The Importance Of Migration To America By Greg Nickels

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.

The progression of people into and within the United States has had an essential impact on the nation, both intentionally and unintentionally. Progressions such as The Great Migration and the Second Great Migration are examples of movements that impacted the United States greatly. During these movements, African Americans migrated to flee racism and prejudice in the South, as well as to inquire jobs in industrial cities. They were unable to escape racism, but they were able to infuse their culture into American society. During the twentieth century, economic and political problems led to movements such as The Great Migration and The Second Great Migration which impacted the United States significantly.

Throughout the history of the United States immigration has become apart of our country’s fabric which, began centuries ago. Only to become a hot topic in the US in recent years with its primary focus being illegal immigrants. Illegal immigration is when people enter a country without government permission. As of 2008 the Center for Immigration Studies estimated that there are 11 million illegal immigrants in the US which is down from 2007‘s 12.5 million people. Although the Center for Immigration Studies estimates are very different from other estimates that range from 7 to 20 million. While the Pew Hispanic Center estimated in March of 2009 there are 11.1 million illegal immigrants and that number is from March 2007’s peak of 12

In the late 1800s , America became the land of new opportunities and new beginnings and New York City became the first landmark for immigrants. New York City was home to Ellis Island, the area in which migrants were to be handed for freedom to enter the nation. Living in New York City gave work and availability to ports. In time the city gave the chance to outsider's to construct groups with individuals from their nation , they were classified as new and old settlers. Old outsiders included Germans, Irish and, English. The new outsiders incorporated those from Italy, Russia, Poland and Austria-Hungary. In 1875, the New York City populace was a little 1 million individuals contrasted with the 3,5 million it held when the new century

The Great Migration was a massive movement of African Americans from the South to the North from 1863 to 1960. The largest spike in this migration occurred from about 1910 to 1920.

An interesting chapter from Current Issues and Enduring Questions was chapter twenty four, Immigration: What is to be done? Throughout this chapter multiple authors argue their opinion of immigration in the United States. There is much to learn about this topic because it is extremely controversial in today’s society. It is necessary for one to know both sides of agreeing or disagreeing with immigration to fully understand the situation and base an opinion from this knowledge. The multiple authors within this chapter have different views about immigration but they all make reasonable accusations.

The Italians’ holiday culture helped to make America a more diverse nation. Their family-centered culture and regional affiliations resulted in highly concentrated settlements called, Little Italies. Entire villages in Italy would travel over to America to form these settlements. Many were heavily clustered in cities in the mid-atlantic and midwest states. The immigrants typically viewed themselves as residents of a particular region or village, not as “Italians.” Their daily habits and life reflected this, as they usually only associated with fellow kin or villagers called paesani. The Italians were working on becoming a member of American society while still trying to maintain their old customs. During holidays, Italian immigrants still utilized traditional customs such as folk songs, folklore, and dances for special events. However, like so many of the Italian aspects of life, they were so regionally specific that they defied easy characterization.

In the beginning of immigration it all started with slave trade, which was a global force in the Atlantic and later Asia. At first Africans were taken from their homelands and shipped to America to do labor work. People already in America, were eager to purchase a slave to do their dirty work at no cost. Just as things went negatively for the African American slaves, later the Native Americans, who were already here in the United States, were forced to move or killed. A large amount of Natives died from disease, war, or migrating to the West leaving a small amount of them in the United State’s territory.

Most immigrants came from Italy, Russia, Poland ,and other different types of countries to America. Immigrants settled mostly in Eastern side of the US, mostly in New York since

As the world moved throughout the time of 1890-1945, the United states experienced a myriad of events that moved it closer to the founding ideals. However, the main ideal, which was supported by plenty of actions, became evident to be “opportunity”. Some of the events that brought the United States closer to the American ideals was the great migration, women in WWII, and African Americans in WWII. Each of these happenings/positions opened doors to other people allowing them to explore new possibilities, hence why they support the forward movement to the ideal of “opportunity”.

During the mass immigration era of America, an abundant number of people traveled to the urban industrial society of the United States in aspiration to seek job opportunities and better lives than the ones they left behind. These groups included the Poles, Italians, Chinese, Mexicans, Japanese, East European Jews, and the African- Americans. However, one of these groups mentioned was distinctly different from the rest: the African-Americans. They were already American citizens, who migrated to the northern American cities to free themselves from segregation, oppression, and harsh conditions they experienced in the South and obtain equal rights and opportunities. Although the African-Americans'

Because the Italians were looking for high wages and not long term residency, they migrated to the cities where wages were relatively high despite the poor living conditions. The Italians “lived as inexpensively as possible under conditions that native-born families considered intolerable” (Digital History). The immigrants took heavy construction jobs such as digging tunnels, laying railroad tracks, constructing bridges and roads, and erecting skyscrapers. “As early as 1890, 90 percent of New York City’s public works employees and 99 percent of Chicago’s street workers were Italian” (Digital History). The Italians played a major role in the development of big United States cities as they were the labor force of the construction jobs.

During the twentieth century more than six million African Americans migrated from rural communities in the South to large cities in the North and West. One of the major causes of this widespread movement was for African Americans to escape the segregation policies known as the Jim Crow laws, racism, and to seek better civil and economic opportunities. They migrated to the northern and western big cities because employment agents in the North and Midwest began enticing African-American men and women to migrate north by offering to paying for their travel expenses. The high demand for workers, higher pay, better education and better housing options in the North sounded very appeasing to many African-Americans since their current living conditions in the south were horrendous, and millions obliged to what they hoped was “a journey into freedom”.

I interview my father who arrive to the united states from Mexico The major problem that motive my father to migrate to the U.S.A were as he mention on pages (1-2) was an economically problem has he said since he was a child he grew up in a farm with his parents and brothers and sisters and had many struggles since the only one that work was his father. My grandfather did all he could to give him an education and a better life that he had that’s the same idea he view for me when he become a father he was young and money was like the priority to care for the necessary that a child has, but to get money you need to have a job. With salary he earned at my grandfather farm he knew was not enough to support himself and a child and he could

It’s no doubt that Americans would like to be a part of such a wonderful culture. In the United States of America, Italian food makes up a large percentage of the food market. But, there is a difference between Italian food, Italian American food, and plain old food pretending to be Italian. So what are Americans eating? Is it “authentic?” This paper will cover what authentic really means to Italian food, how Italian American culture is different than traditional Italian culture, and ultimately how these differences and the exploitation of Italian American culture has led to the American public’s mislead view of what is Italian.