Immigration in United States between 1865-1915

Objective

Students will be able to analyze the “push” and “pull” factors for immigration at the turn of the century and the American reaction to it by completing diary entries.

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Warm-up

• What does this graph show?
• What were reasons for increased immigration from 1830-1910?
• What could be the reasons for the rapid decline of immigration between 1910-1940?
• What could be the reasons for increased immigration after 1940?

Europe: late 1800s

Immigration to the US

• From 1880-1921 a record setting 23 million immigrants arrived on America’s shores in what one scholar called “the largest mass movement in human history
• At this time, the United States had no quotas, or limits, how many immigrants from a particular country could enter the U.S. Nor did it require immigrants to have a passport or special entrance papers.

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Old Immigrants

“Old” Immigrants

• Europeans coming before 1890
• Originated chiefly from northern and western Europe
• Many settled on farms in the West
• customs and traditions similar to American way of life

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Europe: late 1800s

“New” Immigrants

“New” Immigrants

• Europeans coming after 1890
• Came in greater numbers than ever before
• from 1901-1910 8,800,000 persons entered the U.S.
• settled in the cities as factory workers
• customs and traditions different from those of Americans = difficulty in adjusting to American ways of life

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Immigration to United States 1880-1920

Reasons for Immigration

Push Factors Pull Factors

• Economic
• Agricultural based economies declined in Europe
• Political
• Political and religious persecution.
• Social
• Increased population = more people competed for few resources

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• Economic
• America = land of opportunity
• Political
• America = Democracy
• Social
• America = land of equality

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Journal Entries A & B

Introduce yourself (name, country of origin, and occupation) and your reasons for leaving your homeland (push) and coming to the U.S. (pull).

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Film Clip: Coming to America

Click here to watch the video clip

Journey Across the Atlantic

By looking at the pictures, describe what you think the voyage across the Atlantic was like.

Arrival in America

• Ellis Island
• 75% of immigrants entered at Ellis Island in New York Harbor
• Angel Island
• Asian immigrants entered at Angel Island in San Francisco

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Click here to listen to the interview with an immigrant describing her story about arriving at Ellis Island - Arriving at Ellis Island

Legal Inspections

Click here to listen to an interview with an immigrant about the legal inspections.

Arriving at Ellis Island

Medical Inspections

Describe what you think it was like to receive a medical inspection? Why did they conduct these inspections?

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Medical Inspections

• Medical inspector would check for contagious diseases
• Medical exams took 45 minutes per person
• 20% of immigrants were found to have problems
• Each passenger had to fill out a questionnaire and then talk to an inspector
• Many names were recorded incorrectly
• 2% were actually sent home

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Journal Entries C & D

Record your thought and feelings about the voyage to America and arriving at Ellis Island. What was it like to be processed through Ellis Island?

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Ethnic Enclaves

Ethnic Enclaves

• About 2/3 of immigrants settled in urban centers:
• New York, Chicago, & Philadelphia.
• By 1920 75% of foreign-born U.S. residents lived in cities.
• These enclaves provided immigrants with a sense of community and security
• Familiar language, food, religion, customs, etc.

Click here for clip: Life as an Immigrant

Living and Working Conditions

Living Conditions

• Cities were not prepared for new immigrants
• Waste was sitting in streets because sewers were not built for so many people
• Lived in tenements – run-down, low-rent apartment buildings clustered in together in the poorest areas of town

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Tenements

• 6-7 floors with four four-room apartments
• Cost $10-20 a month – expensive so as many as 14 people lived there
• Little light or ventilation

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• Fire, disease, death were common
• 60% of immigrant babies died before their 1st birthday because of the living conditions

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Working Conditions

• Most worked factory jobs because:
• Factories needed cheap workers
• Immigrants did not want to work on farms again
• 80% of immigrants were unskilled or semiskilled

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• Children also worked – made $0.05 an hour
• Dangerous, unsanitary, uncomfortable
• Long hours – up to 108 hours/week
• Making more than in Europe - $33/year at home, $200/year in US

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Journal Entry E & F (3 entries)

•Record your thoughts and feelings about arriving in the place you intend to settle and describe your living and working conditions.

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• Describe what you see in this cartoon.
• What is ironic about this cartoon?
• What is the author’s opinion about people who oppose immigration?

American Treatment of Immigrants

• American Nativism
• Native born felt threatened by “new immigrant”
• considered them inferior
• Accused immigrants of taking jobs away from “real” Americans
• Immigrants were difficult to Americanize
• Americanization Movement
• The belief that immigrants should adapt to American way of life as soon as possible.

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American Treatment of Immigrants

Click here to watch Opposition to Immigration clip

Early Steps Restricting Immigration

• The Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)
• lasted until WWII
• The Gentlemen’s Agreement (1907)
• promise by Japanese government to deny passports to Japanese laborers seeking to migrate to the U.S.

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Immigrants and Discrimination

• Economically
• last to be hired, kept in poorest jobs, first to be fired
• Socially
• confined to ghettos and slums; excluded from better hotels, restaurants, and clubs; and often refused admission to institutions of higher learning

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Contributions of Immigrant Groups brought to America

• Cultural
• brought their different cultural heritages (Melting Pot vs. Salad Bowl)
• Economic
• Immigrants increased the demand of agriculture and industry, thereby further encouraged American economic growth
• prevented a shortage of labor

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Immigrant Culture

Click here to watch Immigrant Culture

Journal Entry G

Describe the Native-born reaction to you and how it made you feel.

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