1. The Rising Tide of Immigration: 1865-1915
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
– Emma Lazaras

2. What trends do you see?

3. Through the Golden Door
: million
Why?
Wars, famine, religious persecution, overpopulation
Before 1880
85% from northern and western Europe“old immigrants”
more similar in language, religion, custom
After 1880
increase from southern & eastern Europe=“ new immigrants”
did NOT share language/religion/customs with majority of population
New immigrants included southern Italy (drought, economic disaster and disease; Polish and Russian Jews (religious persecution) Hungary- Catholics and Jews

4. Perceptions… some real; some were imagined; some half-true.
OLD IMMIGRANTS
NEW IMMIGRANTS
from northern or western Europe
were Protestant
were literate and skilled
came over as families
were quick to assimilate
were experienced with democracy
had some money
from southern or eastern Europe
were not Protestant--were Catholic, Orthodox, Jewish
were illiterate and unskilled
came over as birds of passage
were clannish and reluctant to assimilate
were radicals or autocrats
arrived impoverished

5. Chinese Immigration Between 1851-1883, 300,000 Chinese arrived.
Many came to seek gold fortunes in the gold rush.
Helped build nations railroads
Turned to farming, mining and domestic services
However, Chinese immigration was limited by Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

6. Japanese Immigration 1884- Japanese boom begins
1898 annex of Hawaii increase Japanese immigration to the west coast
High American wages
Peak in 1907 of 30,000 totaling 200,000 by 1920

7. West Indies and Mexico
,000 immigrants from West Indies: Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and others
Left homelands due to lack of jobs and the promise of work in the industrial boom in the U.S.
Mexicans came north for work and to escape political turmoil
1902-the National Reclamation Act created new farmland and drew Mexican workers

8. Passage to America A difficult journey usually by ship
Trip from Europe took one week, from Asia took three weeks.
Traveled in cheap accommodations, usually cargo hold.
Rarely allowed on deck; very crowded
Slept in louse-infected bunks, shared toilets with other immigrants
Disease spread quickly
Conditions of travel:
Passage cost a life’s savings
steerage deck= cheapest
overcrowded, uncomfortable conditions
“During the 12 days in the steerage I lived in
. . . surroundings that offended every sense. Only the fresh breeze from the sea overcame the sickening odors.”

9. Ellis Island in Upper New York Bay

10. Immigrants being checked by the immigration inspector

11. Immigrants of the main hall on Ellis Island

12. Ellis Island Inspection
Process: humiliating and dehumanizing
Long lines; tagged by language, ailment
Medical Exams
Checked documents and questioned immigrants on whether they met legal requirements:
1. Must be able to prove they had never been
convicted of a felony,
2. Able to work
3. Showing they had some money.
Ellis Island was chief processing station for nearly 17 million immigrants
Exams: 2 minutes! 32 exam questions! The “eye” doctors
Have $$? cabin class avoided long delays

13. Angel Island

14. Inspection Process

15. Processed immigrants . . . What is out there for us?

16. Political Cartoon analysis
Examine the political cartoon you are assigned (#1-#9).
Answer the questions on your analysis handout.
As a class, we will review your findings.