2.7 - Mid-Semester 2 Reflection

Immigrants pulling into Ellis Island

1. The most important thing that I have learned about immigration in the 19th century is that there was so much harshness and opposition towards the arrival of foreigners. U.S. born citizens were so critical of and prejudiced against these immigrants, even though they were escaping persecution or other environmental challenges in their home countries in many cases. Ideas like nativism, which was hostility towards immigrants, arose in this time period, many times out of either fear or prejudice. Americans feared that immigrants would bring radical ideas and practices like anarchism and socialism, would detriment the unity of Protestantism, and would be a hindrance to native workers jobs and wages. These fears culminated in a unified air of xenophobia, where propaganda and anti-immigrant rhetoric ran rampant. These things surprised me because I had always thought that this was a time when immigration was welcomed with open arms and widely accepted.

2. The most important thing that I have learned about immigration today is that although there is much controversy over the topic of immigrants being beneficial or detrimental to our society, it is overall a good thing for the US economy. Research showed that there was not a huge increase in the influx of immigrants to the United States in recent years, but rather a small decrease, contrary to common belief. As long as there is not an overwhelming number of illegal immigrants streaming into the country, I have learned that they can, in fact, affect the US economy positively. They can take menial, low-paying, labor-intensive jobs that might not be filled otherwise, and therefore give the economy and society a boost. They rarely pose a threat to higher-level jobs requiring a large degree of education, and almost never harm the financial well-being of American citizens.

3. I think that the two most challenging aspects of living in 19th century urban settings were the overcrowded spaces for living and the poor sanitation that consumed every major city. I couldn't imagine living and sleeping in a dwelling the size of a small living room with a dozen other people every day. The sheer amount of immigration by foreigners and migration by blacks and southerners created a huge epidemic of overpopulation in big urban cities like New York and Chicago. This lead to not only neighborhoods being filled to the brim, but also even households. Living quarters like tenant houses were filled with tens of family members and strangers to each room, leaving virtually no space to do anything. Not only was this uncomfortable, but it also posed a safety hazard in the case that a fire or other emergency happened to break out. The second aspect that would be difficult to live with was the utterly terrible state of sanitation. There was trash, sewage, and everything of the likes just sitting in the streets, in gutters, and on the balconies of living spaces. This caused disease to spread quickly and easily, in addition to just being an unpleasant public nuisance. Though this was a focus of improvement during the progressive era, it is still a trademark of the challenges of 19th century living.

4. The construction of the Highline is similar to 19th/20th century progressivism in the sense that it was taking something that was bad, and not only getting rid of that detrimental thing, but going so far as to improve it and transform it into something positive. The progressive movement is defined by the textbook as reformers trying to improve things in society like politics, the environment, social welfare, and justice. However, much of this movement was programs and action initiated by the government, for progress as well as out of fear of protests by workers who were angry at the poor conditions of society. The Highline on the other hand was an idea initiated by individuals rather than the government. A few people stepped in when discussion of tearing the Highline down was brought up, wanting to preserve it and transform it into something creative and useful instead of just destroying it completely. They used their connections and networked until they were able to establish a plan and get it approved. It was not a planned out, government-sponsored idea that was initiated in response to an issue. It was a spontaneous, unplanned idea that came together piece by piece with the help of many individuals with many different specialties and occupations. It was a combined effort that resulted in a community project that not only got rid of an unattractive, unsafe old railroad, but remolded it into something completely new and beautiful and creative that the whole community could use and benefit from.