IMMIGRATION AND URBANIZATION

During most of the 1800s, the U. S During most of the 1800s, the U.S. followed a policy of unrestricted immigration because the American economy needed many unskilled workers.

3 types of immigrants There are 3 categories of groups of immigrants: Old immigrants 1600s-1850: from northwestern Europe. They were light skinned and had light eyes and hair. Most were also Protestant. New immigrants 1860-1920: from Eastern and Southern Europe. These immigrants were Russian, Polish, Jewish, Italians, Irish, and Chinese. Their religions were different from the Old Immigrants (Catholic and Jewish). They were typically darker in color with darker hair and eyes. Modern immigrants 1965-present: from Latin America and Asia.

Old v. New RELIGION BIRTHPLACE DESTINATION OCCUPATION Protestant Catholic and Jewish North/Western Southern/ Europe Eastern Europe Moved to farms Moved to cities in the Midwest the Northeast Became farmers Unskilled workers

Pull & Push factors

What “pulled” the new immigrants to the United States? 1862 Homestead Act and aid from railroad companies made western farmland inexpensive. Workers were recruited from homelands to build railroads, dig mines, or work in factories. Many wanted to find gold. The promise of freedoms and rights included in the US Constitution.

What “pushed” the new immigrants away from their homelands? In the mid-to-late 1800s… (1845-1850) the potato famine (a fungus) destroyed Ireland's potato crop. During these years, starvation and related diseases claimed as many as a million lives. (1848-1870) War in Italy (Italian unification) (1850-1871) War in Germany (German unification) (1880s) Persecution of Jews in the Russian Empire.

Where did the “new” immigrants first arrive? Ellis Island Angel Island

Ellis Island Once on Ellis Island, the immigrants had to go through three inspections: Physical Mental Legal

Angel Island Angel Island - Immigrant station in California One million Asian immigrants traveled through here.

What did the ‘new immigrants’ expect when coming to America? Read Vartan’s statement below and list at least 3 of his expectations “Coming to America had meaning. I was a kid of seven and in contrast to what I had gone through, Ellis Island was like not a haven but a heaven. I don’t remember any fright when I got to Ellis Island. My father’s dream and prayer was ‘I must get my family to America’…America was paradise, the streets were covered with gold. And when we arrived here, and when we landed form Ellis Island and [went} to Buffalo, it was as if God’s great promise had been fulfilled that we would eventually find freedom” Vartan Hartunian Turkey (Armenian) age 7

What immigrants experienced… Tenements What immigrants experienced… Homelessness Sweatshops

Tenement: a run-down and often overcrowded apartment house, especially in a poor section of a large city. Sweatshop: a factory or workshop, especially in the clothing industry, where manual workers are employed at very low wages for long hours and under poor conditions.

population shift from rural to urban areas What impact did the increased immigration of the late 1800s have on the U.S.? Urbanization population shift from rural to urban areas

How did “new” immigrants adjust to life in the United States? Immigrants moved to slums or poor neighborhoods with others from the same country. These were sometimes made up of boarding houses- small, crowded windowless rooms. (examples are Chinatown and Little Italy today.)