1. 20.1: The New Immigrants

2. Reasons immigrants came to the US:
Economic troubles
Overcrowding
Poverty
Job scarce
Not enough land/ Crop failures
Machines put people out of work
Persecution (discrimination/unfair laws)
**People saw the US as a land of jobs, plentiful land, and opportunities for a better life

3. Journey to America:
Length of journey: 12 days across the Atlantic Ocean, several weeks across the Pacific Ocean
European immigrants entered through Ellis Island in New York City
Asian immigrants entered into the US through Angel Island in San Francisco.

4. Vocabulary
Ethnic Group: minorities that spoke different languages or followed different customs from those of most people in a country
Emigrate: to leave homeland

5. Vocabulary Assimilate: to become part of another culture
Steerage: cramped, noisy quarters on the lower deck of the ship where most immigrants traveled
Sweatshops: dark, crowded workshops; work was repetitious, hazardous, with low pay and long hours

6. Experience at Ellis Island:
Had names changed or shortened
Immigrants had to report the country they came from, their occupation (job), and any relatives in the US
Had to pass health examinations
**If immigrants did not pass the exam, they were sent back to home country

7. The Immigrant Experience
Jobs:
Unloading cargo
Digging ditches
Steel mills
Sweatshops
**Usually low paid jobs with poor working conditions

8. Immigrant Experiences:
Role of women:
Women were able to have more freedom in the US than in Europe
Immigrant Communities:
Focused around ethnic groups and religion

9. Nativist Movement Americans fearful of:
1. Feared immigrants would take American jobs
2. Ethnic, religious, and racial tensions; some Americans felt immigrants did not fit into American culture

10. Laws Against Immigration
Chinese Exclusion Act:
Prohibited Chinese workers from entering the United States for the next 10 years
Immigration Act of 1917:
Required immigrants to be able to read and write (literacy requirement)

11. Immigrants Contribution to American Culture
Supplied new workers
New religious groups
New customs and cultures (food, music, traditions, ect.)
Cities began to grow faster