Immigrants In 'The New Colossus 1883'

Life for immigrants must be awful! The United States is the number #1 place for immigrants trying to find jobs, homes, and wealth. Immigration started around the time period of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. People from all over the world to go to America, they try to escape religious, racial, and political persecution. Immigrants can’t afford first or middle class so they came Ellis Island, NY. About 12 million European Immigrants come through and Nurses poked and cleaned them up seeing if they have diseases, weapons, drugs and any other thing that could possibly hurt other Americans.

In the eyes of the early American colonists and the founders of the Constitution, the United States was to represent the ideals of acceptance and tolerance to those of all walks of life. When the immigration rush began in the mid-1800's, America proved to be everything but that. The millions of immigrants would soon realize the meaning of hardship and rejection as newcomers, as they attempted to assimilate into American culture. For countless immigrants, the struggle to arrive in America was rivaled only by the struggle to gain acceptance among the existing American population.

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

All around the world the United States of America is viewed as a place of freedom and equal opportunity for all people who settle in the country. Immigrants, especially from second or third world countries, view America as a chance for them to start over and a live the lavish lifestyles they are accustomed to hearing. However, this belief that everyone in the United States lives how they want to and has equal opportunity is false. Immigrants from countries all over the world face many different issues as they settle in the United States. Although these problems may vary, the message is the same; the American dream is a lot more difficult to achieve than previously thought. Although every immigrant is different in the problems

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

Not like the Colussus of Rhodes, the statue of liberty is a welcome to America, rather than conquering limbs astride from land to land. Emma Lazarus The New Colossus 1883

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.” (

In 1880-1830, immigration to America was revolutionized because of steamboats, which provided a much faster route to America. People came from different parts of the world, including the Mediterranean, the Middle East, parts of Europe, and Canada, with the amount of people coming including many Italians, Russians, Germans, Englishmen, and Canadians. This is because for many immigrants, America was safety in dark, dark times. Many of these immigrants came for work, and then would either have their families sent for or would return to their original countries after saving up money. However, many immigrants would face tough times when trying to enter the U.S., particularly with the Chinese Exclusion Act, the “Gentleman’s Agreement”, and World

Immigration to America is often a decision based solely on the idea that America has some sort of redeeming qualities for a chance at a better life. America’s founding ideals of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” are what compel foreigners to escape the troubles and oppression of their homeland and cross over onto American soil. The tales of America being the “land of opportunity” have continued to lure and attract people to immigrate. The Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century brought millions of immigrant laborers from across the globe to America in a short span of time. This large influx of laborers fashioned a well-defined distinction between “settlers” and “immigrants,” causing many observers to be concerned with how these new arrivals would fit in to American society. Emma Lazarus in “The New Colossus”, Jane Addams in Twenty Years at Hull House, Walt Whitman in “Crossing the Brooklyn Ferry”, Theodore Roosevelt in American Ideals, and Thomas Aldrich in “Unguarded Gates” are just a few names in American Literature who use their work as a medium to voice their opinions on the issue of immigration.

“Between 1900 and 1915, more than 15 million immigrants arrived in the United States. That was about equal to the number of immigrants who had arrived in the previous 40 years combined.” States the Library of Congress. By 1910, almost three-fourths of New York City was populated by immigrants from other countries, especially Eastern and Southern Europe. This was a great opportunity for many immigrants that came from across the globe, but some Americans had trouble adjusting to it.

Mary Gordon concludes her essay in an interesting way in which she compares American history to a “very classy party that was not much fun until they (the immigrants) arrived” (1013). Throughout her essay, she describes the prejudice and the hardships immigrants faced as they entered Ellis Island. She explains how immigrants are unappreciated for the role they had in shaping American culture and are instead remembered for the suffering they experienced. Ellis Island represents that not all of American history is honorable and glorious, but from Gordon’s perspective it should be. Coming from immigrant descent, Gordon sympathizes with the fact that her ancestors went through tough situations in order to establish a home in the United States.

Emigrants come into America to find a permanent difference in their life. In “Scene on the steerage Deck” by Frank Leslie was an art that showed that the statue of liberty was a sign of freedom. To be an American means to emigrate her while poor for a chance for a better life. These poor emigrants looked forward to coming to america hoping for work. In the caption

Did you know between 1861 and 1914 almost 30 million immigrated from Europe to the United States. When they came there was a huge increase in the population, and the immigrants also brought new ideas and cultural traditions. When immigrants came most of them were homeless. They were also starving. Some did not have jobs or money, and they were not wealthy. In the article it says often working conditions for immigrant children were horrible.

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

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” are a few of Emma Lazarus’ words that are forever inscribed on one of the nation’s most beloved monuments in New York City, the Statue of Liberty (The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus). This poem defines the nation for its longstanding relationship with refugees, yet, the issue has created controversy throughout the years, specifically during the recent presidential election. Many believe immigrants and refugees have no right to live in the United States, while others yield completely different, polarized opinions. Personally, I believe that the United States should not enforce extreme restrictions on immigrants who desire freedom in the form of fleeing to this country. Those who oppose this claim believe immigrants will debilitate the economy, enter the country illegally, and potentially harm Americans. However, these individuals do not take into account how America was built in the first place, how to effectively strengthen the nation’s borders, and the factual data that proves the majority of immigrants do not threaten the safety of Americans.