The late 1800s through the early 1900s was a time in history where migration from across the Atlantic was booming. This was a period where there was little, if any, government restriction about migration and there was new innovative technology making travel faster, easier, and cheaper than it has ever been before. In his book “Crossings: The Great Transatlantic Migrations” Nugent tells more than the American story of transatlantic migration. He compares different groups of people who travelled to 4 countries who were receiving people during this period. Nugent used migration patterns of people to the U.S., Canada, Brazil, and Argentina. He compares the stories of migrants of Europe who went to all 4 of these countries and demonstrates how different …show more content…
He has obtained a A.B. from St. Benedict's College in 1954 in History, a M.A. from Georgetown University in 1956 in European History, and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1961 in American History. He specialized in American West, US Gilded Age/Progressive Era, comparative immigration. A few of his recent publications are "Habits of Empire: A History of American Expansion" (2008), "Progressivism: A Very Short Introduction" (2010), Making Our Way: A Family History (2003), Into the West: The Story of Its People (1999), and Crossings: The Great Transatlantic Migrations, 1870-1914 (1992, 1995). As a professor of History, with his focus of research of including the Gilded Age and comparative immigration, Nugent is extremely qualified to write a book covering this material. Nugent uses over 400 different sources to write this book. Approximately 63 of them were primary sources that ranged from the US, to Germany and Brazil. His use of primary sources from different countries, considering the content of the book, makes this a creditable and interesting read. He utilizes the use of several maps and charts as well, making the image he was trying to paint with words and numbers easier to follow. Both his primary and secondary sources varied in type. He used books, studies, historic journals, economic journals, studies done on immigration and even government statistics. With Nugent’s extensive …show more content…
In the first 37 pages, he talks about the migration aspects of the Atlantic in the later part of the 19th century. It is in this first section that Nugent tells the reader about his plan for the rest of the book. On page 4 Nugent is talking about why he wrote another book about the same material that has been covered several times over the years, here he explains his purpose by writing “The answer is that much of that collection [of migration books already written] consists of writing about a single migrating group rather than about many or all of them.” This lays out Nugent’s main goal for this book and later in this section he explains how he plans to reach his goal. In the second section, Nugent examines migration patterns of people in nine different major countries. He uses this section to demonstrate the central theme of the book by giving the audience the migration patterns of other countries not just those of the US. He breaks this section down by country and that makes it easier to follow and understand. This would also make the book easier to reference. These chapters explain migration patterns of these different countries giving the reader the ability to compare them across different regions. This part is perfectly placed to set up the 3rd and final part. In this part, Nugent dives into the 4 biggest immigration receiving nations of the time and their role in migration. This section of the book is broken
Chapter 4, Transatlantic Moment, of Reversing Sail by Michael Gomez was extremely intriguing. As the saying goes numbers never lie. The statistical aspect provided by Gomez of the transatlantic movement was effective in altering my perception of the transatlantic movement as a whole. As the text states the scholarly consensus is that approximately 11.9 million Africans were exported from Africa. Only 9.6 to 10.8 millions arrived alive to America, meaning 10 to 20 percent was loss during the Middle Passage. These numbers show how extensive and outrageous the transatlantic movement was. These numbers represent people with established lives, who were kidnapped and put into forced labor. As Gomez stated serval times and how I now view, the transatlantic
During the period between 1700 to 1900 there were many changes in long distance migration patterns across the globe as well as aspects of migration that remained the same. Throughout this time period, long distance migrations from eastern regions such as Europe and Africa to the America’s remained a consistent trend, as well as the motivation for migrating. While these things remained constant, changes during the time period occurred in diversity of the peoples migrating due to slave trade across the Atlantic being banned and indentured servitude becoming an opportunity for people from places other than Africa to immigrate to the Americas.
Northerners- British who migrated to the US settled in Virginia and Maryland and they came in as indentured servants. After the independence, their migration the US slow because America didn’t approve of their government. When Scotland suffered a severe economic depression in 1921, about 1.5 million Scots migrated to the US and many were professional and skills laborers. Many Scotch-Irish migrated to the US in the 18th century due to economic depression brought on by textile slump in Ireland. many also migrated due to religious freedom and farming. It is estimated that about 1 billion people from Francs migrated to the US religious persecution and economic opportunity.
The United States’ population surged between 1870 and 1924. Immigrants were flooding into the country from Ireland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Hungary, and other countries. They saw America as a great land of opportunity that fulfilled their necessities. The majority of the immigrants settled in the major cities, as their was an abundance of job opportunities, and easy access to transportation. John Radzitowksi’s essay describes the Polish agricultural colonies in Minnesota. It also depicts how immigrants adapted to American life. The first document shows how some immigrants found it difficult to adapt and settle in a new land, and it shows that this was true for Irish immigrant Sam Gray. The second document is a story of Rocco Corresca, a poor
“The peopling of British North America was an extension outward and an expansion in scale of domestic mobility in the lands of the immigrants’ origins, and the transatlantic flow must be understood within the context of these domestic mobility patterns. Ultimately, however, its development introduced a new and dynamic force in European population history, which permanently altered the traditional configuration.” (Bailyn 20)
Since the dawn of American colonization in the early 1600s, the notion of immigrating to America has long been instilled upon various people as a stimulating opportunity to begin a fresh chapter in their lives. Even now, this possibility has brought many variations of people to America, culminating a society that brims with dreams and aspirations to form the diversified nation of today. When speaking of the current state of immigration, it is easy to conclude that immigration is heavily discussed from political standpoints. Though this current condition is composed of highly controversial perspectives, many of the early-century viewpoints found in literature genuinely embrace reality, for these writers were indeed immigrants themselves, thus adding an authoritative standpoint over immigration. The Americanization of Edward Bok (1921) by Edward Bok and The America I Believe In by Colin Powell, display the perspectives of two authors, who have lived as immigrants, through their own personal anecdotes. Both Edward Bok and Colin Powell convey a sincerely grateful tone and develop the idea of Americanization and the quest for opportunity through the use of connotative diction in contrast to the Immigration Chart and Political Cartoon which have a downright concrete and pessimistic tone and supports the idea that immigration exposes various challenges to incoming immigrants.
In Round-Trip to America: The Immigrants Return to Europe 1880-1930, Mark Wyman argues that many new immigrants that migrated to America from 1880-1930 never intended to make America a permanent residence and many of them returned home to their native countries. He claims that this phenomena is important to the history of American Immigration and is important to the histories of the home land in which the immigrants returned to. In his book, Wyman explores some key ideas such as the reason immigrants decided to voyage to a new land, across the ocean, to what was known as the “land of milk and honey” only to return to their small, and a lot of the time rural village. He also discusses American labor movement and what impact that had on
I knew many human migrations in the history. My father told me an exodus of Vietnamese people. They sailed on the ships across the ocean. It was very dangerous. However, I never think that an exodus has many children ride on the top of the train to go to the U.S. “The children make the journey on top of Mexico’ freight trains. They call it El tren de la Muerte. The Train of Death” (Enrique’s Journey, Sonia Nazario XII). I learn that the love can make the children decide to have a dangerous journey on the top of trains.
Many people from all over the world saw America as a place to create a better life for them and their family. America was a place full of many job opportunities, ones that were not available anywhere else in the world. It was in America that people from different nations saw the chance to escape the place they originally lived because of unfair government or as a chance to have money to send back to their family in their homeland. The period after the civil war was an era of tremendous migration from southern and eastern Europe as well as from China, because of all the opportunities that were available here that were not available anywhere else. Migration was also prominent within America when African Americans
Immigration through out the late 1800’s and early 1900’s created nativism throughout the United States. Millions of immigrants flocked to the United States trying to find a better way of life to be able to support their families. Industrialization in the United States provided a labor source for the immigrants. Native born Americans believed immigrants were a “threat to the American way of life” (ATF chapter 11) Social and economic fault lines developed between natives and immigrants, through out the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, going unnoticed until the late 1920’s when the Sacco and Vanzetti case brought awareness of issue to much of the United States.
The collection “Coming to America” is comprised of journal entries, biographies, and autobiographies that discuss the social and political transformations that arose from immigration. “Of Plymouth Plantation”, “Balboa”, and “‘Blaxicans’ and Other Reinvented Americans” illustrate how immigrants shape America’s direction. The changes that occurred when settlers migrated seriously impacted the nation they were travelling to. The first of these changes pertains to culture. Immigrants brought their religions and languages to their host country, and that caused a great deal of acculturation, usually to the new religion or language. Government is another principle that was implemented into the “inner workings” of the new country. Lastly, the newcomers
During the 1920’s the United States really became a country of immigrants, even though not everyone was on board. In this time we saw immigration numbers that would far exceed the decades that would come after it and only to be surpasses by the decade that came before in a 40 year span. Almost 4.3 million people came to the US in the 1920’s and they spanned from far and wide to come to the US. Numbers would dip in the coming decades and would not surpass the million mark for at least two decades. These numbers saw drops that would relate to immigrant life and US immigration tactics.
The migration of foreigners to the United States has been one of the most powerful forces shaping American history this was especially true between 1860 and 1920. (American A Narrative History, Pg. 827). When immigrants traveled to the new land it was an arduous journey. Arriving in large cities often without their families or understanding the language was difficult.
Have you ever wondered how immigration was in the late days? Will I am gonna tell you a little bit about it. In the period of 1882 immigration into the United States was not a big deal. Millions of immigrants fled to the United States hoping for a new life and to try to get away from plagues. There was never a fault with immigration in America or any other country. The general Immigration Act of 1882 taxed a total of 50 cents on each immigrants and people with problems or criminals likely to become independent. America was ok with Immigration till the 1870s when everything started to change also called the Colonial era. During the Colonial era Lots of Europeans and Africans fled to the world. They paid to be taken on ships with their families. Some people didn't make it they would get lost from falling overboard and drowning or die from diseases on the boats. They ran out of food to eat on the long way to America. When they got . there
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.