Growth of Cities
What is urbanization?
Growth of Cities/ people moving from rural areas to urban areas.
What was Ellis Island?
an immigrant processing center located on an island off the coast of New York City. Here, immigrants had their paperwork checked and had health screenings.
What is immigration?
Entering into a new country after leaving another country [to live permanently]
What is nativism?
The belief that the dominant/main culture (American culture) is better than the culture of immigrants
True or false: I had a relative that sailed on the Titanic.
False - she was supposed to, but did not end up traveling on the ship.
How did cities deal with lack of space?
They built upward/starting building tall buildings or skyscrapers.
True or False: Immigrant ships went directly to Ellis Island after departing Europe.
False - they went to piers on the West Side of Manhattan first.
What is emigration?
exiting a country to then enter into a new country [to live permanently]
Why did some Americans have/hold nativist beliefs?
Nativists feared immigrants and felt that they were changing society negatively
True or false: People lived on Ellis Island.
True - some workers lived there and immigrants sometimes had to spend the night there temporarily. They also could have been hospitalized there or detained there before possible deportation.
Describe at least 2 issues that people would deal with living in a tenement apartment.
-dark and small rooms
3-4 or more lived in each room
-several families would have to share toilet
-slum-like conditions (poor, run-down)
What was steerage?
The bottom quarters/parts of immigrant ships. They were noisy, crowded, and housed the poorest immigrants. These were the cheapest parts of the boats as well.
What are 3 examples of a push factor?
-war
-racism
-discrimination
-poverty
-dictatorship/scary leadership
-diseases/health issues
-violence
-lack of jobs
-limited opportunities
-lack of resources like water etc.
-natural disasters
-lack of rights
-lack of religious freedom/persecution
-lack of freedom
What did the Chinese Exclusion Act state?
10 year ban on Chinese laborers (who were the most common Chinese coming from China)
-they extended it to another 10 years in 1892 and made it permanent in 1902
What country was the immigrant Seymour from? [we read about his story].
Poland
What was Jacob Riis known for?
he was a photographer that photographed immigrant neighborhoods and housing in order to inspire change.
Where was Angel Island located?
on the West Coast off the coast of San Francisco, California.
What is assimilation?
trying to fit in/blend into the dominant/mainstream culture [think of trying to be SIMILAR]
Why did many Americans support the Chinese Exclusion Act?
They didn't like Chinese immigrants.
Why were names sometimes changed at Ellis Island?
When having paperwork checks, the processors didn't know how to spell names and sometimes people couldn't spell their own names. The processors would write down their "best guess."
How did some cities deal with the problem of crime during this period of peak immigration?
-YMCA & YWCA to give kids a place to go and get them off the streets
-Hull House and other settlement houses offer education
-cities grow their public safety workers/departments such as police
Give 2 examples of "New" Immigrant groups making the journey to America during this peak period of immigration.
Mexicans
-Caribbeans
-Italians
-Russians
-Polish
-Middle Easterners
-Ukrainians
-Spain
Greece
Ottoman Empire (later Turkey)
(Southern and Eastern Europe)
What is a refugee?
A refugee is someone who has been forced to leave their home country due to unsafe conditions, such as: War, Violence, Persecution, Natural disasters, and Environmental change.
What was the Gentlemen's Agreement?
U.S. will take care of current Japanese Immigrants in the U.S. if Japan agrees to stop sending more immigrants from Japan
What street is the Tenement Museum located on today in NYC?
Orchard Street.