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10 - Immigration, Urbanization and Reform (All)

Terms in this set (123)

Push Factors
Reasons to leave a place. In the time of the New Immigrants these included religious persecution, war, famine and poverty.
Pull Factors
Reasons to come to a place. In the time of the New Immigrants these included jobs, religious freedom, education and land.
New Immigrants
The name for the immigrants who arrived in the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They were different from the "Old Immigrants" in that they were often from Southern and Eastern Europe, were Catholic, Orthodox Christian or Jewish instead of Protestant. Unlike earlier groups of immigrants, they were also often poor and uneducated with few skills.
Ellis Island
Major immigration station in New York Harbor.
Angel Island
Major immigration station in San Francisco Harbor.
Ethnic Neighborhoods
Areas in major cities where groups of immigrants concentrated. They usually had restaurants, grocery stores, newspapers, support organizations and churches that served the neighborhood's immigrant population.
Nativism
A belief that people born in the United States are superior to immigrants.
Josiah Strong
A leading nativist in the late 1800s. He disliked the New Immigrants and argued for literacy tests. He eventually helped end the waves of immigration that characterized the turn of the century.
Chinese Exclusion Act
Law passed in 1882 ending immigration from China and preventing Chinese immigrants already in the United States from applying for citizenship.
Statue of Liberty
Symbol of the pull factors that attracted the New Immigrants. It stands on an island in New York Harbor.
Melting Pot
The idea that America is made up of a blending of many diverse cultural influences.
Urbanization
The process of developing cities.
Mass Transit
Any form of transportation in cities designed to move many people. These include busses, subways, trolley cars and elevated trains.
Omnibus
A forerunner to the modern city bus. It was a carriage that ran on railroad tracks that was pulled by horses.
Electric Trolley
A form of streetcar that was powered by overhead electrical wires.
Elevated Train
Similar to a subway, these trains ran on tracks built on bridges above city streets. The most famous is in Chicago and nicknamed the "L."
Subway
A form of mass transit that has trains running in tunnels underground. The first in the United States was in Boston, but the most famous is in New York City.
Suburbs
Cities built around a larger city. These developed because mass transit made it possible to live far from where a person worked.
Skyscraper
Tall buildings in cities. They made it possible for many more people to live and work in a smaller area.
Elisha Otis
Inventor of a safe electric elevator. His invention made skyscrapers possible.
Thomas Edison
Prolific American inventor. His creations included the electric lightbulb, phonograph (record player) and movie camera.
Nikola Tesla
Electrical engineer and inventor who developed alternating current that powers all of our electrical systems today.
Alexander Graham Bell
Inventor of the telephone and founder of the various Bell Telephone Companies.
Tenement
Public housing designed to provide inexpensive places to live in cities. Designed by James Ware, they were usually overcrowded, dirty, and places where disease was common.
Cholera
A disease common in major cities at the turn of the century caused by drinking polluted water. Sewer systems helped eliminate the disease.
Yellow Fever
A disease common in major cities at the turn of the century caused by the bite of mosquitos who bred in puddles of standing water. Paved streets and sewer systems reduced both the mosquitos and the disease.
Tuberculosis
A lung disease that spread in overcrowded cities at the turn of the century.
Sewer Systems
Major public works at the turn of the century designed to clean wastewater and provide clean drinking water.
City Beautiful Movement
A movement at the turn of the century to build parks in major cities. It was driven by the idea that humans should not live in an environment built of stone and concrete. Frederick Law Olmstead who designed Central Park in New York City was the most famous proponent of this idea.
Frederick Law Olmsted
Champion of the City Beautiful Movement and designer of many famous city parks including Central Park in New York City.
Central Park
Famous park in Manhattan in New York City designed by Frederick Law Olmstead.
Vaudeville
A form of entertainment popular in the early 1900s. It featured groups of travelling performers who put on played music, acted, or performed magic and similar acts. This form of entertainment died out as movies became popular.
Harry Houdini
Famous vaudeville magician.
Journalist
A person who researches, interviews and then writes stories for newspapers, magazines, radio, television, or online publications.
Linotype Machine
An 1883 invention that allowed for fast printing of newspapers. It helped lead to a boom in newspaper publishing at the turn of the century.
Dorothea Dix
Turn of the century social reformer and journalist. She invented the advice column for newspapers.
Human Interest Story
A type of news story that focused on emotional stories rather than breaking news.
Yellow Journalism
A style of newspaper writing pioneered by Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst at the turn of the century featuring bold headlines, images and sensational stories designed to capture readers' attention and sell papers. This style is generally credited with inflaming public opinion in the lead up to the Spanish-American War.
Joseph Pulitzer
American newspaper publisher who helped pioneer the style of yellow journalism. His primary rival was William Randolph Hearst.
William Randolph Hearst
American newspaper publisher who helped pioneer the style of yellow journalism. His primary rival was Joseph Pulitzer.
Pulitzer Prize
An annual award for excellence in journalism, ironically named after one of the trade's most notorious promoters of the yellow press.
Muckraker
A journalist at the turn of the century who research and published stories and books uncovering political or business scandal. The term was coined by President Theodore Roosevelt.
Lincoln Steffens
Muckraker and author of The Same of the Cities about corruption in city governments.
The Shame of the Cities
Lincoln Steffens' book about corruption in major American cities at the turn of the century.
Ida Tarbell
Muckraker and author of a tell-all book about John D. Rockefeller and the rise of Standard Oil.
Jacob Riis
Muckraker, photographer and author of the book How the Other Half Lives about the life in city slums.
How the Other Half Lives
Jacob Riis's book of photographs about life in city slums at the turn of the century.
Nellie Bly
Muckraker who wrote about corruption in New York government and business and traveled around the world in 72 days.
Upton Sinclair
Muckraker and author of The Jungle about working and sanitary conditions in meat packing plants in Chicago at the turn of the century.
The Jungle
Upton Sinclair's book about working and sanitary conditions in meat packing plants in Chicago at the turn of the century.
Pure Food and Drug Act
Law passed in 1906 providing public inspection of food and pharmaceutical production. It was inspired in part by Upton Sinclair's book The Jungle.
Meat Inspection Act
Law passed in 1906 providing regulation of the meat industry. It was inspired in part by Upton Sinclair's book The Jungle.
Food and Drug Administration
Organization in the federal government charged with monitoring the food and pharmaceutical industries.
Puck
Weekly magazine popular at the turn of the century. It was originally published in St. Louis in German.
McClure's
Weekly magazine popular at the turn of the century that featured literature by famous authors and ran the work of muckrakers including Ida Tarbell's expose of Standard Oil.
Collier's
Weekly magazine popular at the turn of the century. It ran numerous stories by muckrakers including The Great American Fraud which exposed abuses in the pharmaceutical industry.
The Saturday Evening Post
Weekly magazine popular at the turn of the century and well into the 1950s. It featured paintings on the cover depicting scenes of daily life, most notably by the artist Norman Rockwell.
Patrons of Husbandry/Grange
Organization of farmers in the late 1800s who, suffering from high shipping costs and debt, advocated for government regulation or railroad rates and the free coinage of silver.
Populist Party
Political party formed in the late 1800s out of the Grange Movement. They advocated for the free coinage of silver, a graduated income tax and government regulation of business. Their leader was William Jennings Bryan. Eventually their members mostly joined the Democratic Party.
Free Coinage of Silver
Objective of the Populist Party. They wanted inflation to ease loan repayments and asked the government to go off the gold standard. This was the topic of William Jennings Bryan's famous "Cross of Gold" speech.
Graduated Income Tax
An income tax system in which wealthy individuals pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes than lower class individuals.
Initiative
When citizens can gather signatures and force their legislature to vote on an issue.
Referendum
When citizens can gather signatures and have a proposed law put on a ballot so everyone can vote. This was a way to enact legislation that might otherwise have been prevented by business interests who could pay off elected officials.
Recall
When citizens can gather signatures and force a vote to remove an elected official. This was enacted to curb corruption in government.
Panic of 1893
Financial crisis in the 1893.
Jacob Coxey
The leader of a group of Populist farmers who marched to Washington, DC in 1894 demanding reform.
Coxey's Army
A group of Populist farmers who marched to Washington, DC in 1894 demanding reform.
William Jennings Bryan
Populist, Progressive, and later democratic leader who championed the rights of farmers. His "Cross of Gold" speech catapulted him to national fame. He ran four times for president but never won.
Cross of Gold Speech
1896 speech by William Jennings Bryan at the Democratic National convention arguing for the free coinage of silver.
William McKinley
Republican President first elected in 1896. He defeated William Jennings Bryan. Reelected in 1900, he led the nation through the Spanish-American War, but was assassinated.
Whistle-Stop
Short campaign speeches given from the back of a train car as it stopped in small towns. They were a way spreading a candidate's message in the days before radio, television or the internet.
Progressives
Groups of people at the turn of the century interested in making change in society, business and government. They were often urban, northeastern, educated, middle class, and protestant.
Progressive Party
A minor political party formed in 1912 to champion progressive issues.
Laissez Faire
A government policy toward business that favored low taxes and regulation.
Social Darwinism
An idea common at the turn of the century applying the survival of the fittest concept to human experiences. It argued that people and nations that succeed did so because they were inherently superior to those who lost or were less successful.
Pragmatism
A way of approaching problems developed by William James at the turn of the century. It advocated that people did not need to accept life as it was, but could work for change.
Social Gospel Movement
A movement at the turn of the century based on the belief that helping the poor was a Christian virtue. Members of the movement built settlement houses, formed the YMCA and YWCA and founded the Salvation Army.
Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA)
Organization founded by members of the Social Gospel Movement to give young men a place to improve physical fitness and moral character.
Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA)
Organization founded by members of the Social Gospel Movement to give young women a place to improve physical fitness and moral character.
Christian Science
Religious group founded at the turn of the century which tried to find a balance between traditional Christian teaching and new discoveries in science and technology.
Salvation Army
British service organization that was transplanted to America as part of the Social Gospel Movement. They serve the needy by providing shelters for the homeless and soup kitchens.
Settlement House
A place in large cities where new immigrants could come to learn English, job skills, and find childcare while they worked. The most famous was Hull House in Chicago.
Hull House
The most famous settlement house. It was founded by Jane Addams in Chicago in 1889.
Jane Addams
Founder of the Settlement House movement.
Third Great Awakening
Term for the general increase in religious practice at the turn of the century. It included the Social Gospel Movement an establishment of organizations such as the Salvation Army, YMCA, YWCA, and Christian Science Church.
National Child Labor Committee (NCLC)
Government organization established in 1904 and charged with finding ways to reduce child labor.
Keating-Owen Act
Law passed in 1916 prohibiting the shipment of products across state lines created with child labor. It was struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in Hammer v. Dagenhart in 1918. It was replaced by the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Fair Labor Standards Act
Law passed in 1938 protecting workers, and effectively ending child labor in America.
Work Permit
Permission granted from a school for a teenager to work. It is one of the effects of the Fair Labor Standards Act and is designed to protect young Americans from the abuses of child labor.
John Dewey
Advocate for education reform at the turn of the century. He championed the development of normal schools, which were colleges that prepared future teachers.
Normal School
A form of college that would train future teachers. They were especially promoted by John Dewey at the turn of the century.
High School
Free public schools for students after 8th grade. They first became common around the turn of the century.
Robert La Follette
Progressive governor of Wisconsin. He led the way in promoting many reforms in state government.
16th Amendment
Constitutional amendment that made a federal income tax legal.
17th Amendment
Constitutional amendment that provided for the direct election of senators.
City Commission
A legislative body for a city. Sometimes called a council, this form of government was a progressive reform and limited the influence of corrupt political machines by allowing voters to select city leaders.
City Manager
A professional selected by a city government who executes policy. This was a progressive reform and sought to separate the decision to spend public money from the awarding of contracts, thus reducing corruption.
John Muir
Environmentalist at the turn of the century who became friends with President Theodore Roosevelt and founded the Sierra Club.
Sierra Club
Environmental organization formed in 1892 by John Muir.
Boy Scouts
Organization for boys founded in Britain and brought to America at the turn of the century to promote citizenship and stewardship of the environment.
Girl Scouts
Organization for girls founded in Britain and brought to America at the turn of the century to promote citizenship and stewardship of the environment.
Cult of Domesticity
Idea that men should leave home to work and earn money while women stayed at home to cook, clean and raise children. It developed in the early 1800s with the onset of the industrial revolution.
Victoria Woodhull
Women's rights advocate in the late 1800s. She was most famously a champion of free love.
Free Love
The idea that women should be able to love whomever they want for however long they wanted, and change their mind as many times as they wanted. It was championed by Victoria Woodhull in the late 1800s.
Henry Ward Beecher
Famous preacher in the late 1800s in Brooklyn, NY. He had an affair with a married petitioner whose husband sued him. The trial was a nationally publicized public scandal. Victoria Woodhull used the case to argue for free love.
Contraception
Any form of birth control.
Comstock Act
Law passed in 1873 the prohibited the distribution of birth control and any material promoting birth control. It was used to prosecute Margaret Sanger.
Emma Goldman
Famous socialist activist at the turn of the century. She advocated for labor and women's rights, but lost credibility due to her connection to the Haymarket Square riot and President McKinley's assassin.
Margaret Sanger
Champion of birth control in the early 1900s.
Birth Control
Any form of contraception. The term was coined by Margaret Sanger.
Brownsville Clinic
Clinic opened in Brooklyn, NY by Margaret Sanger to provide birth control. It was closed down and Sanger was arrested for violation of the Comstock Act.
Planned Parenthood
Modern organization originally founded by Margaret Sanger. They provide health services and information to women, and most controversially, abortions.
Muller v. Oregon
1909 Supreme Court case that upheld a law limiting the number of hours women could work outside the home.
Suffrage
The right to vote.
Susan B. Anthony
Early champion of women's suffrage. She headed the NAWSA. She was honored when a silver dollar coin was minted in 1979 with her likeness.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Early champion of women's suffrage. She cofounded a group with Susan B. Anthony.
Lucy Stone
Early champion of women's suffrage. Her organization merged with that of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Stanton's to form the NAWSA.
National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)
Major organization working for women's suffrage. It was led first by Susan B. Anthony and later by Carrie Chapman Catt.
Alice Paul
Advocate for women's suffrage in the early 1900s. She founded the National Women's Party and used more aggressive tactics to publicize the movement.
National Woman's Party (NWP)
Organization founded by Alice Paul in 1916 to work for women's suffrage. They used more aggressive tactics to spread their message.
Carrie Chapman Catt
Leader of the NAWSA in the early 1900s. She succeeded Susan B. Anthony and saw the ratification of the 19th Amendment.
National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage
Organization in the early 1900s which fought against the passage of the 19th Amendment.
19th Amendment
Constitutional amendment ratified in 1920 granting women the right to vote.
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