by Winter Martin

Immigration Questions:

5996941 — 2015-05-15 16:19:11 UTC

Why did the government specifically bar Chinese (and later Japanese) immigrants from entering the US? *
What are some examples of how immigrants were treated, because of Americans’ fear of job competition? *
How did immigrants contribute to American society/culture during the Gilded Age? *
Did the immigrants assimilate into American culture, or did they try to keep their own heritage? If so, through what means was this achieved? *
How did immigrants benefit from American social reforms?

Native American Questions:

5996941 — 2015-05-15 16:19:34 UTC

Were there any consequences for those who resisted Americanization and the settlement of whites on their land?
Other than killing buffalo, what other methods were used to reduce the number of Native Americans?
How did the Native Americans compensate for the loss of their main source of subsistence?

38) From the Countryside to the City (c)

5996941 — 2015-05-15 16:20:52 UTC

40) Closing the Frontier (d)

5996941 — 2015-05-15 16:21:25 UTC

Why Ask?

5996941 — 2015-05-15 16:24:33 UTC

We wanted to learn more about Native Americans because the overview did not spend much time explaining how Native Americans ended up being disadvantaged by the coming of the Gilded Age. We know even less about how they would have benefited from the Gilded Age, if at all. We were also in the dark about the methods used to assimilate Native Americans.

Two Views on "Americanizing the Indians"

5996941 — 2015-05-15 16:30:27 UTC

(1879 - 1918)
"The common schools are the stomachs of the country in which all people that come to us are assimilated within a generation. When a lion eats an ox, the lion does not become an ox but the ox becomes a lion."
...Henry Ward Beecher
"If the Great Spirit had desired me to be a white man he would have made me so in the first place. He put in your heart certain wishes and plans; in my heart he put other and different desires.
Each man is good in the sight of the Great Spirit. It is not necessary, that eagles should be crows."
..Sitting Bull (Teton Sioux)
http://home.epix.net/~landis/

The Immigration Registry Room @ Ellis Island

5996941 — 2015-05-15 16:37:41 UTC

This is the registry room at Ellis Island where immigrants would go to be naturalized. This picture shows just how popular immigration was during the gilded age and how many people were attracted to the America’s standards of living.

Chinatown (Doyers St. in NY)

5996941 — 2015-05-15 16:39:13 UTC

This is an image of a Chinatown in Doyers Street. This shows how some immigrants fought to keep their culture alive instead of fully assimilating into American culture and customs. Many of these types of “towns” popped all over the country, and they were not just limited to the Chinese, for example, the Italian Market in Philadelphia.

Angel Island

5996941 — 2015-05-16 19:41:53 UTC

This image depicts detainees on Angel Island. There, the immigrants, mostly Chinese, were subjected to medical examinations. They would be checked for disease, and if they passed, they would return to their dorms to await hearings on the applications for entry into the US. These dorms were crowded, with little furnishings and privacy. Sanitary conditions and the janitorial services were also deplorable.

Japanese Immigrants @ Laundromat

5996941 — 2015-05-16 19:50:38 UTC

This is a image of Japanese immigrants working in a laundromat. Like the Chinese, Japanese immigrants also faced discrimination. They were highly regarded agriculturalists and hard workers, many owned business, like this laundromat. Because of this, Americans rivalled immigrants in job competition, which is one of the reasons Americans did not want immigrants in the US.

Ad for Indian Land

5996941 — 2015-05-16 20:24:33 UTC

This is an advertisement created by the US government encouraging white Americans to live on land that was stolen from the Native Americans. It features a list of locations along with the number of acres the property covered and its price per acre. As a result of the Dawes Allotment Act being passed Indians lost 90 million acres of land supposedly protected by treaties (which is about ⅔ of the land they had in 1887) and 90,000 Native Americans were forced from their ancestral homes.

Students @ Carlisle Indian Industrial School

5996941 — 2015-05-16 20:28:57 UTC

This is an image of a comparison of 3 boys’ first arrival at Carlisle Indian Industrial School and a short time later wearing their school uniforms. Carlisle was a boarding school for Native American children. This image further exemplifies the Americanization that the Native Americans had to go through. The picture of the boys shows their drastic change, it’s almost as if they have erased their heritage.

Why Ask?

5996941 — 2015-05-16 20:32:50 UTC

We wanted to delve deeper into what drove Americans to bar certain races from entering the US and we wanted more specific information on what made immigrants so threatening. There was also little talk on whether there was discourse from the Chinese and other ethnicities for being barred from the country.

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

5996941 — 2015-05-18 16:18:16 UTC

This act was passed in good will to abide by the desires of workers and people who wanted to maintain "racial purity" even though the Chinese population accounted for less than 1% of the US population.

Chinese Immigration

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Answers to Immigration Questions:

5996941 — 2015-05-18 16:27:55 UTC

The Chinese immigrants (and other Asians) were barred from the United States because of the settled Americans' fear of losing their jobs to cheaper labor. There were also anti-immigrant sentiments shared by Americans.
Immigrants contributed to Americans society by starting businesses. These immigrant-owned businesses would eventually change the American landscape and create neighborhoods that focused on particular cultures (ex: Chinatown, Little Italy, and others of the like).
The creation of restaurants and the presence of immigrants in the workforce (such as the Japanese women working at the laundromat) left an imprint on American society and forced the country to incorporate new ideas from other cultures. However, by letting their native cultures mingle with the one's that already existed they did not fully assimilate to American culture. Most immigrants assimilated just enough to get by.
When detained most immigrants met with deplorable conditions compared to that of their white counterparts.
Immigrants who worked as farmers in their countries of origin were given the opportunity to become entrepreneurs. Some people, most notably the Irish, became low wage workers just like their American counterparts. Women in this group also worked in factories and many thought that this was a step up from working as domestic servants with no leisure time.

Answers to Native American Questions:

5996941 — 2015-05-18 16:34:44 UTC

Native Americans who resisted colonization not only risked incurring the wrath of white Americans but also that of their fellow tribe members since many tribes were divided when it came to whether they should be Americanized or not.
Native Americans were typically disposed of during the Indian Wars where American federal troops encroached onto their land and fought in battles between them. This typically occurred after Native Americans showed resistance toward white settlers through raiding towns where they settled and killing people as well. Other than losing their main source of food, or their lives some Native Americans were simply pushed out of their land further west, onto less than desirable soil.
The Native American diet was diverse to begin with so they fell back on to diets that consisted of fish, vegetables and meats other than buffalo.

Native American Fishing Spears

5996941 — 2015-05-19 16:31:14 UTC

This is an image of Native American fishing spears. When the population of buffalo decreased, Native Americans had to find other ways to sustain themselves. It is possible that they fished, gathered, farmed, or raised domestic animals in order to compensate for the loss of their main source of subsistence. Many raised corn, beans, squash, etc., and many fished for salmon, as well.

The Sand Creek Massacre

2015-05-19 17:35:56 UTC

“The Sand Creek Massacre” by Robert Lindneaux depicts his image of the US Army attacking upon the peaceful Cheyenne and Arapahoe villages. This violence was a response to the intolerance of the Native Americans of being pushed on to less desirable lands. The massacre was led by Colonel John M. Chivington, and he and his volunteer soldiers killed about 400 Native Americans, most of whom were women and children.

The Sand Creek Massacre

5996941 — 2015-05-19 18:21:29 UTC

“The Sand Creek Massacre” by Robert Lindneaux depicts him image of the US Army attacking upon the peaceful Cheyenne and Arapahoe villages. This violence was a response to the intolerance of the Native Americans of being pushed on to less desirable lands. The massacre was led by Colonel John M. Chivington and there were about 400 Native Americans killed, most of whom were women and children.

The Indian Wars

5996941 — 2015-05-19 19:55:34 UTC

Growth, Cities, and Immigration: Crash Course US History #25

5996941 — 2015-05-19 19:58:47 UTC