New Immigrants in Progressive Era America

1. Settlement Houses (25) ● ● Definition: Largely founded by middle-class, educated women in urban immigrant neighborhoods during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, settlement houses were community centers that provided a range of social services, education, and cultural activities. They sought to ease the transition of immigrants into American society and improve the living conditions of the urban poor. Significance: Represented a key component of the Progressive Era's social reform impulse, moving beyond mere charity to address the systemic causes of poverty and advocating for broader social change. Jane Addams's Hull House in Chicago (1889) was the most famous and influential example. 2. New Immigrants (25) ● ● ● Definition: The wave of immigrants who arrived in the United States primarily from Southern and Eastern Europe (e.g., Italy, Poland, Russia, Greece) and Asia (e.g., China, Japan) between the 1880s and the 1920s. This contrasted with "Old Immigrants" from Northern and Western Europe. Characteristics: Often poorer, less educated, and more religiously diverse (Catholic, Jewish, Orthodox) than their predecessors. They typically settled in industrial cities and faced significant nativist prejudice and discrimination due to their perceived cultural and religious differences. Significance: Their arrival dramatically reshaped American demographics and urban landscapes, contributing significantly to industrial labor while also sparking intense social tensions and calls for immigration restriction. 3. Yellow Journalism (25) ● ● ● Definition: A sensationalized and often exaggerated style of newspaper reporting in the late 19th century, characterized by bold headlines, lurid details, and often outright fabrication of stories, used primarily to attract readers and boost circulation. Key Figures: Joseph Pulitzer's New York World and William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal were the most prominent practitioners. Significance: Played a significant role in stirring public opinion and fueling jingoistic sentiment, particularly in the run-up to the Spanish-American War in 1898, demonstrating the growing power of the press. 4. Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (25) ● Definition: Founded in 1874, the WCTU was a powerful and influential women's organization dedicated to social reform, primarily advocating for the prohibition of alcohol. Under the leadership of Frances Willard, it grew into a mass movement, expanding its focus to include women's suffrage, prison reform, and other social issues. ●​ Significance: Represented a crucial example of women's increasing activism and organization in the late 19th century. It was instrumental in the passage of the 18th (Prohibition) and 19th (women's suffrage) Amendments, showcasing the interconnectedness of many progressive reforms. 5. Realism/Naturalism (25) ●​ Definition: ○​ Realism: An artistic and literary movement flourishing in the mid-to-late 19th century that sought to portray life accurately and objectively, often focusing on the lives of ordinary people and the details of everyday existence. ○​ Naturalism: A literary movement that emerged from realism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, emphasizing the idea that human lives are largely shaped by deterministic forces—heredity, environment, and social conditions—often depicting characters as victims of circumstances beyond their control. ●​ Significance: Reflected a shift away from romantic idealism, offering a more critical and often stark portrayal of American society during a period of rapid industrialization and social change. Mark Twain (Realism) and Stephen Crane (Naturalism) were key proponents. 6. City Beautiful Movement (25) ●​ Definition: An urban planning movement that emerged in the United States around the turn of the 20th century, advocating for the beautification and monumental grandeur of cities to promote civic pride and social harmony. ●​ Characteristics: Promoted neoclassical architecture, grand boulevards, public parks, and civic centers. Daniel Burnham, who planned Chicago's World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, was a leading figure. ●​ Significance: Influenced the design of public spaces and urban renewal projects in many American cities, reflecting a progressive desire to impose order and aesthetics on rapidly growing and often chaotic urban environments. 7. Jane Addams (25) ●​ Significance: A pioneering social reformer, peace activist, and leader in the settlement house movement. In 1889, she co-founded Hull House in Chicago, providing education, social services, and political advocacy for immigrants and the poor. ●​ Achievements: A prominent advocate for women's suffrage, labor rights, and international peace. She co-received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931, becoming the first American woman to do so. Her work embodied the ideals of the Social Gospel and practical progressivism. 8. Booker T. Washington (25) ●​ Significance: A leading African American educator, orator, and civil rights leader in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ●​ Philosophy: Advocated for vocational training, economic self-sufficiency, and gradual progress for African Americans through industrial education and skilled labor. His "Atlanta Compromise" speech (1895) urged black Americans to focus on economic advancement before demanding social equality, believing that demonstrating economic value would eventually lead to racial harmony. ●​ Institution: Founded the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama (1881), which emphasized practical skills. 9. W.E.B. Du Bois (25) ●​ Significance: An influential African American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, and a fierce critic of Booker T. Washington's gradualist approach. ●​ Philosophy: Advocated for immediate political, social, and economic equality for African Americans. He emphasized the importance of higher education for the "Talented Tenth" – a highly educated black elite who would lead the fight for civil rights. ●​ Institution: Co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909. His foundational text, The Souls of Black Folk (1903), introduced the concept of "double consciousness." 10. Mark Twain (25) ●​ Significance: Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, was a towering figure in American literature, often called the "father of American literature." ●​ Literary Style: Known for his humor, satire, and realistic portrayals of American life, particularly along the Mississippi River. He masterfully employed vernacular speech. ●​ Key Works: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), the latter often considered a seminal work of American literature, exploring themes of race, freedom, and hypocrisy. 11. Reservation System (26) ●​ Definition: A policy adopted by the U.S. government in the 19th century, particularly after the Civil War, to confine Native American tribes to designated tracts of land, often with poor resources and far from their ancestral territories. ●​ Purpose: To clear land for white settlement, facilitate westward expansion, control Native American populations, and promote assimilation. ●​ Significance: Led to the loss of vast Native American lands (approx. 90 million acres lost between 1887 and 1934), cultural disruption, forced dependency on government aid, and ultimately contributed to the decline of traditional tribal ways of life. 12. Battle of Little Bighorn (26) ●​ Date: June 25, 1876. ●​ Location: Montana Territory. ●​ Description: A decisive victory for a coalition of Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors, led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, over the U.S. Army's 7th Cavalry, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer. Custer and all his immediate command were killed. ●​ Significance: While a temporary triumph for Native American resistance, it galvanized public and governmental resolve to crush Native American autonomy, leading to intensified military campaigns against the Plains tribes. 13. Battle of Wounded Knee (26) ●​ Date: December 29, 1890. ●​ Location: Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota. ●​ Description: A massacre of Lakota Sioux by the U.S. Army's 7th Cavalry, which had been sent to disarm the Lakota and suppress the Ghost Dance movement. ●​ Casualties: Approximately 300 unarmed Lakota men, women, and children were killed, along with 25 U.S. soldiers (many by friendly fire). ●​ Significance: Marked the symbolic end of major armed conflict between the U.S. government and Native Americans on the Great Plains and stands as a tragic testament to the brutal suppression of indigenous cultures. 14. Dawes Severalty Act (26) ●​ Date: 1887. ●​ Purpose: Federal legislation designed to break up tribal communal landholdings and assimilate Native Americans into mainstream American society by granting individual land allotments (160 acres to each head of household) to Native American families. Remaining "surplus" land was sold to white settlers. ●​ Significance: A disastrous policy that undermined tribal sovereignty, further fragmented Native American cultures, and led to the loss of two-thirds of Native American land over the next few decades, despite its stated goal of helping Native Americans. 15. Populists (26) ●​ Definition: Members of the People's Party, a political party formed in 1892, primarily representing farmers and laborers in the South and West. ●​ Goals: Sought to address the economic hardships faced by farmers (e.g., deflation, high freight rates, debt) through radical reforms such as free coinage of silver (inflationary monetary policy), government ownership of railroads and telegraphs, a graduated income tax, direct election of senators, and an eight-hour workday. ●​ Significance: While never achieving national power, the Populist movement demonstrated the deep economic grievances in rural America and introduced many ideas (e.g., graduated income tax, direct election of senators) that were later adopted by the Progressive movement.