RESPONSES to Immigration in the GILDED AGE [APUSH Review Unit 6 Topic 9] Period 6: 1865-1898

Responses to Immigration in the Gilded Age

Overview of Immigration (1865-1898)

• The video discusses American responses to immigration during the Gilded Age, highlighting the influx of European and Asian immigrants who settled in urban industrial centers and worked under dangerous conditions for low wages.

Nativism and Its Impact

• Concerns arose among Americans regarding their identity with the increasing number of immigrants, leading to debates about assimilation versus maintaining ethnic identities.

• Nativism is defined as a policy prioritizing native-born interests over those of immigrants, reaching a peak with figures like Henry Cabot Lodge claiming that allowing "inferior races" threatened American culture.

Opposition from Various Groups

• The American Protective Association formed as a nativist group opposing Catholic influence due to the large number of Irish Catholic immigrants entering America.

• Labor unions also opposed immigration, fearing that an influx of desperate workers would undermine wage negotiations and strike efforts.

Social Darwinism's Role

• Social Darwinism emerged as a pseudoscientific rationale for racism against immigrants, particularly targeting Irish individuals as racially inferior despite them being classified as white.

Treatment of Chinese Immigrants

• On the West Coast, Chinese immigrants faced similar hostility; they were blamed for economic troubles during events like the Panic of 1873 due to their willingness to work for lower wages.

• The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was enacted, banning all Chinese immigration—a significant moment in U.S. history representing targeted discrimination against a specific nationality.

Positive Contributions: Jane Addams and Settlement Houses

Gilded Age Immigrants and Their Struggles

Challenges Faced by Immigrants

• During the Gilded Age, immigrants faced significant hardships as they sought to integrate into American society.

• Many individuals actively opposed the inclusion of immigrants, reflecting a broader nativist sentiment prevalent at the time.

• Early childhood education programs were established to help immigrants adapt, teaching them democratic ideals and providing recreational opportunities.

• Jane Addams emerged as a key figure who worked to alleviate the struggles of immigrants, countering nativist attitudes and supporting their integration.