1. Immigration in the Gilded Age

2. I. Waves of Immigration  Colonial Immigration: 1600s - 1700s  “Old” Immigration: 1787-1850  “New” Immigration: 1850-1924 Gilded Age Immigration (1871-1901) – 11.7 million people

3. Where did they come from?  Shift toward Southern and Eastern Europe (Italy, Poland, Russia), although British, Irish, Germans, and Scandinavians still immigrated  East Asia (China, Japan)

4. Why did they leave?  Push Factors Poverty War Persecution (religious and political)  Pull Factors Perceived economic and social advantage

5. How did they get here?  Improvements in transportation – steam ships, railroads  Ticket agents

6. Where did they settle?  Favored urban industrial centers  Irish - New England  Italians and Russians – Middle Atlantic  Germans and Scandinavians – Midwest and North central states  Asians: West coast

7. What did they do?  Industrial jobs – unskilled Hardest, lowest paying, most hazardous Women and children worked  Some were drawn to agriculture, but that cost money  Many Jews sent their children to colleges to assimilate

8. How did they live?  Ethnic enclaves (ghettos) Chinatowns, Little Italies, etc.

9. In what ways did their culture change or stay the same?  Language rarely persisted past a generation  Religion was maintained, but that also evolved  Most children desired to be “American”

10. US Immigration Policy  US ends its open and unrestricted immigration policies  Nativism: Belief in the superiority of one’s home country; desire to restrict immigration and the rights of immigrants  Know Nothing Party: discriminated against Catholics  “Irish need not apply”  Chinese Exclusion Act – limited Chinese immigration  Gentlemen’s Agreement – limited Japanese immigration

13. Theories of Immigration  “Melting Pot” Theory – people from various cultures formed a unique American culture. Individual groups aren’t easily distinguishable.  Assimilation – Immigrant cultures disappeared into an already existing American culture  Pluralism (Salad Bowl Theory) – Groups do not lose their distinctive characteristics. Each group contributes in different ways to society.