Immigration History

Define

Emigrate : Leave one's own country in order to settle permanently in another

Immigrate: coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence

First Wave of Immigration

1830s / 1850s – Northwestern Europeans flee starvation, feudal governments & social upheaval from the Industrial Revolution. They came here from:

Ireland Germany Scandinavia As well as China

Second Wave of Immigration

A “Flood-Tide” from Eastern & Southern Europe

Fleeing burdens of high taxes, poverty & overpopulation, oppression & religious persecution

Ellis Island Wave

Ellis IslandFrom Europe

to “The Golden Door”

100 Million Americans Can Trace Ancestry to Ellis Island

12 Million pass through from 1892 – 1954

Peak years from 1892 – 1924 11,747 processed on one day 1907 Quotas begin to restrict immigrants

1924 A quota is a certain number of

immigrants allowed from certain countries.

Used as detention center for enemy aliens 1943

Closes doors 1954

The Ship’s Manifest

Before Boarding Ship, Each Passenger was Subjected to De-Lousing & Questioning

A Series of 29 Questions were Asked Answers were Written on the Ship’s

Manifest In English Documenting Information for

Genealogists Today

The Ship’s Manifest

Leaving Europe for America

$12.00 Ticket

10-14 Day Journey

3rd Class Steerage

Crude Conditions

Onboard Ship

End of the Journey “Give Me Your

Tired, Your Poor. Your Huddled Masses Yearning to Breathe Free, The Wretched Refuse of Your Teeming Shore… “

Arrival At Ellis Island Transferred from

Ship to the Island via Ferry

Sometimes Waiting for Hours to be Moved

And Reach the Golden Door to America

Welcome to America!

The Waiting Room

The Great Hall

The Waiting Is Over Now began a series of tests that

would determine your fate Only 2 % were sent back 2% of 12 Million Would you like to have 2% of $12

Million Dollars?

The Inspection Line

The Medical Exam Medical Inspectors

watched the people & marked them with chalk

The exam was frightening & embarrassing

Many varied ailments could send you home

Chalk Marks Used at Ellis Island

X – Suspected Mental Defect Circled X- Definite Signs of Mental Defects B – Black C- Conjunctivitis CT – Trachoma E- Eyes F- Face Ft- Feet

G- Goiter H- Heart K- Hernia N- Neck L- Lameness P- Physical & Lungs PG- Pregnancy SC- Scalp S- Senility SI- Special Inquiry

The Questions Asked a Series of

29 Questions The Same as Were

Asked Before Leaving Europe

To See if Your Story Remained the Same

The Mental Exam Immigrants who

Looked “Out of the Ordinary” Were Given Mental Exams

If You Failed the Exams (3 Chances), You Were Deported

Or Sent to DC to Become a Congressman

Making it Once All the Testing Was Done, You Were

Allowed to Leave the Island & Become an American

Support for immigrants was sparse No government assistance to speak of Political parties in large cities played a role

(political machines) Local ethnic groups formed aid societies Immigrants for the most part lived in segregated

communities

The Streets Are Paved with Gold

“I came here believing the streets were paved with gold. I found out the streets weren’t paved at all, And I was expected to pave them!”

Nativist Resistance

Too Many Undesirables

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 effectively ends Chinese immigration

A growing Nativist movement grips the nation

Sacco and Vanzetti

Third Wave of Immigration

1970s-present– Asian Refugees (post Vietnam) Mexico=Largest Number Cuba Central America India

Lead to both a debate over illegal immigration and legal immigration centered on “needs based” professions and reuniting families

Limiting Immigration

Quota system instituted in 1922

Limits immigrants to a percentage of ethnic group already in the U.S.

Favors “desirable” immigrants over others

America, The Melting Pot

Our Unique Blend of Ethnicity has Resulted in a New & Distinct Culture Amongst the Nations of the World

Are We Really a Melting Pot?

Or More Like A Salad Bowl

Cultural Blending

Elements of Cultural Blending here?

Laws Governing Immigration

The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1952 (McCarran-Walter Act) establishes the basics of immigration laws and creates a national immigration agency.

The Immigration Act of 1965 (Hart-Cellar Act) changed the criteria for admitting immigrants from concentrating on their nationality to focusing on their skills and profession.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 granted amnesty to illegal aliens who had been in the U.S. before 1982 and made it a crime to hire an illegal alien.

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 adopted stronger penalties against illegal immigration and streamlined the deportation process.