CHAPTER 25
QUESTIONS
1. Explain how America's population had grown and drifted from 1870-1900. Why did these changes affect Western Europe?
The American population had doubled in this time period from about 40 million people. The population had shifted however, to cities. The population of cities in America had tripled during this time period. By the end of the 19th century, 4 out of 10 Americans lived in cities. This affected Western Europe by how American foodstuffs had become cheap and readily available in Europe, pushing peasants off their lands and in need of a new work. These Europeans were pulled into American cities by the lure of industrial jobs.
2. Identify and explain how each of the following affected urbanization.
* skyscraper: a tall, continuously habitable building having multiple floors (around 10-20 during this time period)
It affected urbanization by allowing more people and more work space packed onto a spot of land. It let land to be conserved as the building went vertically instead of taking up more land.
* mass transit: electric transportation that allowed many people in one vehicle to be taken somewhere, ex: electric trolleys, elevators, subways
It affected urbanization by letting people go from the center of the city out to the suburbs and back. Mass transit conserved time that could be wasted spent walking.
* attractions of cities: unlike in rural America, cities had many things that attracted people such as industrial jobs and along with that, electricity, telephones, and indoor plumbing AKA things that the countryside did not have
These attractions brought people away from the farms and made America more urban than rural, with eventually a majority of people living in cities.
3. The text writes that cities introduced Americans to new ways of living. Explain. Also, why were cities "monuments of contradiction?"
Cities were called monuments of contradiction as they showed off a mix of the best and worse. These cities allowed people to live close together which led to the sharing of ideas and an increased production. The people of cities were also consumers which greatly helped the economy as there was a demand. However, cities had abject poverty that contrasted the few very rich. Along with that cities were overcrowded with an influx of immigrants and this overcrowding led to disease, crime and pollution. On top of that, cities were filled with political corruption from political machines such as Boss Tweed.
4. Compare the old immigrants (pre 1880s) to the new immigrants of the 1880s and later.
The old immigrants were mainly from Northern and Western Europe, and mostly Irish and Germans. They were mostly Protestant and had experience with democratic values. Except for the Irish, old immigrants had some wealth. The new immigrants came from mostly Southern and Eastern Europe with others from Asia such as the Chinese and Japanese. A majority of these new immigrants were Roman Catholic while some were even Jews. Unlike the Irish and German, few spoke any English or were even literate in their own language. Many had not experienced democracy and so America's government was pretty foreign.
5. Discuss the factors that caused these new immigrants to come to America in such large numbers.
One reason was that Europe had a fastly growing population but seemingly no room. Food from American imports and the quick speed of European industrialization shook the peasantry of Southern Europe and made many unemployed. Another reason was American letters sent from already transplanted relatives. Many contained put America in a bright light, as a place where you could eat better and escape military conscription and religious persecution. Going into the 1880's, Europe's persecution of minority religions led others to travel to America for religious freedom.
6. Describe the lives of the "typical" Italian immigrants.
The typical Italian immigrant was a young man seeking to make enough money to support their families and then come back home. Many intended to stay only for a few months while others stayed permanently. In America, the government encouraged them to work in the countryside, but the Italians lacked capital and stayed in the cities. Many kept their rural upbringing by keeping chickens in vacant lots and growing vegetable gardens in between tenement houses. Those who permanently stayed made tight knit communities.The typical Italian immigrants lacked education and sent their children off to work similar blue-collar jobs as industrial labor such as longshoremen or construction workers.
