Lesson Starter Add question from 2015 paper

(and how they changed attitudes to immigrants in the USA) Economic fears (and how they changed attitudes to immigrants in the USA)

Today we will: Understand how the economic decline lead to the attitudes towards immigrants changing from positive to negative.

Economic fears What kind of work did immigrants do? Many ‘new’ immigrants were unskilled, so looked for work in the industrial cities of the USA. They were so desperate to find work that they were willing to work in appalling conditions for little pay. K

The Brooklyn Bridge was designed by German immigrant John Roebling. It was built mostly by Scots and Irish immigrants.

3,400 workers, mostly immigrants from Europe, (along with hundreds of Mohawk iron workers, many from the Kahnawake reserve near Montreal) built the Empire State Building which opened in 1931.

Immigrant workers eating lunch.

Economic slump after WWI What happened to the economy at the end of the war? While the war had been good for the economy; there was increased demand for agriculture and industrial output. However, when the war ended wartime industries reduced production = factories closed, people lost their jobs and there was an economic slump. K

Economic slump after WWI 1919 Discontent led to strikes with workers demanding better wages. However trade unions were restricted by law in how they could help strikers and the situation was made worse by the perception that immigrants were ‘stealing’ jobs from striking workers when they were brought in as strike breakers K

Economic fears and changing attitudes to immigration in the 1920s Economic fears links to changing attitudes to immigration as: Competition – there was a belief that the immigrants were taking American jobs, so restricting immigration would free up jobs for Americans. Labour Unions (Trade Unions) resented the ‘new’ immigrants for being strike breakers, and so supported restricting immigration. A

“There were also objections to immigrants on economic grounds: the trade union movement saw the seemingly inexhaustible supply of European workers, willing to work for almost any wage, as a threat to the standard of living of American workers.” Roger Daniels

Complete the following paragraph for your notes. Many ‘new’ immigrants were so desperate they were willing to work in appalling conditions for little pay. 3,400 workers, mostly immigrants from Europe built the ______ ______ ______. The war had been good for the economy. However, when the war ended wartime factories_______, people lost their jobs and there was an _______ slump. Discontent led to strikes with workers demanding ____ _____. The situation was made worse the idea that immigrants were ‘stealing’ jobs when they were brought in as strike breakers. People felt, restricting immigration would free up jobs for Americans. Labour Unions resented the ‘new’ immigrants for being ______ _______ , and so supported immigration restriction.