Where did the majority of immigrants come to the US from during the Gilded Age?

Events

Key People

• Jane Addams

  Social activist; founded Hull House in 1889 to assist poor Chicago immigrants

• W. E. B. Du Bois

  Black historian and sociologist; lobbied for equal economic and social rights for African Americans

• Booker T. Washington

  President of Tuskegee Institute, the first major black industrial college; believed that economic equality would bring equal rights for blacks

Urbanization

The Gilded Age saw the United States shift from an agricultural to an urban, industrial society, as millions of Americans flocked to cities in the post–Civil War era. Nearly 40 percent of Americans lived in urbanized areas by 1900, as opposed to 20 percent in 1860. Many young people left the countryside in search of new wonders: cities were at the height of modernization for the time, with skyscrapers, electric trolleys, department stores, bridges, bicycles, indoor plumbing, telephones, and electric lamps. Industrialization and the rush to the cities led to the development of consumerism and a middle class.

Mass Immigration

In addition to this major shift from rural to urban areas, a new wave of immigration increased America’s population significantly, especially in major cities. Immigrants came from war-torn regions of southern and eastern Europe, such as Italy, Greece, Poland, Russia, Croatia, and Czechoslovakia. This new group of immigrants was poorer and less educated than the Irish and German immigrants who had made the journey to the United States earlier in the century. By the early twentieth century, more than a million immigrants were entering eastern U.S. cities on a yearly basis. Many immigrants could barely make a living, working as unskilled laborers in factories or packinghouses for low wages.

Nativism

Many nativists—Americans descended primarily from Irish and German immigrants (but not exclusively those groups)—claimed that the newly arriving southern and eastern European immigrants would not be able to assimilate into American society. They saw these immigrants as illiterate and poor, unable to learn English and with little experience living in a democratic society. Many of America’s Protestants also disliked the fact that many of the new immigrants were Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Jewish. Many Anglo-Saxon Americans worried that eastern and southern Europeans would “outbreed” them and take over their once-“pure” race. Many nativists joined the American Protective Association to lobby for immigration restrictions; Congress conceded and eventually barred criminals and the extremely destitute from entry in 1882.

Nativists in the United States reserved special hatred for Chinese immigrants—a group that had worked countless hours of labor at low wages, especially on railroad construction in the West. Unions pressed Congress to pass the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, completely banning Chinese immigration to the United States. Congress did pass the act, and it remained in place until 1943.

Urban Slums

The sudden influx of millions of poor immigrants led to the formation of slums in U.S. cities. These new city dwellers lived in tenement buildings, often with entire families living together in tiny one-room apartments and sharing a single bathroom with other families on the floor. Tenements generally were filthy, poorly ventilated, and poorly lit, making them a hospitable environment for rats and disease.

Jane Addams and Hull House

A social reform movement emerged as a result of these worsening living and working conditions in America’s cities. Foremost among the reformers was Jane Addams, a college-educated woman who founded Hull House in 1889 in one of Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods. Hull House provided counseling, day-care services, and adult education classes to help local immigrants.

Use this primary source imagery to analyze major events in history.

Suggested Sequencing

• Use this Primary Source with The Chinese Exclusion Act Decision Point to allow students to analyze the negative sentiment against Chinese immigrants during the late 1800s. It should also be used with the Industry and Immigration in the Gilded Age Lesson to highlight the way immigrants were regarded and treated during the Gilded Age.

---

Introduction

The late nineteenth century experienced one of the largest mass migrations in history. Millions of immigrants came to the United States from other parts of North America, as well as from Europe and Asia. Immigrants, who settled in the United States primarily for the economic opportunity afforded by industrialization, faced many challenges upon arriving. The influx of so many immigrants changed American culture and presented unique tensions in American society. This led to a debate among native citizens over immigration, citizenship, and the restriction of immigration. Immigrants arriving during the Gilded Age included large numbers of eastern Europeans and Asians. Cartoons from the period reflect differing perspectives on the new wave of immigrants. Some welcomed these men and women as a new source of cheap labor; others viewed these newcomers with suspicion. Look carefully at the images before answering the questions. It may be helpful to zoom in on the cartoons to study the detail in each.

Sourcing Questions

1. What were the major events in the country at the time these cartoons were published?
2. How were the immigrants regarded by American-born workers? How did many factory owners regard the influx of immigrants in the Gilded Age?

---

Figure 1: The caption reads: “The Anti-Chinese wall—The American wall goes up as the Chinese original goes down.” This cartoon shows stereotypes of laborers who include Irishmen, an African American, a Civil War veteran, an Italian, a Frenchman, and a Jew, all building a wall against the Chinese. The mortar used to mount the blocks is labeled “congressional mortar.” The blocks carried by each laborer are labeled prejudice, nonreciprocity, law against race, fear, and so forth. Across the sea, a ship flying the American flag enters China, as the Chinese knock down their own wall and permit trade with the United States.

Figure 2: The man standing at the edge of the bowl holds a knife and flag that reads “Clan na Gael.” Clan na Gael was an organization that desired Irish independence and used violence to fight British oppression. Until the formal establishment of the Irish free state in 1922, Ireland was controlled by the British empire.

Figure 3: Stereotyped Jewish immigrant is carrying bags that read “poverty,” “disease,” “sabbath desecration,” “anarchy,” and “superstition” as he attempts to enter the United States through a gate that reads “United States of America. Admittance Free. Walk in!”

---

Comprehension Questions

1. (Figure 1) Based on this image, what was the prevailing view of the Chinese at the time this cartoon was created?
2. (Figure 1) Does the artist support this view? Explain.
3. (Figure 2) Based on this depiction of the Irishman, what was the artist’s opinion of the Irish people?
4. (Figure 2) What additional image in this cartoon supports the artist’s view of the Irish?
5. (Figure 1) (Figure 2) Compare this image with the previous cartoon, “The Anti-Chinese Wall” from 1882.
6. (Figure 3) Explain the irony of the sign on the wall and Uncle Sam’s expression.

Historical Reasoning Questions

1. Do these cartoons present immigrants in a positive or negative light? Support your answer with evidence.
2. Evaluate how views of immigration have changed or stayed the same in U.S. history from the founding era to the Gilded Age. What parallels with the modern immigration debate can be identified? Explain.

---

Cartoon 1: http://cdn.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3g00000/3g04000/3g04100/3g04138v.jpg

Cartoon 2: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mortar_of_Assimilation_Citizenship_1889.jpg

Cartoon 3: https://library.osu.edu/dc/concern/generic_works/g733b5968#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&xywh=-4322%2C-101%2C11467%2C4000

Where did most immigrants come from during the Gilded Age?

Who immigrated to America in the Gilded Age?

Why did immigrants come to the US during the Gilded Age?

Where did most of the immigrants to the United States come from?