Month: February 2011

02/19/11

Inhumane Inspections

After the Mexican revolution of 1910, many Mexican’s began immigrating to America. With this influx, a new prejudice against Mexicans developed regarding their use marijuana.

In the 1900s, immigrants who arrived at Ellis Island were inspected by doctors, and those that were infected, were treated. However if the disease was untreatable, the immigrants would be sent back.

By comparing these two pictures, one of an inspection of Mexican immigrants, and the other of European immigrants arriving at Ellis Island, the two peoples were treated very differently based on prejudices. Although taken around the same time, you could see that the first picture is much more personal and invoking. Furthermore the setting of the pictures, although similar, is vastly different. The second picture seems staged, and is formal, whereas the first picture is more exploratory and gives us much more insight into the stereotypes and attitudes of those times.

02/19/11

From China To US

This is a bunch of working class Chinese immigrants who came to California looking for gold.

This is a family who came to American during the 1890s. They look different from the previous picture because they look like they were ready to settle in American and they don’t look like they going to dig for gold or anything. In the first picture of how people dressed, we can see that they still keep some of their Chinese dressing style as well as the second picture. The first picture also shows that 5 people staying in one big room, maybe they will be sharing this room for their stay in America, showing the hard living environment in America during the immigration period.

02/18/11

Immigrants and Ellis Island

Medical examination Ellis Island, 1910, from Library of Congress
was
Ellis Island, 1911, from Library of Congress

The pictures are from the Library of Congress. Although both pictures depict the immigrants in Ellis Island around the same time, the pictures are taken under different circumstances. The first one was taken while the officers were giving medical examinations to the immigrants, so the photographer can record a natural depiction of the scene. On the other hand, the second picture was taken while everyone was aware of the photographer, so most of the people in the second picture was looking straight to the camera. Despite of the different atmosphere in the photographs, both pictures convey a sense of weariness. This is reasonable because the long and tedious immigration processes could only wear out the liveliness of the immigrants and officers.

02/18/11

Traveling to America

The map of the United States compose of all different races of immigrants in the nation.

A political cartoon of illegal U.S. immigrants.

The two images above both associate with the immigration of the United States. The ability of seeking opportunities and many other advantages such as freedom of religion and free education etc…attracted many people all over to world to a new country. Some enter the country risking all costs, even if it’s an unlawful way of doing it. Illegal immigration one of the nation’s main concern over many decades. Above all the diversity of  races shapes many aspect of the nation. The U.S. is to like melting pot to many cultures and  people of  varieties of interests.

02/18/11

Journey to America.

Picture of Japanese brides coming to U.S. to help Japanese men find a wife. Early 1900s

These two documents were taken from two different sites. The first picture is black and white which shows a larger portrait of the place and the womens migrating. This helped Japanese men that were already in U.S find their overseas wives. The picture shows up clearer than the second one. The second one has colors  but it isn’t as clear as the first one. The second picture was after the Gentlemen’s agreement.

02/17/11

Detained immigrants on Ellis Island, New York harbor. Drawn by M. Colin. 1893 Aug. 26.
Immigrants at Battery Park, New York, N.Y. Byron (Firm : New York, N.Y.), photographer. 1900.

These two primary documents were taken from The Libabry of Congress.  The first one was drawn by a painter M.Colin for “Harper’s weekly” newspaper. The second one was taken by an employee of The Byron Company, which is a New York City photography studio in Manhattan that was founded in 1892. The quality of the photo is much better compared to others taken at that time. I also think that people from that photo are from the middle or even upper class, whereas people from the first image appear to be from the lower class. There is also a time difference: the images were created 7  years apart.

02/17/11

King of Steel

A US Steel Bond from the early 1900's

Taking into account the fact that we do attend school in New York city, it’s more than likely that most of our families probably immigrated to the United States in just the past 100 years or so in search of a better life. America was free, and that meant opportunity for anyone to not only better their situation in life, but to really make it – to realize the “American Dream”.

To me, Andrew Carnegie represents better than anyone one else in history, the realization of this “American Dream”. He came here from Scotland in 1848 when his native land fell on hard times. He started as a worker in a cotton mill at the age of 13, working 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, earning $8 a month. At 15, he began work as a telegraph messenger boy; and by 1853, when he was just 18 years old he had worked his way up to heading the Pittsburgh division of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company – the perfect place to be to witness and take part in the creation of the world’s first big business.

Fast forward a couple of years to the mid 1870’s. After a considerable amount of successful investments, many of which returned over $1,000,000, Carnegie founds the Carnegie Steel Company. Carnegie Steel quickly becomes an industry leader and plays a major role in The United States becoming the world’s overwhelmingly largest producer of steel. In 1901 Carnegie Steel is integrated as part of the newly found US Steel Corporation, a conglomerate of the largest steel producers in the country created in an effort to maximize profit by minimizing cost and waste, and eliminating competition. The company becomes the world’s first Billion dollar corporation – worth over $1,400,000,000.

Andrew Carnegie’s Shares are bought out for $225,639,000 – thats about $5,741,789,168 in today’s terms.

From his humble begginings as a cotton mill worker to one of the richest, most significant, most influencial men in modern history, Andrew Carnegie is proof that hard work, dedication, and the right opportunities can give anybody a chance and greatness.

Andrew Carnegie IS the American Dream.

-C. Salama

02/16/11

Immigration in the early generations

The difference between these two pictures is that one picture displays Ellis Island which was where all foreigner’s entering through the East Coast had to pass through.  It was rough as people had to stay there for days, weeks, and sometimes even months to get cleared to pass.  The other picture is different as it shows chinese fisherman working in the West Coast.  In the early 1900’s the Fishermen in the U.S. where from China, as they brought talent and were known for being great at what they did.

02/16/11

Assignment due 2/23

1) Reading: Foner, Chapter 18
2) Post: Locate and insert into your post two photographs originally produced between 1890 and 1916 depicting some aspect of the immigrant experience.  Both images should be new to the blog.
Recommended sources for images: http://guides.newman.baruch.cuny.edu/aecontent.php?pid=88593
Write a one sentence caption for each indicating basic information such as date, photographer (if known), and the person, place, or event portrayed.
Write 1-2 paragraphs explaining differences between the images.  This can include the subjects portrayed, the style of image, the date of the image, etc.

02/14/11

Pendleton Act (1883)

The Pendleton Act is a federal law established in 1883 that use British civic system as a reference and provision that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit. This is the first time federal government established the three principles of personnel management, included competitive exams, permanent position and politically neutral position.  It also made it illegal to fire or demotes government employees for political reasons. Started during the Chester A. Arthur administration, the Pendleton Act served as a response to the massive public support of civil service reform that grew following President James Garfield’s assassination by Charles Julius Guiteau.

02/14/11

Assignment due 2/16

1) Read Foner, Chapter 17
2) Read at least 2 posts written by a classmate showing a primary document (for the Feb. 14 assignment)
3) For each, write a brief (3-4 sentences max) comment explaining, in your opinion, the value of the primary document.  How does the context provided by the post author help you understand the document.  What other sources should the document be combined with in order to make the most sense of it?

02/14/11

The 13th Amendment

The 13th Amendment was established on December 6th 1865.  This amendment made it illegal to own slaves.  This was one of the largest amendments considering the excessive amount of slavery in the U.S. especially the South.  From 1865 till today it has been illegal to force someone to work for you even if there is compensation  involved.

The 13th amendment was the 1st amendment that protected blacks in the American constitution.   Abraham Lincoln was the president at the time and just witnessed the civil war which earned blacks the right to live as free people.  The Civil War and was really the major player in declaring America a “free country.”  Soon after the 13th amendment came the 14th and 15th amendments that once again protected blacks.  The 14th amendment allowed blacks to declare themselves as citizens, and the 15th amendment declared that no citizen shall be denired the right to vote regardless of their race, or ethnicity.

In our modern generation people are becoming more and more accepting of others despite their color, and it all started by the prestigious 13th amendment.

02/14/11

Huge Black Friday Sale … of gold on Friday, September 24, 1869

This was the first time the term “Black Friday” was used. It was coined by New York Times in response to the financial panic, caused by manipulation of the price of gold. The scheme was carried out by J Fisk and J Gould. They managed to recruit Abel Corbin, president Grant’s brother-in-law, to persuade president to start selling gold, and to gain access to inside information about when are the sellouts going to be. As a result of their activity on September 24th, 1869 the price of gold fell dramatically within minutes when government started selling. People lost fortunes. It had far reaching disrupting consequences for the economy, as gold was the cornerstone of monetary policy in the US at the time. Foreign trade was halted, export of agricultural products fell by over 50%.
The picture below is the photograph of the transaction board in the New York Gold Room on that day. It shows the prices at which the deals were made. The photograph was used in the subsequent congressional investigation, which was substantially limited because the members of the presidential family were not allowed to testify. Needless to say, presidential reputation was damaged by the crisis.


image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(1869)

based on:
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1016.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(1869)

02/14/11

You Go Girls!

The Seneca Falls Convention was held on July 19-20, 1848 consisting of both men and women whom came together to discuss about women’s rights. This convention was because it started the uprise of woman fighting for their rights. Some politcal gains immediately took effect such as the Married Woman’s Property Act which allowed the rights of ownership to property woman brought into or gained during the marriage.

The Convention had a heated debate over the right for woman to vote. Ultimately it was included and exactly 100 people signed off on this document, mostly women. As a result of the success the held a second convention in Massachusetts.

02/14/11

The First Vote

Congress passed  the Fifteenth Amendment on February 26, 1869  to the United States Constitution.  It prohibits each government in the nation denying citizens to vote, despite of their race, color, or the previous experience of being a slave  except for women. The drawing from above was by Waud, Alfred R.  to portray the first vote of the African Americans. The intention of the artist was to show the eagerness of the former slaves to vote. This amendment did not only granted the African Americans’ right to vote, but also marked the victory of the Civil War.

02/14/11

It Aint Over ‘Til The Fat Lady Sings!

Fat Lady Singing

Reconstruction virtually ended when the fat lady sang in Ford’s Theater.  A single bullet to the back of the head killed the hopes and dreams freed slaves. President Abraham Lincoln was assasignated on the night of April 14, 1865.  Lincoln’s death left Andrew Johnson to be president.

In January 1865 General Sherman issued Special Field Orders, No. 15, which is known to most as 40 Acres and a Mule.  It was an order that gave freed black slaves land. Approximately 10000 freed slaves had settled on 400,000 Acres of land when new President Johnson reversed the order and forced freed blacks to return the land.

Also Established in 1865 was the Freedman’s Bureau. The Freedman’s Bureau created schools & hospitals, negotiated labor contracts, leased or sold confiscated lands to the freed men, and tried to protect former slaves from their masters in the South.  President Johnson vetoed the bill for its extension in 1866. 

The final straw for a reconstruction period that barely got  anything done was in 1877 with the corrupt bargain.  The corrupt bargain was basically a deal that exchanged the presidency for an unsupervised south.  This is likely what lead to Jim Crow laws and other laws of that nature. 

Reconstruction ended at the very beginning, with Lincoln’s Death.

02/14/11

The Return of KKK

In 1865, American Civil War has ended, but the racial war has just started a new chapter.  Although the nation is once again unified, but the difference between racial perspective hasn’t been changed until many years later.  The lost of war did not make southerners give up their believe in slavery.  Many veterans of Confederate Army have organized and committed brutal crimes against white and racial republicans.  Although Ku Klux Klan is organized originally at local area, many other groups across the southern states have adopted the name.  The image above shows three members of Ku Klux Klan under arrest at Tishomingo county, Mississippi on September 1871 for attempt murdering a family.  In 1870, Government passed Force Act to fight the crimes and place soldiers to protect racial republicans and peoples.

This picture above shows a gathering of KKK members Gainesville, Florida at December 31, 1922.  With Government’s involvement, the scale of Ku Klux Klan gets smaller as more members of KKK is prosecuted under the law.  In 1920s, KKK re-emerges when racial conflicts is incorporated with religious conflicts.  The member of KKK become more organized and openly practiced.  The Klan fades away at 1940s because of criminal acts committed by the head of the organizers.

02/14/11

Grants Justify Exploitation?

This a letter from a library trustee to Andrew Carnegie asking for a grant to open a public library in Riverdale, California. According to Foner, “Carnegie dominated the steel industry and had accumulated a fortune of hundreds of millions of dollars”. As we all know Carnegie gave much of his fortune away. My question is why couldn’t Carnegie also use his “hundreds of millions of dollars” to pay his workers more or  provide better working conditions for them?

Carnegie  was only one of many business employers that gave most of their fortune away but still took advantage of their employees. How are they “promoting the advancement of society” while exploiting their workers? Doesn’t their exploitation take away from the workers quality of life? I believe they could have promoted the advancement of society by letting workers organize unions and give them a safer work environment. Also, the government could have helped the workers fight for their rights more.

02/14/11

The Amendment that Freed U.S.All

The thirteenth amendment was adopted on December 6, 1865 and became the first amendment of the Reconstruction. This amendment abolished all slavery and involuntary servitude except for punishment for a crime. The importance of this amendment is that it was passed shortly after the Emancipation of Proclamation to show that the proclamation was not just a temporary war measure for the Civil War. President Lincoln wanted to guarantee the slaves their freedom.

In addition, it is also important to know that it took many years for this Amendment to pass. The amendment was rejected the first time by the House of Representative. It was President Lincoln whom worked closely with the House that got the amendment passed the second time around.