IMMIGRATION and MIGRATION in the Gilded Age [APUSH Review Unit 6 Topic 8] Period 6: 1865-1898

Summary

This video from Heimler's History delves into the significant movements of immigrants and migrants within the United States during the period of 1865-1898. It distinguishes between immigration, the movement from one country to another, and migration, the internal movement within the same country. The video explains how cultural and economic factors influenced these patterns. It highlights the massive influx of immigrants, primarily from Europe, who were driven by poverty, overcrowding, and joblessness, and the establishment of ethnic enclaves in industrial cities. It also addresses the migration of Southern black people, known as the Exoduster Movement, who moved westward in search of better opportunities after the end of Reconstruction. The video concludes by noting the challenges faced by these new settlers and teases the discussion of America's responses to immigration in the subsequent video.

Takeaways

• 🌐 The period from 1865-1898 in the U.S. saw both immigration (people moving from one country to another) and migration (people moving within the same country).
• 🚢 The U.S. population grew significantly, with about 16 million immigrants arriving, primarily from Europe, driven by poverty, overcrowding, and joblessness.
• 🏭 Immigrants, especially from Europe, settled in industrial cities like Chicago, Pittsburgh, and New York, diversifying the industrial workforce.
• 🏙️ The middle and upper classes moved away from urban centers during the Gilded Age, leading to cities becoming predominantly working class and poor, with many immigrants.
• 🏡 Poor living conditions in hastily built tenements with inadequate ventilation led to frequent disease outbreaks among the urban poor and immigrants.
• 🤝 Immigrants from similar backgrounds established ethnic enclaves, creating solidarity and re-establishing cultural institutions like churches and synagogues.
• 🏪 Some immigrants opened urban grocery stores to sell food from their homeland, contributing to the cultural diversity within cities.
• 🌟 The Exoduster Movement was a significant migration of Southern black people to the west, particularly Kansas, Oklahoma, and Colorado, in search of better opportunities.
• 🔍 The end of Reconstruction left the black population in the South without federal protection, leading to increased racial segregation and violence, prompting the Exoduster Movement.
• 🏛️ Organizations like the Colored Relief Board and the Kansas Freedmen’s Aid Society were established to assist black migrants in their relocation efforts.
• 🏘️ Many Exodusters faced destitution a year after moving, especially those attempting to homestead on the limited available land after railroad speculators had claimed much of it.
• 📚 The next video will discuss the responses to the new immigrants and migrants settling in America, further exploring the social and cultural impacts of these movements.

Q & A

What is the main focus of Unit 6 in the AP U.S. History curriculum?

The main focus of Unit 6 is the significant movements of immigrants and migrants into and around the United States during the period from 1865-1898.

What is the difference between immigration and migration as explained in the script?

Immigration refers to the movement of people from one country to another, while migration is the movement of people within the same country from one region to another.

How did the U.S. population grow in the late 19th century?

The U.S. population grew by a multiple of three, due to both an increase in birth rates and a massive wave of immigrants, with around 16 million arriving from various parts of the world.

Why did immigrants from Europe move to the United States during this period?

European immigrants moved to the U.S. mainly because of growing poverty, overcrowding, and joblessness in their home countries. Some, like Jews in Eastern Europe, also fled religious persecution.

Which American cities did immigrants predominantly settle in?

Immigrants predominantly settled in industrial cities such as Chicago, Pittsburgh, and New York, which were seen as lands of opportunity and contributed to a more diverse industrial workforce.

What was the situation for Asian immigrants, particularly the Chinese, during this period?

Asian immigrants, especially the Chinese, had been arriving since the California Gold Rush in the 1840s and 1850s, and continued to arrive in substantial numbers, contributing to the changing demographics of the West.

How did the influx of immigrants affect the social structure of industrial cities?

The influx of immigrants led to a social bifurcation where the middle class and the wealthy moved away from the cities, leaving them predominantly inhabited by the working class and the urban poor, many of whom were immigrants.

What were the living conditions like for immigrants in the working-class districts of industrial cities?

The living conditions were often squalid, with immigrants and the working class crowding into hastily built, poorly constructed, and poorly ventilated tenements, leading to frequent outbreaks of diseases.

How did immigrants establish a sense of community and maintain their cultural identity in the U.S.?

Immigrants from the same cultures found each other and established ethnic enclaves, re-establishing cultural institutions such as Catholic Churches, synagogues, banking institutions, and political organizations to fight for their rights.

What was the Exoduster Movement and why did it occur?

The Exoduster Movement was a mass migration of Southern black people to the west, primarily to Kansas, Oklahoma, and Colorado. It occurred as a response to the end of Reconstruction, the rise of terror groups like the Ku Klux Klan, and the implementation of Jim Crow laws which led to segregation and disenfranchisement of black people in the South.

What challenges did the Exodusters face upon their arrival in the West?

The most successful Exodusters were those who settled in urban centers and found work as domestic servants or trade workers. However, many attempted to establish homesteads on the remaining land in Kansas after it had been largely claimed by railroad speculators, leading to widespread destitution among black homesteaders.

What was the role of organizations like the Colored Relief Board and the Kansas Freedmen’s Aid Society in the Exoduster Movement?

These organizations were created to assist the Exodusters in their migration, providing support and resources to help them establish new lives in the West.

Outlines

00:00

🌍 Introduction to Immigration and Migration in the U.S. (1865-1898)

This paragraph introduces the topic of immigration and migration in the U.S. during the period from 1865 to 1898. It distinguishes between immigration, which is the movement from one country to another, and migration, which is the movement within the same country from region to region. The video aims to explain how cultural and economic factors influenced these migration patterns. The 19th century saw a threefold increase in the U.S. population, largely due to immigration, with around 16 million immigrants arriving, primarily from Europe. The immigrants were driven by factors such as poverty, overcrowding, joblessness, and in some cases, religious persecution. They predominantly settled in industrial cities, contributing to a more diverse industrial workforce. The paragraph also touches on the migration of middle and upper classes away from cities, leading to urban areas becoming predominantly working class and poor, with immigrants often living in squalid conditions and facing health challenges. However, it also notes the positive aspects, such as the establishment of ethnic enclaves and cultural institutions by immigrants, which provided a sense of community and support.

🏭 Impact of Immigration on Industrial Cities and the Creation of Ethnic Enclaves

This section discusses the impact of immigration on the urban landscape of America, particularly the industrial cities on the Eastern coast. It highlights how the influx of immigrants led to the creation of ethnic enclaves, where immigrants from the same cultural background could find solidarity and maintain their cultural practices. It mentions the establishment of religious institutions like Catholic Churches by Irish immigrants and synagogues by Eastern European Jews. The immigrants also set up banking institutions to manage their earnings and political organizations to advocate for their rights. Additionally, some immigrants opened grocery stores that catered to their specific cultural food needs, thus integrating their culture into the urban life despite the challenges they faced.

📉 The Exoduster Movement: Black Southerners' Migration to the West

The paragraph focuses on a significant internal migration known as the Exoduster Movement, which was the mass migration of Southern black people to the West, particularly Kansas, but also to Oklahoma and Colorado. Triggered by the end of Reconstruction and the rise of terror groups like the Ku Klux Klan, along with the implementation of Jim Crow laws, black Southerners began to seek better living conditions and protection of their rights elsewhere. Starting in the late 1870s, around 40,000 black Southerners moved to the West. Organizations such as the Colored Relief Board and the Kansas Freedmen’s Aid Society were established to assist with this migration. Those who were successful upon arrival often found work in urban centers, while others attempted to establish homesteads but faced economic hardship due to limited and less fertile land available after railroad speculators had claimed the best farmland.

📚 Conclusion and Preview of Next Video's Topic

The final paragraph concludes the discussion on Unit 6 topic 8 of the AP U.S. History Curriculum and teases the subject of the next video, which will address the responses to the new immigrants settling in America. The speaker encourages viewers to subscribe for more educational content and offers help to improve their grades and exam performance.

Keywords

💡Immigration

Immigration refers to the movement of people from one country to another with the intention of residing there, either temporarily or permanently. In the context of the video, it highlights the significant influx of approximately 16 million immigrants, primarily from Europe, to the United States during the late 19th century. These immigrants were attracted by the perceived opportunities in America, contributing to a more diverse industrial workforce.

💡Migration

Migration is the act of moving from one region to another within the same country. The video discusses how, in addition to international immigration, internal migration also occurred in the U.S. during the period from 1865-1898, with people moving from one region to another for various reasons, such as seeking better economic opportunities or escaping harsh conditions.

💡Cultural and Economic Factors

Cultural and economic factors are the driving forces that influence the patterns of human migration. The video aims to explain how these factors affected migration patterns over time. For instance, economic hardships, joblessness, and overcrowding in Europe were key economic factors that led to mass immigration to the U.S., while cultural factors like religious persecution also played a role in motivating certain groups to seek refuge in America.

💡Industrial Cities

Industrial cities are urban areas that have a strong presence of manufacturing and industrial activities. The video mentions that immigrants, upon arrival in the U.S., often settled in industrial cities such as Chicago, Pittsburgh, and New York. These cities offered job opportunities in factories and industries, which attracted a diverse workforce, including a large number of immigrants.

💡Ethnic Enclaves

Ethnic enclaves are areas within a city where people from a particular ethnic or cultural background congregate and form a community. In the video, it is mentioned that immigrants from similar cultural backgrounds often found each other and established such enclaves, which provided a sense of solidarity and allowed them to re-establish some of their cultural institutions, like Catholic Churches for Irish immigrants and synagogues for Eastern European Jews.

💡Tenements

Tenements are multi-family residential buildings that were often hastily built and poorly maintained. The video describes how immigrants and the working class were crowded into these tenements, which were poorly constructed and ventilated, leading to unsanitary living conditions and frequent outbreaks of diseases such as cholera, typhus, and tuberculosis.

💡Exoduster Movement

The Exoduster Movement refers to the mass migration of African Americans from the South to the West, particularly to Kansas, Oklahoma, and Colorado, during the late 19th century. The video explains that this movement was a response to the lack of federal protection of their rights after the end of Reconstruction, the rise of terror groups like the Ku Klux Klan, and the implementation of Jim Crow laws that led to widespread segregation and disenfranchisement of black people.

💡Ku Klux Klan

The Ku Klux Klan is a white supremacist group that was particularly active during the Reconstruction era and later periods in American history. In the video, the Klan is mentioned as one of the terror groups that contributed to the harsh conditions faced by African Americans in the South, which in turn influenced the Exoduster Movement as black people sought safer and more equitable living conditions elsewhere.

💡Jim Crow Laws

Jim Crow Laws were state and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States. Named after a popular 19th-century minstrel show character, these laws were a significant factor in the video's discussion of the conditions that led to the Exoduster Movement. They legally segregated public facilities and services, leading to widespread discrimination and disenfranchisement of black people.

💡Urban Poor

The urban poor refers to individuals and families living in poverty within urban areas. The video discusses how the middle and upper classes migrated away from the cities during the Gilded Age, leaving behind a population largely composed of the working class and the urban poor, many of whom were immigrants. These groups often lived in squalid conditions, contributing to the changing social dynamics of industrial cities.

💡Gilded Age

The Gilded Age is a term used to describe the late 19th century in the United States, marked by significant industrialization, economic growth, and social inequality. The video uses this term to frame the period during which both immigration and internal migration patterns were influenced by cultural and economic factors, leading to profound changes in American society and urban landscapes.

Highlights

Explains the distinction between immigration and migration, with immigration involving movement from one country to another and migration being internal movement within a country.

Discusses the growth of the U.S. population by a multiple of three in the late 19th century, largely due to immigration and natural increase.

Highlights the influx of approximately 16 million immigrants, primarily from Europe, who were motivated by poverty, overcrowding, and joblessness.

Mentions the settlement of immigrants in industrial cities like Chicago, Pittsburgh, and New York, contributing to a more diverse industrial workforce.

Details the movement of Asian immigrants, particularly Chinese, to the West, following the California Gold Rush in the 1840s and 1850s.

Describes the transformation of industrial cities due to the influx of immigrants, leading to a separation of social classes and the creation of working-class districts.

Discusses the poor living conditions in hastily built tenements, which were poorly constructed and ventilated, leading to frequent disease outbreaks.

Explains how immigrants from similar cultures established ethnic enclaves and cultural institutions, such as Catholic Churches and synagogues, to foster solidarity.

Notes the establishment of banking and political organizations by immigrant groups to support their community and fight for rights.

Highlights the opening of urban grocery stores by immigrants to sell food reminiscent of their homeland, contributing to the cultural diversity of cities.

Introduces the Exoduster Movement, a mass migration of Southern black people to the West, particularly Kansas, Oklahoma, and Colorado, due to the lack of federal protection of their rights.

Describes the assistance provided to the Exodusters by organizations such as the Colored Relief Board and the Kansas Freedmen’s Aid Society.

Discusses the challenges faced by black homesteaders who moved to Kansas, with many remaining in destitution a year after their migration.

Mentions the upcoming discussion on the responses to the new settlers in America, which will be covered in the next video.

Provides a call to action for viewers to subscribe for more educational content on the AP U.S. History Curriculum.

Summarizes the key points of Unit 6 Topic 8 of the AP U.S. History Curriculum, focusing on immigration and migration movements.

Transcripts

Well hey there and welcome back to Heimler’s  History. We’ve been going through Unit 6 of the  

AP U.S. History curriculum and in this video  and the next we’re going to consider the huge  

movements of immigrants and migrants into and  around the United States during this period.  

So get them brain cows squarely stationed  in the milking trough, and let’s get to it.

So what we’re aiming to accomplish in this  video is to explain how cultural and economic  

factors affected migration patterns over time.  So first, we need to make a distinction between  

immigration and migration. They sound  like the same thing, but they’re not.  

Immigration is when a group of folks moves from  one country to another. Migration is when a group  

of folks moves WITHIN the same country from region  to region. And during the period from 1865-1898  

both kinds of movements occurred in the  United States, so let’s look at both.

First, immigration. In the last part of the 19th  century, the U.S. population grew by a multiple  

of three. Now some of that population explosion  was due to baby-making, but a large portion of it  

was due to a massive wave of immigrants arriving  on the AMerican shores, something like 16 million  

of them. Now mainly these immigrants arrived  from Europe, especially from the British Isles,  

Scandinavia, and Europe. In general, they left  Europe because of the growing poverty there,  

overcrowding, and joblessness. Some, like the  Jews in Eastern Europe, immigrated to flee  

religious persecution. Other immigrants showed up  from Russia, Italy, and the Balkans as well. But  

no matter where they came from, they largely  settled in industrial cities like Chicago,  

Pittsburgh, and New York. To them, American  seemed to be a land of opportunity,  

and thus the industrial workforce became  far more diverse with all these new folks.

Now this was mainly a phenomenon on the  Eastern coast of America. But over in the West,  

immigrants from Asia, largely Chinese people,  flooded in as well. Chinese immigrants had  

been arriving since the California Gold Rush  days in the 1840s and 1850s. And during this  

period Asian immigrants continued  to arrive in substantial numbers.

Now as a result of all these new kinds of people  flooding into industrial cities, the cities  

themselves began to change. In the days before the  Civil War, people from different social classes  

lived together in the cities. But during the  Gilded Age, the middle class and the wealthy did  

a little migrating of their own, leaving behind  the cities and moving away from the urban hustle.  

That meant that the industrial cities were largely  made up of the working class and the urban poor,  

many of them immigrants. And in the cities  where this bifurcation occurred, the working  

class districts became all kinds of squalid.  Immigrants and other members of the working  

class crowded into hastily built tenements which  were poorly constructed and poorly ventilated. And  

in addition to the depressing condition of such  living spaces, the residents’ close proximity  

to one another assured frequent outbreaks of  disease like cholera, typhus, and tuberculosis.

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Immigrants  from the same cultures did find each other  

and established ethnic enclaves where they  found a sense of solidarity with one another  

and re-established some of their cultural  institutions. Irish immigrants established  

Catholic Churches, and Eastern European  Jews built synagogues. Immigrant groups  

established banking institutions where they  could deposit their earnings and political  

organizations that fought for immigrant rights.  On a smaller scale, some immigrants opened urban  

grocery stores that sold food reminiscent  of their homeland. And in all those ways,  

immigrants established their own culture among  the pressing difficulty of industrial urban life.

Okay, now that we’ve talked about immigration  during this period, let’s switch gears and  

talk about migration, and one of the most  significant migrations during this period  

was known as the Exoduster Movement which was a  mass migration of Southern black people into the  

west. As I mentioned in another video, the end  of Reconstruction in the South meant that the  

black population was left to fend for themselves  without federal protection of their rights. And  

as terror groups like the Ku Klux Klan grew and  Jim Crow laws segregated southern society and  

disenfranchised black folks wholesale, they began  to seek accommodation elsewhere. And so starting  

in the late 1870s, something like 40,000 black  southerners abandoned the South and migrated to  

Kansas mainly, but also in Oklahoma and Colorado.  Several organizations were created to assist them  

in this movement including the Colored Relief  Board and the Kansas Freedmen’s Aid Society.

The Exodusters who were most successful  upon arrival were the ones who settled  

in the urban centers of Kansas and got work as  domestic servants or trade workers. However,  

many of the Exodusters attempted to carve  out homesteads in what little land was  

left in Kansas after railroad speculators  had gobbled up all the best farmland to  

build railways. And as a result, the vast  majority of black homesteaders were still  

in destitution a year after  they had moved from the South.

Now in talking about immigration  during this period it’s been hard  

to resist talking about the responses to  all these new people settling in America,  

but that is the subject of the next  video, so I’ll see you in that one.

Alright, that’s what you need to know about Unit  6 topic 8 of the AP U.S. History Curriculum. If  

your grades are in squalor, then I can help you  get an A in your class and a five on your exam  

want me to keep making these videos then by all  means subscribe and I shall oblige. Heimler out.