6.8 Responses to Immigration in the Gilded Age

Immigration in the late nineteenth century provoked a wide range of responses that reflected the contradictions of American society. Industrialists welcomed the steady supply of cheap labor, while reformers, politicians, and native-born workers debated the moral and economic implications of mass immigration. The Social Gospel, inspired by Protestant reformers, emphasized the Christian duty to improve the lives of the poor and the immigrant. Figures such as Washington Gladden and Walter Rauschenbusch sought to apply religious principles to the social problems of industrial cities, advocating for better housing, education, and labor conditions. Their efforts inspired the establishment of settlement houses, such as Jane Addams ’s Hull House, which provided social services, vocational training, and cultural education for immigrants struggling to adapt to urban life.