3. USA, essays to learn BUT only 1 to write in the exam

Issue 1 An Evaluation Of The Reasons For Changing Attitudes To Immigration Factor 1: Prejudice And Racism Factor 2: Isolationism & The First World War Factor 3: Economic Fear Factor 4: Social Fear Factor 5: Fear Of Revolution AIMS OF ESSAY: To understand why hostility towards immigration grew in the USA To explain why the American public supported immigration restriction

Aims Paragraph 4: Have the background knowledge & argument to write your final paragraph on the influence social & economic factors had on changing attitudes to immigration To understand why economic fears led to changing attitudes towards immigrants To Understand The Reasons Why ‘Native’ Americans Blamed Immigrants For Social Problems

PLAN FOR PARAGRAPH Social & Economic Factors Changing Attitudes 1. Start with an Opening Argument e.g. state there is a link between the isolated factor & the question 2. Knowledge – details on unemployment & soldiers returning 3. Analysis – explain why this changed attitude towards immigration - competition 4. Knowledge – details of immigrants used as strike breakers 5. Analysis – explain why this changed attitude towards immigration – trade unions 6. Knowledge – details of life in the slums 7. Analysis – explain why this created resentment 8. Knowledge – details of crime & drunkenness 9. Analysis – explain why this lead Americans to dislike the immigrants 10. Evaluation – make a judgement: Read Through Paragraph 3 & 4 On Handout

Example Paragraph

1. ECONOMIC FEARS We already know that anarchists/communists only made up 0.1% of the population therefore there must be another explanation to the strikes & unrest in America… At the end of WWI, approximately 9 million people worked in war industries such as steel; wheat fields (food for allies) & munitions factories, while another 4 million were serving in the armed forces Once the war was over, these people were left without jobs and war industries were left without contracts - unemployment more than doubled from 5.2% to 11.7% by 1921

Competition For Jobs As a result of competition, there was increased anger towards the seemingly endless pool of cheap labouring immigrants as they were blamed for ‘stealing jobs’ WASPs believed that they were either being deprived of work or forced to accept lower wages because of the abundance of cheap immigrant labour Employers could pay immigrant workers less because they were desperate for work and were willing to accept lower wages than WASP workers

Acceptance Of Poor Working Conditions Many of these immigrants were unskilled and therefore accustomed to long hours, low pay and harsh working conditions as desperate for work The acceptance of these poor working and living conditions angered poor, native-born Americans who believed that the abundance of immigrant labour kept wages low & condemned them also to poverty & terrible conditions Trade unions believed that anything they did to improve conditions or wages was wrecked by Italian or Polish workers who were prepared to work for longer wages for lower wages Employers would not negotiate with trade unions because there was a wealth of workers who would accept the current pay & conditions

STRIKE BREAKERS Following WWI, there were many strikes in 1919 (as we know) across the USA as emerging trade unions fought for better wages, shorter working hours and better conditions While trade unions were trying to get better working conditions for their members by striking, employers were able to break these strikes by employing immigrant workers to replace the strikers They had no bargaining power when employers knew that they could always use cheap immigrants to break their strikes Immigrants therefore gained the reputation of ‘strike-breakers’ or ‘black legs’ - this caused huge resentment and an increase in the desire to stop immigrants coming into the country

KNOWLEDGE 1: Unemployment statistics Soldiers returning to the workforce ARGUMENT 1 It can be argued that after WWI there was great competition for jobs which led to changing attitudes towards immigrants as WASPs believed that they were either being deprived of work or forced to accept lower wages because of the abundant availability of cheap immigrant ECONOMIC FEARS AND WWI

KNOWLEDGE 2 Strike breakers ARGUMENT 2 It can be argued that while trade unions were trying to get better working conditions for their members by striking, employers were prepared to break these strikes by employing immigrant workers to replace the strikers ECONOMIC FEARS AND WWI

2. Social Fears The flood of new immigrants increased during World War 1 as millions came to escape the war and the economic depression which followed The majority of immigrants settled in four large cities: Chicago, Boston, Pittsburgh & New York These immigrants “enclaves” became identified by names such as Little Italy, Irishtown and Chinatown They wanted to be close to other people who spoke their language & felt safer in their own communities who continued the traditions and customs of their home countries They had their own shops selling their own food, their own forms of entertainment & sometimes their own schools Many old immigrants were worried that foreign cultures and religions would threaten the American way of life - This heighten suspicion toward immigrants

City Slums Immigrants lived where they could find work – in the big cities They had little money and low wages so could only afford the cheapest housing in the worst areas Whole families sometimes 10 or 12 people had only one room to live in They were damp, dark and filthy with no water supply, toilets or drains - rubbish and sewage was thrown into backcourts or streets However landlords could still put rents up due to the high competition which resulted in natives becoming hostile towards immigrants Immigrants were blamed for the poor conditions and overcrowding even though in reality it was the responsibility of the city authorities rather than the immigrants

Crime Statistics showing soaring crime rates in neighborhoods with high concentrations of immigrants were held as proof of the bad influence of the immigrant on their environment Out of the 17,328 persons arrested in New York in ,638 were foreigners, 10,477 of these were Irish Italian immigrants were thought to be connected to the Mafia and high profile gangsters like Al Capone seemed to confirm this image This shows America already had preconceived judgements about people of a certain nationality

The Case Seemed To Confirm The Link Between Political Extremist, Foreign Influence & Crime - Yet Showed Racism & Prejudice At The Time Sacco and Vanzetti They were arrested in May 1920 and charged with armed robbery and murder Both men were from Italy and both spoke little English Both were known to be anarchists and draft-dodgers 61 people claimed that they saw both men at the robbery/murders BUT 107 people claimed that they had seen both men elsewhere when the crime was committed… Regardless of this both men were found guilty & spent 7 years in prison while their lawyers appealed Despite many public protests and petitions, both men were executed by electric chair on August 24th, 1927 Riots followed in Paris, Geneva, Berlin as there was little evidence against them

Drunkenness Many native Americans despised the lifestyle of certain immigrant groups Especially the Germans and Italians whose cultural traditions involved what seemed to be the large consumption of alcohol This offended the rigid sensitivities of the native immigrants As early as 1820s Puritans (anti-Catholics) saw their Sabbaths ignored by drunken Irish navvies fighting, swearing and gambling in the slums of Boston and New York They regarded the immigrants as lower class

KNOWLEDGE 1: Describe the conditions of the City slums & congregation of the immigrants ARGUMENT 1 It can be argued that many Americans began to resent the immigrants because… Landlords $$$ Threat to American life/suspicion SOCIAL FEARS

KNOWLEDGE 2 Crime rates Drunkenness and cultural traditions ARGUMENT 2 It can be argued that immigrants were blamed for social disorder in American society, especially in the cities & making it a less desirable country to live in SOCIAL FEARS

OPENING ARGUMENT Changing attitudes towards immigrants increased as Americans felt that their jobs were being threatened & brought major social problems to America’s city and made it a less desirable country to live in Economic & social fears were another important factor in changing attitudes towards immigration among ordinary workers

PREJUDICE AND RACISM Evaluation Overall economic & social fear lead to the racist beliefs that new immigrants were too different from regular Americans, were undermining their living standards through competition for housing & crime rates and needed to be to be limited in their numbers which shows that prejudice was the most important factor in explaining changing attitudes