19th Century Immigrants

Immigration has always been a major part of America. In fact, without immigration the creation of America would not have been possible. The majority of immigrants came to America for religious freedom and economic opportunities. However, for the most part before the 1870’s most immigrants were Protestants from northern and western Europe. These immigrants often migrated to the United States as families and usually lived on farms with family or friends who had already migrated beforehand. A lot of immigrants came to America with a plan or goal in mind. They often had saved up money for the long immigration overseas, were skilled in a certain trade, or had already been educated at a high level. Sadly, this would not last. Immigration

Yes, Late Nineteenth-Century Immigrants were “Uprooted”. They were uprooted physically and culturally. The immigrants came to America for a better life, since they had a rough time economically and politically in their own homeland. When they got here they had to get used to a whole new place with a different language, religion, culture and even different government. There were a lot of industries here, but all paid very small wage and a lot of the American citizens didn’t want them, they wanted a higher wage instead. The immigrants came in and took all jobs, even the ones that paid little wage. All these immigrants came from different backgrounds, therefore, getting used to American traditions was very hard for them. Some could not even continue

Imagine traveling overseas without your parents.And there are millions of strangers around you. In the late 1800s, immigrants changed life in the u.s. By bringing new cultural traditions and a dramatic increase in the population. Many people left their countries left to escape war and the great irish potato famine some others left because they needed a job. The presence of so many new immigrants changed the u.s. Forever.

Around the late 1800’s and early 1900’s America’s ethnicity vastly expanded; the streets of New York city flooded with immigrants in prospect of new lives for their families and fresh starts. “...From eastern and southern Europe rather than western and northern Europe…” (pg. 738, America A Narrative History), the geography varied far and wide. Upon entering the land of freedom, most of the immigrants were to be inspected at the ever famous “Edison Island” in New York. After embarking towards the substantially immense crowds, lice checks, welfare checks, and possibly a standard test determining if you could read or write was given. The streets began to be bustling with foreign languages being shouted in every direction. To some “nativists” this expansion was very horrifying, these people were taking jobs and depriving Americans of opportunities. “Beginning in the 1880’s, nativist advocated restrictive immigration laws and won passage of the Chinese exclusion Act.” (

Immigration has always been a big part of U.S history. It has shown us many different ways of life and earned us the nickname “the melting pot.” There has been many things that affect immigration like the push and pull factors and also the policies placed on immigrants over time. Here I am going to talk about some of those things.

From 1815 to 1850, five million Europeans immigrated to the United States, and three of those five million arrived within just a decade from 1845-1854. This was the largest immigration America had seen compared to its total population. Most of the immigrants were either Irish or German, but they all had one thing in common: they wanted better lives for their families. In their home countries, they often experienced religious persecution or had little economic opportunity. Many heard the exaggerated stories of the abundant American farmland and widespread freedom, making them more eager to settle there.

Immigration into the United States during the late 1800s and early 1900s changed America in many ways including the economy, politics and the social norms . With the immigration of foreigners to America came new workers and materials which bettered the economy. However, with the new workers also came the exploitation of immigrants as well as political corruption. In terms of the social influence of the immigrants there were new diseases and overcrowded cities along with a more diverse culture.

Picture this: you are happily relaxing in your leathery armchair, until you hear the sound of a foghorn blasting in your eardrums! You peer out the window and glance around. In your peripheral vision you see something very strange; a giant steamboat! You can hear people yelling in delight, even all the way from your window! In the late 1800s, a new age of immigrants surged from Europe to the United States. Many came to escape from their countries. Some immigrants came from religious persecution. They came for money, jobs, and the hope for a new life. Because of an increase in population, new ideas, and cultural traditions in the late 1800s, immigrants transformed the United States forever.

Many humans migrated to the United States in the 1900s because they were political, social, and economic who wanted to live a better life for themselves. Most immigrants had many financial hardship and could not survive nor thrive in their settlement. For example, in 1890 an economic depression happened where millions of immigrants fled their homeland to live a more comfortable, desirable life. Immigrants

During the 1920s, the United States was a tense era. The influx of immigrants caused fear and bigotry, especially towards the Roman Catholic religion (Holsinger, 1968). The citizens of the State of Oregon labeled immigrants as un-American, claiming that the immigrants would inject unpatriotic practices into the culture. The citizenry professed to protect American principles of the time and intended to pass on their values to the youth through public school education. Their goal was to provide parallel education to all children, thus controlling the content taught. Furthermore, Oregon was under the watchful eye of the powerful Ku Klux Klan (KKK), which enforced radical patriotism.

The slightest action or movement by the government or the people can alter a nation’s economy drastically. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the United States of America was, most assuredly, in need of a positive economic agent. This agent became a geographical expansion to the West. Unquestionably, the settlers’ means of excelling production, efficient distribution, innovative services, and rich resources in the West were incorporated in the enhancement of the economy countrywide.

The United States had a laissez-faire policy, that was enacted from 1780-1875, that allowed immigrants into the United States without restriction. Around this time, most colonists wanted more immigrants in the area so that they could help in developing North America. From shipping companies to churches, private employers, railroads, even federal governments to states, wanted immigrants in the United States. This was happening between the 1700’s and early 1800’s. For about fourty years, between 1783 and 1820, an estimated 250,000 immigrants came to America.

The second Industrial Revolution attracted more immigrants as businesses in the United States grew quickly. New technology and new ideas helped develop large factories where many new products were made. These businesses needed more workers to keep growing. Between 1880 and 1920 nearly twenty-four million immigrants came to the United States. Because of poverty, no future and various discrimination in their country, they left their country and came to America for better salaries, religious freedom, and a chance to get a better life. Many immigrants fueled by the California gold rush, came to America to have a better life and strike it rich or to build up wealth for a few years and bring it back to their poor families. Chinese workers came to

The new activities people could do was the railroad, eager to sell land and build up the traffic on their lines, distributed tempting propaganda in Europe in a medley of language. The money changers cheated new arrivals, railroad agents overcharged them for tickets, and baggage handlers engaged in blackmail. With the reports of such abuses filling the newspapers, the Congress ordered an investigation, which resulted in the closure of castle Garden in 1890. Then, Ellis Island opened its door to the "huddled masses" of the world. Many people were greeted by a family and friends who had come over before them, others by representatives of immigrant-aid societies or by hiring agents offering jobs in mines, mills, or sweatshops.

Immigration has always and will always play an important role in America’s history, along with the United States having the most open immigration policy in the world to this date. American history began with flocks of immigrants competing for lands to start a life, bringing over their vast traditions and values. Some brought nothing but determination. It’s disgusting to see our congress and lawmakers make these higher-end laws to keep foreigners out, yet our country is built off immigrants. Since the 19th century, America has been the leading destination unlike no other for immigrants to reside. No other country has such a wide range of races and population like America. Diversity is indeed, what makes this country so unique. America has always