ended