1. Immigration to America
Torre
US CP

2. New Immigrants
New Immigrants= Southern and Eastern Europeans during 1870s until WWI.
Came from Ireland, Germany, Italy, Greece, Poland, Hungary and Russia.
Often unskilled, poor, Catholic or Jewish, and planning to save some money to take back home.
Old Immigrants- Came before the Irish and German immigrants.
After 1900, New Immigrants made up 70% of all immigrants.
American natives felt threatened by the new immigrants

3. “OLD IMMIGRANTS”
Most immigrants before 1890: Protestants from Northern Europe
U.S. culture at that time reflected the traditions and beliefs of northern Europe.
Towns beginning with New:_______________ (York, Prague, Brighton, London, )
Few New Chiapas (Mexico), Tegucigalpa (Honduras), Quito (Equador), Manilla (Phillipines), Bejing (China), Kyoto (Japan), Novasibersk (Russia), Bagdad (Iraq)
Look in picture at family: values of caring for family, closeness, togetherness, handsome appeareance—not what you’re seeing at the Mall of America these days

4. “NEW IMMIGRANTS” Southern and Eastern Europeans Jews Catholics
Unskilled
Settled in cities

5. Immigrants from Europe
Old New New New

7. Old v. New RELIGION Protestant Catholic and Jewish BIRTHPLACE
REASONS
DESTINATION
OCCUPATION
Protestant Catholic and Jewish
North/Western Southern/Eastern Europe Europe
Both escaping poverty, religious and political persecution
Moved to farms Moved to cities in the in the Midwest Northeast
Became farmers Unskilled workers

8. Why?
Push Factors
Pull Factors

9. Push Factors
Things that cause people to want to leave a country, or push them out.
Drought or famine
Political revolutions or wars
Religious persecution
Economic struggles

10. Push Factors
1880s- Farmers had a difficult time in Mexico, Poland, and China.
1840s- many wars and political revolutions in China and Eastern Europe which caused economic troubles.
Russian and Eastern European Jews faced religious persecution and fled to the U.S. for safety.

11. Pull Factors
Things that attract people to move to a place, or pulls them in.
Land, Employment, Religious or Political Freedom.
Plentiful Land
Employment
Religious Freedom
Political Freedom
New Life

12. Pull Factors to America
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.
Chain immigrants= come to be with family or friends who had gone before to start new lives.

13. Journey to America
Many immigrants could barely afford a ticket to come to the U.S.
Often would save for their tickets
Have family already in America purchase ticket
Sneak on the ship
They could only pack what they could carry. (Clothes, photograph, tools for their trade)
Many would wait in line for hours to try to get on a ship and in many cases it was very dangerous to do this.

14. Journey to America
Steerage= Where most immigrants traveled on the ship.
Steerage was located on the lowest decks of the ship with no private cabins, and was dirty and crowded. (Think Titanic)
Seasickness was an issue in rough weather and illnesses spread quickly in the lower decks.

17. Arrival
Ellis Island in the East (New York City)- This is where most people from Europe arrived.
Angel Island in the West (San Francisco)- This is were most people from Asia arrived.
San Francisco – Angel Island
New York – Ellis Island

18. Immigrants Arrive in America
To enter the ports immigrants had to be healthy and show they had money, a skill, or a sponsor to provide for them.
They had to go through a series of health tests and evaluations and could possibly be sent back to their homeland if they did not meet proper guidelines..

19. Ellis Island built in 1892 as the 1st “Immigration Center”
*In 1890, Congress designated low-laying, three- acre Ellis Island in Upper New York Bay as an immigration station. By the end of 1910, six million immigrants had come through Ellis Island.
built in 1892 as the 1st “Immigration Center”
closed in the 1940s
Now is a museum.

21. Immigration Stations
Once immigrants arrived in the U.S., they went through immigration stations, such as Ellis Island in New York Harbor.
Government workers questioned them about where they planned to work & live.
Doctors also examined them to make sure they didn’t have any diseases. Almost all European immigrants were allowed to enter the U.S. initially.

22. The goal was to “screen” immigrants coming from Europe.
Immigrants took physical examinations and were held at Ellis Island before they were released to the US mainland.

23. Ellis Island Most European immigrants came through here. (NYC)
1st and 2nd class passengers were inspected on the ship then released.
3rd class had to go in to be inspected.
A series of medical and legal inspections would take place before you were allowed to take a ferry in to the city.
Ellis Island was the more welcoming of the two ports.

24. With the huge numbers of immigrants, inspectors had just 2 minutes to complete the process and many immigrants had their last names changed by the inspectors because they didn’t have the time or patience to struggle with the foreign spellings.

25. Only one third of the immigrants who came to the United States through Ellis Island stayed in New York City. Most scattered across the country.
Immigrants were given tags to pin to their hats or coats. The tags showed railroad conductors what lines the immigrants were traveling and what connections to make to reach their destinations.

26. Where Did They Settle?

30. Angel Island
Most Chinese and Asian immigrants came through here (San Francisco Bay)
Opened in 1910.
Made it very hard for Chinese immigrants to come into the U.S.
Most had to prove they were American citizens to be let in.
Immigrants were sometimes left here for days or weeks in poor conditions.

33. Cities
The arrival of large numbers of immigrants radically changed the face of the nation’s cities.
Before the Civil War, cities were compact.
Between 1865 and 1900 the percentage of Americans living in the cities doubled.
Cities grew upward. Prior to the Civil War, buildings were built only to five stories.

34. Urban Living Conditions
Immigrants often lived in buildings abandoned by middle-class residents and converted into multifamily units.
These tenements soon became identified as “slums”.
Many families would cram into spaces only meant for a few.
Many immigrants tended to settle with others from the same country creating the ethnic neighborhoods and sections that can still be found in many big cities today.

35. “FIVE CENTS A SPOT” ROOMS
Many immigrants had no home and slept in 5 cents a spot rooms where people paid for a small space to spend the night.
Can you imagine sleeping crowded against strangers?

36. What was it like for them here?
Some native-born Americans feared and resented the new immigrants.
Their languages, religions, and customs seemed strange.
They also competed for jobs. Desperate for jobs, immigrants often accepted lower wages and worse working conditions.

37. Legitimate vs. imposters
Conflicts between old and new immigrant groups common.
Earlier groups considered themselves to be legitimate U.S. citizens.
Established groups viewed new immigrants imposters or trespassers.
Ethnocentrism: belief that one’s culture and ways are superior to others
I was here first argument between Christopher Columbus and the captain of the next ship to arrive seem foolish.
Know any twins? Funny when one calls other younger sibling? Didn’t they arrive at the same time—relatively? Yes.
Same with established and new immigrants: they’re all still immigrants.
Ethnocentrism: belief that one’s culture and ways are superior to others
Speaking of Columbus, almost as silly as Columbus “discovering” new world. Discovering a well populated, ancient permaculture of more than 1,400 years. Aztec, Mayan, Native American: indigenous or first peoples.

38. EXCLUDED FROM THE “MELTING POT”
“Melting Pot”: immigrants assimilated into culture through education and acculturation.
Many immigrant groups maintained their ethnic identity.
Does not correspond with reality of U.S. experience.
Melting pot did not take into account immigrants and ethnic groups who did not easily blend into the culture.
Asians, African Americans, Native Americans, and others were excluded from this process of fusion.
Melting pot:
White pot. Brown pot. Yellow pot. Red pot.
White conservative pot and white liberal pot. White rich pot and white poor pot. White heterosexual pot and white homosexual pot.
What? You say you’ve melded all of above into one pot? Good, but not everyone has. White open minded pot and which discriminatory pot.
You’re surely not getting in the mix with hate mongers?
Brown . . .
Red . . .
Yellow . . .

39. Immigrants Assimilate Into Society
Assimilate = to fit in.
Most immigrants stayed in cities and lived in ethnic neighborhoods called ghettos.
These neighborhoods would share the same language, religion, and culture.
By 1890 many cities had a huge immigrant population. 4/5 people in NYC were immigrants.

40. Assimilation
Americanization = helping newcomers learn American ways. (Language, customs, dress, and diet)
In many cities Americanization institutions arose to help immigrants fit in.
America became known as the “Melting Pot”.
Immigrants usually stuck with their native cultures but children of immigrants were more likely to adopt American ways.

41. STOP

42. Immigrants Face Hostility
Nativism = belief that native born white Americans were superior to immigrants.
Competition for jobs and homes often fueled resentment and religious and cultural differences caused tensions as well.
Chinese Exclusion Act = 1882 Prohibited immigration by Chinese laborers, limited civil rights of immigrants in America, and forbade naturalization of Chinese residents.
A later ruling said the Chinese who were already in America were considered U.S. citizens.

43. Laws Against Immigration
1882 Congress passed Chinese Exclusion Act
Almost all Chinese immigrants were kept out of America.
Did not allow for naturalization of Chinese residents.
Limited civil rights for the Chinese already living in U.S.
1921 & 1924 Congress passed laws that lowered the number of Europeans & Asians
All immigrants faced prejudice upon arrival

44. Chinese Exclusion Act
Resentment and discrimination against the Chinese.
First law to restrict immigration.
Taking away jobs from Nativists

45. Congress also passed another act that prohibited the entry of anyone who was a criminal, immoral, or someone who handicapped.
These were the beginnings of immigration restriction in America.
A quota act is later going to be placed on how many immigrants can come to the U.S. from a given country.

46. Immigrants Change America
Immigrants changed America in many ways.
Fueled industrial growth
Acquired citizenship
Elected politicians
Made their traditions a part of American culture.
Mexican Americans developed ranching techniques.
Chinese, Irish, and Mexican workers built railroads.
Immigrants worked in coal mines, steel and textile mills, and factories.
Women immigrants worked in factories, seamstresses, laundresses, made piecework, and worked as servants.
Immigrants helped the U.S. become a world power.

47. What’s on Your Mind?
You are an immigrant who is moving to America in the year Imagine if Facebook were around at that time (silly concept, I know, but we’ll just pretend for today). Of course updating your status about your move is important so that you keep family and friends updated. Be sure to include:
Your name,
Where you’re moving to and from (remember the map),
Why you are moving (think of push and/or pull factors).
Any emotions: Sad? Happy? Nervous? Do you even want to move? Why or why not?