IMMIGRATION AND URBANIZATION

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IMMIGRATION AND URBANIZATION
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New Immigrants

• New Immigrants Southern and Eastern Europeans
  during 1870s until WWI.
• Came from Ireland, Germany, Italy, Greece,
  Poland, Hungary and Russia.
• Often unskilled, poor, Catholic or Jewish, and
  planning to save some money to take back home.
• Old Immigrants- Came before the Irish and German
  immigrants.
• After 1900, New Immigrants made up 70 of all
  immigrants.
• American natives felt threatened by the new
  immigrants

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Old v. New
RELIGION BIRTHPLACE REASONS DESTINATION OCCUP
ATION
Protestant Catholic and Jewish North/Western
Southern/Eastern Europe Europe Both escaping
poverty, religious and political
persecution Moved to farms Moved to cities in
the in the Midwest Northeast Became
farmers Unskilled workers
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Push Factors

• Push Factors Things that force/push people out
  of a place or land.
• Drought or famine
• Political revolutions or wars
• Religious persecution
• Economic struggles

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Push Factors

• 1880s- Farmers had a difficult time in Mexico,
  Poland, and China.
• 1840s- many wars and political revolutions in
  China and Eastern Europe which caused economic
  troubles.
• Russian and Eastern European Jews faced religious
  persecution and fled to the U.S. for safety.

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Pull Factors

• Pull Factors Things that attract people to a
  place or land.
• Plentiful Land
• Employment
• Religious Freedom
• Political Freedom
• New Life

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Pull Factors

• 1862 Homestead Act and aid from railroad
  companies made western farmland inexpensive.
• Workers were recruited from homelands to build
  railroads, dig mines, or work in factories.
• Many wanted to find gold.
• Chain immigrants come to be with family or
  friends who had gone before to start new lives.

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Journey to America

• Many immigrants could barely afford a ticket to
  come to the U.S.
• They could only pack what they could carry.
  (Clothes, photograph, tools for their trade)
• Many would wait in line for hours to try to get
  on a ship and in many cases it was very dangerous
  to do this.

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Journey to America

• Steerage Where most immigrants traveled on the
  ship.
• Steerage was located on the lowest decks of the
  ship with no private cabins, and was dirty and
  crowded.
• Seasickness was an issue in rough weather and
  illnesses spread quickly in the lower decks.

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Immigrants Arrive in America

• 2 ports of entry into the U.S.
• Ellis Island- New York City
• Angel Island- San Francisco Bay
• To enter the ports immigrants had to be healthy
  and show they had money, a skill, or a sponsor to
  provide for them.
• They had to go through a series of health tests
  and evaluations and could possibly be sent back
  to their homeland if they did not meet proper
  guidelines..

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Ellis Island was built in 1892 as the 1st
Immigration Center Later, closed in the
1940s Today it is a museum.

• The goal was to screen immigrants coming from
  Europe.
• Immigrants took physical examinations and were
  held at Ellis Island before they were released to
  the US mainland.

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Ellis Island

• Most European immigrants came through here. (NYC)
• 1st and 2nd class passengers were inspected on
  the ship then released.
• 3rd class had to go in to be inspected.
• A series of medical and legal inspections would
  take place before you were allowed to take a
  ferry in to the city.
• Ellis Island was the more welcoming of the two
  ports.

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Angel Island

• Most Chinese and Asian immigrants came through
  here (San Francisco Bay)
• Opened in 1910.
• Made it very hard for Chinese immigrants to come
  into the U.S.
• Most had to prove they were American citizens to
  be let in.
• Immigrants were sometimes left here for days or
  weeks in poor conditions.

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Immigrants Change America

• Immigrants changed America in many ways.
• Fueled industrial growth
• Acquired citizenship
• Elected politicians
• Made their traditions a part of American culture.
  
• Mexican Americans developed ranching techniques.
• Chinese, Irish, and Mexican workers built
  railroads.
• Immigrants worked in coal mines, steel and
  textile mills, and factories.
• Women immigrants worked in factories,
  seamstresses, laundresses, made piecework, and
  worked as servants.
• Immigrants helped the U.S. become a world power.

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But how were immigrants treated?
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Immigrants Assimilate Into Society

• Assimilate
• to fit in, cause to resemble.
• Most immigrants stayed in cities and lived in
  ethnic neighborhoods called ghettos.
• These neighborhoods would share the same
  language, religion, and culture.
• By 1890 many cities had a huge immigrant
  population. 4/5 people in NYC were immigrants.

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Explore the life of an immigrant and their living
conditions

• http//www.tenement.org/

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Assimilation

• Americanization helping newcomers learn
  American ways. (Language, customs, dress, and
  diet)
• In many cities Americanization institutions arose
  to help immigrants fit in.
• America became known as the Melting Pot.
• Immigrants usually stuck with their native
  cultures but children of immigrants were more
  likely to adopt American ways.

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Immigrants Face Hostility

• Nativism belief that native born white
  Americans were superior to immigrants.
• Competition for jobs and homes often fueled
  resentment and religious and cultural differences
  caused tensions as well.
• Chinese Exclusion Act 1882 Prohibited
  immigration by Chinese laborers, limited civil
  rights of immigrants in America, and forbade
  naturalization of Chinese residents.
• A later ruling said the Chinese who were already
  in America were considered U.S. citizens.

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Chinese Exclusion Act

• Resentment and discrimination against the
  Chinese.
• First law to restrict immigration.
• Taking away jobs from Nativists

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• Congress also passed another act that prohibited
  the entry of anyone who was a criminal, immoral,
  or someone who handicapped.
• These were the beginnings of immigration
  restriction in America.
• A quota act is later going to be placed on how
  many immigrants can come to the U.S. from a given
  country.