ch.15 sct.2 C.T.#5

The migration from rural areas to the cities had many effects on urban society.
People moved to the cities because with the advancement of technology and the merging of farming companies, there were less jobs available for people in rural areas (p.469). Supposedly, there were lots of jobs available in the cities, so people flocked there.
Rapid urban growth caused some problems. One problem was the lack of transportation, which they improved with innovations in mass transit (p.470), but still, there was the problem of the lack of space for so many people. Many families would be crammed into one tiny house, which led to sanitation issues (p.470). Crime rate also rose with the increase in population, as did the risk and occurence of fires, kindled by the many, many wooden houses (p.471). A shortage of water was also an issue. Not only did that worsen the fire situation, but people did not have enough clean water to drink (p.470). Another big problem was the (limited) amount of jobs available. With that many people all in one area, a certain number of jobs only went so far. The native-born Americans got angry at the immigrants for taking their jobs, and turmoil stirred (sct.1).
Blacks were also affected by the migration. They were all farmers, and lost their jobs when demand for human labor on farms decreased. Even in the north, they were discriminated against and it was hard for them to get jobs. On the other hand, some whites prospered from the migration. The farm owners had their machines - which were cheaper than hiring help - to keep their farms up, and the businessmen in the north could use the cheap labor of the new immigrants and desperate job-seekers.
The migration of people from the rural areas to the cities benefitted some people and hurt others.

ch.15 sct.2 C.T.#4

The settlement houses had the most impact. By providing shelter and support for poor people, the settlement houses helped solve one of the biggest problems in cities:poverty. Not only did the houses give people a home, but offered them classes that could help them adapt to the culture and take care of themselves. Healthcare was also provided for the sick who did not have enough money to get it by themselves. Financial support such as insurance was also made available to widows and others in desperate need.
By 1910, about 400 settlement houses were operating in cities across the U.S. Many immigrants, as well as African Americans, who were suffering from racial discrimination, took refuge in these settlment houses. The houses had a great impact on the U.S. by helping improve the huge issue of poverty (which led to the issues of poor health, ect.).
(all details from p.472)

ch.15 sct.1 C.T.#4

The massive influx of immigrants to the U.S. in the late 1800's had both positive and negative effects on America.
Since there were so many new workers willing to work for low wages, factories could afford to hire many workers and produce more stuff faster. The Japenese immigrants worked on the railroads, which then grew much faster (p.461). This provided more transportation for the country, thus widening the path for industrialization and westward settlement.
The huge amounts of immigrants also provoked stress and tension between people fighting for jobs. Many foreign people thought that America had tons of open jobs to offer, and were surprised when they got here and that was not quite the case (~p.462). Since they would accept lower wages, white Americans (native-born) were worried that the immigrants would take all the available jobs. The Americans also did not accept the different languages and cultures of the foreigners; they thought the immigrants threatened the American way of life, and wanted the immigrants to leave (p.464). This tension between people brought America into inner turmoil and unrest; the people were beginning to get upset.

ch.15 sct.1 C.T.#3

Asians, especially Chinese immigrants, faced the greatest challenges in the U.S. Right from the start, they had a more difficult time getting into the country at Angel Island, where they were harshly questioned and detained in filthy places for a long time (p.463), but most of the Europeans who were admitted at Ellis Island had only to wait about 5 hours. Prior to arriving in America, the Asian immigrants had to travel on a ship for about 3 weeks, whereas the European journey was only about 1 week (p.462).
Chinese people spoke a completely different language, and had a completely different culture than the "Americans." The Americans didn't like the customs of the Asian immigrants and thought of them as threats to the American way of life (p.464), and the Asians did not understand American culture/customs. The Chinese had a hard time communicating with the English-speaking Americans, which made it harder to get jobs and just cooperate in everyday life.
The Americans thought that Anglo-Saxons were superior to other ethnic groups, and objected to the religious beliefs of other races (p.464). Nativism was one resonse to the growth of immigration. Labor unions feared that jobs would go to Chinese immigrants, who would accept lower wages. Leaders of labor unions went around giving anti-Chinese speeches. In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned almost all Chinese immigrants, and later this law was extended indefinitely, until it was finally repealed in 1943. (from "nativism" on: p.465)
Although all immigrants faced hardships, Chinese immigrants faced the greatest challenges in the United States. They faced harsh travel and admission conditions, foreign obstacles, and racial predjudices.

ch.14 sct.3 C.T.#3

I think 19-century tycoons are best described as effective captains of industry, although a lot of what they did was ruthless.
Their management tactics and business strategies, although a bit harsh, were very effective. Rockefeller payed his employees very low wages, which wasn't nice, but it DID help his company get rich. Forming a trust may have interfered with free trade, but it was smart, and once he controlled the competition, he got lots of money by raising the prices that people had to pay (p.449). These tycoons did interfere with "free trade," especially with the smaller businesses, but they helped create copetition that led to more development. According to the Social Darwinism theory, they also helped the economy rid itself ofthe weaker businesses (p.448). The tycoons had a ruthless, but effective attitude toward competition. They would use tactics to grow larger than other companies, then buy the smaller companies (p.448-449). Once they had bought the other company, they would offer jobs to the people from the old company, which wasn't "nice" (rubbing it in their faces), but it was a smart business move. The tycoon would eliminate its competition of other companies, but then encourage competition among his assistants, as Carnegie did (p.448). Although the tycoons of the 19th century were pretty ruthless, they were very effective captains of industry.

ch.14 sct.2 C.T.#4

The government was eager to promote the growth of railroads in order to encourage settlement of the west and economic growth. Governments always want the country to advance and develop, and moving more people west would lead the country to development (p.442). There was good land in the west that the government wanted the people to farm so they could make money. If the people have more money, that means the country does too, which means the government then has more money too. If people had easier transportation to take them west and transport their goods to market, they would be more likely to go. And if more people were selling more goods, the markets would enlarge, and that combined with taking advantage of the available natural resources (not only land but oil, ect.), would lead to industrial growth. Railroads would also lead to the growth of new towns and markets along its paths, furthering the development of the west, and thus the country. To encourage the settlement and growth of the nation, the government was eager to give land and loans to the railroad companies to promote their growth.

ch. 14 sct.1 C.T.#5

I think the invention of electricity had the greatsest impact on society, although the other inventions such as steel had great impact too.
Electricity had many effective applications. It was used for light bulbs, powering machines, electric streetcars, and more (p.438). Steel also had many applications, but not as many as electricity, because many, many different types of machines ran on electricity.
Electricity also had a great impact in the home and peoples daily lives. It powered many time-saving appliances (p.438) such as sewing machines, telephones, and typewriters. These allowed people to work at home and opened up many jobs for women in offices (p.439). Electricty and the inventions that stemmed from it affected the workplace by allowing people to work faster from the home and in the workplace. It did much of the work that had been being done by manual labor, so it reduced peoples work hours and backbreaking labor. Electricity also took some of the need away for manual laborers, which some people did not like (p.439). One of the biggest effects of electricity on the workplace was that factories no longer had to be on rivers; they could spread over the land in city areas. This caused industry to grow very rapidly (p.439).
The invention of electricity had the greatest impact on society at that time, affecting both the workplace and peoples daily lives (in the home) greatly.