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Persuasive Essay : The Golden Door

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The “Golden Door” In the late 1800s, millions of immigrants arrived in the United States for various reasons. Some sought for religious freedom, others looked for job opportunities to support their families. They came with great hopes, hoping that they would eventually become wealthy and their future generations didn’t have to suffer like them. However, when they arrived in the country, they often faced many hardships such as language problems and poverty. They were also prejudiced by the nativists. According to them, immigrants would take their jobs away and harm the society. As a result, it led to national wide debates about whether the U.S. “golden door” should remain open or limit future immigration. In fact, various evidence pointed …show more content…

It also allowed people to interact with other cultures, traditions. On the other hand, some people would argue that the U.S should limit immigration because the immigrants were taking jobs away from the Americans. This point of view made sense because there were millions of immigrants coming to the United State, competing for jobs. Most of them were willing to work with low pays, lower than the desired salaries of the native-born Americans. And this was what the business owners wanted. Since then, factories started to hire more and more immigrants. It led to the complaints of the nativists, fearing that they would harm the society. However, these immigrants were only trying their best to achieve the American Dreams, through their blood, sweat, and tears. An example was from William I. Thomas and Florian Znaniecki’s book “The Polish Peasant in Europe and America, volume 1.” According to it, August Gar wrote to his parents in Poland, “ I worked today but I do not know if I will live through tomorrow... I make 8 dollars a week, but I have to pay 3 1/2 dollars a week for room and board and you know how much I have left.” It suggested the challenges that the immigrants faced while working in

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