Immigration, Ethnicity, and the “Nadir of Race Relations”

Learning Objectives

1. Explain who the “new immigrants” were and why many Americans opposed their arrival in the United States. Describe the actions that were aimed at trying to limit migration from Central and Southern Europe during the 1890s.
2. Explain what historians mean when they refer to the 1890s as “the nadir of race relations.” List the kinds of evidence that might support this conclusion, as well as ideas and examples that show race relations were no worse, or were even better, than during Reconstruction and the 1880s.
3. Describe the ways that African Americans defended their rights and strengthened their communities during the 1890s. At the same time, explain the significance of lynching on those efforts. Analyze the meaning of lynching and Jim Crow, and describe the ways black Americans faced such injustice.