Immigrationand the “Melting Pot” ( ) U.S. History

Immigration Reasons for Immigration – push/pull factors ◦ Religious Freedom – Jews in Eastern Europe/Pogroms ◦ Employment/Better Wages ◦ Political Freedom – Russians

Immigration Who came to the United States? ◦ Mid 1800’s – British/Irish (NW Europe) ◦ Late 1800’s – Italians, Russian Jews, Greeks, Slavs, Armenians, Japanese, Chinese, etc. ◦ VAST differences in groups that came – customs, language, religion, etc.

Immigration How did they get here? ◦ Large steamships carried immigrants to the United States ◦ Took roughly one week to get to the U.S. from Europe, three weeks from Asia ◦ Three classes on the steamships carrying immigrants  First class  Second class  Steerage – lower class, smelly conditions, cheaper ticket ($30)  Played cards, sang songs, or rehearsed answers for the inspection questions with each other  Learned language constantly

Immigration What happened when an immigrant got to the United States? ◦ Most went through a large naturalization center  New York – Ellis Island  San Francisco – Angel Island  Some went to smaller cities or ports – Savannah, Boston, Seattle ◦ Had to be tested for diseases – don’t spread unwanted diseases to rest of U.S. ◦ Had to have documents from other countries ◦ Had to be mentally fit – intelligence tests

Immigration Response to immigrants from mainstream U.S. society ◦ Nativism – favored native-born Americans  Had problems with ethnic groups – stagnant and downtrodden  Had problems with religion – Catholics in a Protestant Nation? Chinese Exclusion Act – Chinese workers aren’t allowed entry from 1882 to 1943…only teachers, students, tourists, etc.

Immigration What did most immigrants do when they got here? ◦ Looked for work – closest place was in cities ◦ Many families lived in extremely cramped conditions in the city called tenements  Unsanitary, no electricity, etc.

Immigration Reforms for immigrants ◦ Many reform movements begin to pop up as a result of the plight of immigrants  Settlement Houses – similar to a YMCA  Famous settlement house – Hull House in Chicago (Jane Addams)