IMMIGRATION Coming to America. Where did they come from? MOSTLY FROM: Northern/Western Europe...
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IMMIGRATION Coming to America
Transcript of IMMIGRATION Coming to America. Where did they come from? MOSTLY FROM: Northern/Western Europe...
IMMIGRATION Coming to America
Where did they come from?
MOSTLY FROM:
• Northern/Western Europe (Before Civil War) English, Scots, Irish, Germans, Scandinavians
• Southern /Eastern Europe (After Civil War) Italians, Greeks, Slavic peoples (Poles, Slovaks, Czechs, Croats, Serbs, Ukrainians, Russians, Armenians)
To clarify…• Before 1880, most
European immigrants came from northwest Europe
• After 1880, most European immigrants came from southwest Europe
Why did they leave?
Push and Pull Reasons of Course!
Over-Population
How much did the US Population change over time?
• US population 1860: 31.5 million• US population 1920: 61.5 million
• What a HUGE addition -
30 million more people!
How many Immigrants came to the United States?
Lack of Jobs
Government Tyranny
Crop Failures!
Land Shortages!
Famine
High Taxes/ Cost of Living
Political or Religious Persecution
How did immigrants get here?• Steamships made of iron
and steel
• 2-3 weeks to 1 week by 1900
• Created “birds of passage”-single male worker who came for a short time, earn money, and return home
Steerage – for the “Economically Disadvantaged”
• Most immigrants traveled in Steerage (large open area under the ship’s deck)
• Cheap fares
• Limited toilet facilities withno privacy
Steerage postcard
Ports of Entry
• Boston• Philadelphia• Baltimore• Seattle• San Francisco• But New York was most
popular!
Entrance to USA
• In 1886 greeted by Statue of Liberty in NY harbor
What do you think she represented to
immigrants?
Castle Garden
• Overwhelmed by 1890!
• 70% of all European immigrants arrived in
NYC
ELLIS ISLAND• In 1892 an immigration center
opened at Ellis Island in NY harbor to “process” those in lower-
class/”steerage”
• Immigrants were given a medical check-up and asked a series of questions
ELLIS ISLAND“Gateway to America” or “Golden Door”
• 70% of European immigrants arrived in NYC
• Processed through within hours or days
• Sometimes immigrants were “quarantined” (isolated to prevent the spread of disease): tuberculosis, small pox, measles
• Some were even deported due to serious diseases: trachoma or other reasons
The caption reads . . .
Held at Ellis Island – Undesirable emigrants to be taken back by steamship company that
brought them
Deportation of “idiots, imbeciles, feeble-minded persons, epileptics, insane persons; …persons with chronic alcoholism
The Ellis Island record of an immigrant who deemed "feebledminded" by US officials, then summarily deported. (source:
ForgottenEllisIsland.com)
After the Medical
Exam, an interview…
• Name?• Occupation?• Who paid your fare?• Can you read or write?• How much money do you have?• Have you been to prison or in a poorhouse?• Where are you going?• Do you have a job already?
The Ellis Island of the West Coast
Angel Island• Located in San Francisco Bay
• Poor conditions: • Overcrowded
• Poorly ventilated
• Filthy conditions
• Men and women, including husbands and wives, were separated and not allowed to see or communicate with each other again until they were admitted to the country.
• Immigrants were processed over a longer period of time: weeks or months vs. days on Ellis Island
Urbanization – Growth of the Cities!• Most immigrants tended to settle in the
city of their arrival (i.e. - land in Ellis Island, stay in New York…)
• Ethnic neighborhoods develop – people in the neighborhood share a common language, food, history, etc…(i.e. – Little Italy, Little Greece, Chinatown, etc
Where Did Immigrants Settle?
• Only 2% of Immigrants went to the
south –why?
Immigrant Work• Unskilled jobs• Low paying – even children had to work• Long hours• Factory work – tedious, tiring, dangerous• So many people needed jobs – you could
be replaced very easily – don’t even think about calling in sick!
• Limited opportunities
• Mines, mills, and factories
•Friends and relatives helped each other
Jobs for European Immigrants
Asian (Chinese) Immigrants
• Viewed with suspicion and subject to hostility because the culture was so different!
• Kept to themselveswith otherChineseimmigrants
Jobs for Chinese Immigrants• On the railroad (Transcontinental Railroad
in particular)• Agriculture
• Mining
• Fishing
• Food Prep.
• Laundry
• A Chinese Laundry
Chinese Exclusion Act• Racism and the loss of jobs fuels
Anti-Chinese sentiment in California.
• In response to California labor unions, the U.S. government bans all Chinese laborers from entering the country in 1892!
• This and other Chinese restriction laws remain in effect until 1965!
Jobs for Japanese Immigrants
• Worked in private business and were not involved much with unions, unlike the Chinese
Immigration Restrictions• Poor Economy
• War• Racism
• Overpopulation
All lead to official restrictions on U.S. Immigration
Limiting Immigration
How do you limit the amount of immigrants coming into a country?
• Quotas – a limit placed on the number allowed to immigrate
• Exclusions – preventing a group from immigrating
Most notably…
The Gentleman’s Agreement
• In California, Asian students attended segregated schools.
• Japan protests, so…
• T. Roosevelt made a compromise with Japanese officials.
According to the Gentleman’s Agreement – America promised
not to segregate Japanese students and Japan promised
not to send Japanese workers to America
Example of a Quota• Immigration Act of 1924 – limited the
number of immigrants from each country.
• the 1890 US Census totaled the amount of immigrants in the US, and then restricted immigration to 2% of each individual group’s total – IE. There were 200,000 Italian immigrants in
the US in 1890. Only 4,000 Italians were allowed entry each year.
What about Mexico?• Starting in 1902
immigration from Mexico was PROMOTED for jobs in the farming and mining industries of the Southwest
• …how does that differ from today?
• The Growth of the Cities
Urbanization!
• Filled w/ tenements – low cost apartments, designed to hold many families
• Very poor living conditions–Rats, Open Sewers, Disease, & Fire
Immigrant Ghettos
City Growth
• Urbanization – the growth of the cities!
Rise of Political Bosses
• Political Machine – unofficial city org. that kept a party / group in power.
• Headed by a single leader / “Boss”
Rise of Political Bosses• Most Famous - William “Boss” Tweed• Ran Tammany Hall - Democratic Party
in NYC
Rise of Political Bosses• That doesn’t sound so bad…..
– City government grows powerful to provide for people’s (immigrants) needs• Fire protection, transportation, etc
– Exchange of favors• Politicians offer jobs, loans, help finding a place to live• They helped poor people when gov’t or industry would not
…so what’s the problem?
All those “gifts” were given with understanding that you would support the “machine”.
You had to vote for who they wanted and not complain about it.
…if not, you could find yourself without a job or a home!
Is that true democracy?• Other candidates didn’t stand a chance
“the Tammany Tiger destroys democracy…”
Brought down by Political Cartoonist – Thomas Nast
