6.

8
Many of the new immigrants came from Southern and Eastern Europe, rather than the North
and East; Italians, Greeks, Croats, Russians, Poles, and Slovaks were the majority of the
arrivals, but were poor and illiterate, and in religion ranged from Russian Orthodox and Jewish
to Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic. Ellis Island received the majority of the new
immigrants, who then would branch out and populate the nation’s urban areas as unskilled
laborers. African Americans began to gravitate towards urban areas as well.
Angel Island in San Francisco served as port for incoming Chinese immigrants, who were
required to prove that they met the stipulations of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Due to the high
levels of immigrants, cities became highly populated. Another cause of growing cities was the
cheaper production of steel, new transportation means, and the introduction of elevators. With
the improvement of transportation, middle class and wealthy Americans could live a ways
outside the city and come in for business or entertainment.

6.9
Social Darwinism influenced many Americans in the idea that those who were on top
deserved to be there, as survival of the fittest. Assimilation was viewed as necessary in
regards to the immigrants. Settlement houses, like Jane Addams’ Hull House, helped
immigrants with their transition and to assimilate by offering English classes and assistance
with employment. Many immigrants developed ethnic enclaves to keep their culture and
ethnic identity. Many immigrants were crammed into slums and tenement apartments, and to
modify unlivable conditions, New York City passed an 1870 law requiring at least one window
to be installed in every bedroom. In response, landlords constructed dumbbell tenements,
which rose over seven stories and stuffed thirty 4-room apartments into lots that could be as
small as 25-by-100 feet. Overcrowding and filth in tenements encouraged the spread of
deadly diseases like cholera, typhoid, and tuberculosis. Muckrakers like Jacob Riis and Lewis
Hine tried to being attention to the abhorrent conditions of the tenements and urged urban
reform. Nativists spoke out against the immigrants, and legislations were passed to limit
immigration (Immigration Act of 1882).

6.10
A Middle Class emerged and living standards began improving. Production reached a new
high and prices began to fall. Consumerism became the normal for many Americans. The
growth of corporations created vacancies to be filled, and the middle class stepped up to fill
the roles, which encompassed jobs like clerical work. Employment rates increased, as did
opportunities for education. Americans with more leisure time began to seek entertainment
like bicycling, swimming, Vaudeville shows, and sporting games such as baseball. The
Columbian Exposition was held by America in 1893, and countless tourists traveled to see it
as a showcase of American culture and achievement. The Ferris Wheel, Cracker Jack’s, and
the Frontier Thesis debuted during this time, and the operation of America’s first serial killer -
H.H. Holmes - began there. Newspaper circulation sky-rocketed, as did journalism, and
began to be written in different languages like German and Yiddish for the immigrant
communities.