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Immigration had a tremendous impact on many aspects of American life during this era. According to our textbook, 10 million immigrants came to the United States between 1860 and 1900 and 15 million emigrated from other countries between 1890 and 1920. Immigrants first came from northern and western Europe and later from eastern and southern Europe, as well as, Asia. (Martin p. 607 - 608) Immigration played a major part in the economic growth and expansion of the United States. Many people believed that without immigration, industrialization may never have taken place. Immigrants worked in coal, silver, and gold mines.
They labored in factories, mills, and packinghouses, and they built bridges, canals, and railroads. (p. 609, 614) James Rusling, author of The Chinese in the Far West, wrote that the Central Pacific Railroad would not have been completed had it not been for 10, 000 Chinamen who labored for a dollar a day to build the railroad. (Marcus p. 85) Italians were also recognized for their contribution to the construction of railroad lines by the Industrial Commission in 1905. (p. 609) With the completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, trade with the Far East was increased and the United States was now connected from east to west. Immigration also impacted the growth of cities. By 1900, 40 % of the population lived in cities or towns. Most of this population consisted of immigrants who worked in the factories and mills.
The authors of our textbook stated that the United States had only 9 large cities in 1860, but, by 1920 that number had increased to 68. (p. 616) The population increase created an expanding market for consumer goods (Lecture notes) It also created a huge labor pool. Factory owners viewed immigrants as a bottomless pool of dependable, inexpensive labor. (p. 612) Regarding the woolen mills in California, Rusling wrote that the Chinese labored for almost $ 2. 00 a day less than native-born Americans and displayed great proficiency in their work. (Marcus p. 85) As immigrants poured into the cities, the need for shelter caused the housing industry to flourish. Tenements were built to house the poor immigrants and the first skyscrapers were designed. Technology advanced to relieve some of the problems that existed in the crowded cities. Different kinds of transportation were designed, such as, omnibuses, trolley and cable cars, and elevated railway lines. Even though most immigrants could not afford to use these new forms of transportation, their presence did expedite the growth of mass transportation.
With so many immigrants crowding into cities, other problems developed. Garbage, filth, disease, and unsanitary living conditions went largely unaddressed by the entrepreneurs who built the private cities. Eventually people began to speak out on issues of public health and safety and this led to the growth of the public city. (Martin p. 623) A final area in which the impact of immigration can be seen on American life is in Americas culture. Each ethnic group made their own unique contribution to the culture as a whole.
Art, music, and literature were three of the areas described in our textbook. Writers like Frank Norris and Upton Sinclair abandoned the established genteel form of writing to describe the harsh realities of life in the city. Music took on a new flavor as jazz was born from the union of European and African American music. As immigrants made their homes in the cities, the look of the American landscape changed. American artists began to paint pictures that were never seen before the days of immigration. America was beginning to embrace a culture all its own.
Just as immigration impacted American life, the United States also had an impact on the immigrant. Throughout the readings it is evident that many immigrants suffered gross injustice and exploitation at the hands of industrialists and the government as well as other Americans. Labor was virtually unregulated at the time and factory owners were concerned mainly with making a profit. They showed little regard for the welfare of their workers. Tenements were built to house immigrants under minimal codes and the conditions were deplorable. (p. 621) Americans held fast to the notion that other races were inferior to the white race.
This notion was backed by scholars and scientists alike. Nativism began to grow as native-born Americans and immigrants came face to face in the workplace. Our text states that Americans were resentful and suspicious of the immigrants. They blamed immigrants for depressing wages by working so cheaply. (p. 613) Acts of violence against immigrants were not uncommon.
Immigrants who embraced different religious beliefs were seen as posing a threat to the Anglo-Saxon Protestant religion common in America at this time. Immigrants became a scapegoat for all that was wrong with America. The government shared the same ideas about immigrants as the rest of America. Authors of our textbook wrote that immigration was equated with radicalism and the government saw all immigrants as potential socialists, communists, and anarchists capable of inciting a revolution. (p. 613) America also impacted the immigrant by laws that were enacted. In 1854 a California ruling declared that Asiatics were Indians and therefore could not testify against a white person in a court of law. (Marcus p. 82) Another example is the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 which suspended Chinese immigration for ten years and also limited the rights of Chinese already living in the United States. (p. 614) Although America seemed to impact the immigrants lives very negatively, some who fled severe religious and political persecution found a refuge here in the United States.
Dr. George Price was one such man and to him America was like heaven. (p. 611) Some working-class people were able to attain a standard of living that was acceptable to them. The authors of our textbook wrote that ability to make a living in America had to do with how many people worked in the family, as well as, circumstances surrounding them. Escaping sickness, injuries, strikes and lay-offs increased the immigrants chances of making a decent life for themselves here in America. (p. 560) Bibliography:
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