2. Immigrants flock to America
In the mid-1800s, Immigrants were coming to America by the thousands
Most came from western Europe
Ireland, England, Germany, Scandinavia
Some came from China

4. Push Factors – Cause of Emigration
Population growth.
Europe's population boomed after 1750, and the land became overcrowded
Agricultural changes.
As Europe's population grew, so did cities.
Landowners wanted to make money selling food to those cities.
New methods made it more efficient to farm large areas of land than to rent small plots to tenants.
Landlords forced tenants off the land.

5. Push Factors – Cause of Emigration
Crop failures.
Poor harvests made it difficult for small farmers to pay their debts.
Some of these farmers chose to start over in America.
Crop failures also led to hunger, causing people to emigrate.
Industrial Revolution.
Goods produced in factories became cheaper than goods produced by artisans.
Artisans were out of work, some took factory jobs, others emigrated.

6. Push Factors – Cause of Emigration
Religion
Quakers fled Norway
Jews left Germany
Political Turmoil
Germans came to America after a revolution in Germany failed in 1848
The Irish had faced a long history of oppression by the English

7. Pull Factors – Cause of Immigration
Freedom
“Everyone has the freedom to practice the teaching and religion he prefers.”
Economic opportunity
Immigrants sought a land where they could support their families and have a better future.
Immigration often rose during times of U.S. prosperity and fell during hard times.

8. Pull Factors – Cause of Immigration
Abundant land
The acquisition of the Louisiana Purchase and the Mexican Cession gave the United States millions more acres of land.
To land-starved Europeans, America was a land of opportunity.

9. The Plight of the Irish in America
The Irish mostly settled in cities, and worked in factories, and on the docks of the port cities of America
They were extremely poor and could not afford to move inland
Most settled in the cities where they landed and looked for manual labor jobs

10. Think/Pair/Share
Why do you think the Irish immigrants were willing to go against the advice of their religious leaders upon arrival in the United States?
What does this tell you about the role of race in America in the mid-1800s?

11. The Plight of the Irish in America
Anti-Irish sentiment was really high for a number of reasons:
Irish were poor and slums developed in cities
people blamed the Irish for crime, disease, alcohol abuse, etc.
Irish were Catholic;
most Americans were Protestant and thought Catholics could not be trusted because they would be more loyal to the Pope than to the U.S.
“Know-Nothing” Party was strongly anti-Irish and anti-immigrant.