1. The USA

2. This topic is a study of the growing tensions in American society from
USA: Course Outline
This topic is a study of the growing tensions in American society from
It focuses on immigration, racial divisions, economic difficulties, the growth of federal powers and the struggle for civil rights.

3. 6. How effective the civil
USA: Course Outline
USA
6. How effective the civil
rights movement was in
meeting the needs
of black Americans
up to 1968
1.The reasons for
CHANGING ATTITUDES
towards immigration
in the 1920s
2.The OBSTACLES that
stopped black people
achieving civil
rights up to 1941
3.The reasons for
the
ECONOMIC CRISIS of
4.The effectiveness
of the NEW DEAL
5.The reasons for the
development
of the CIVIL RIGHTS
campaign after 1945

4. Learning Intentions
To understand the history of immigration into the USA since the American Revolutionary War
Push and Pull Factors of Immigration
Immigrants Before & After 1890
The idea of the Melting Pot
‘Open Door’ Policy

5. In 1800 the population of America was only 2 million
BY 1920 the population of America was over 100 million!
This was caused by a massive flood of immigrants who were attracted by hopes for a better life

6. ‘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 life my lamp beside the golden door’
Emma Lazarus
Give me your tired and poor people,
The crowds of poor people who want a better life
The poor who live in your overcrowded cities
Send the homeless who have suffered from storms and war to me
I promise them a bright new future of freedom and wealth

7. In 1915 the President of the USA, Woodrow Wilson described America to be…
“like a melting pot. It is here we will mix the races together to create a new person - an American”
The motto of the USA is E PLURIBUS UNUM, which is the Latin for OUT OF MANY COMES ONE.
This expressed the hope that all the differences of nationality, culture and religion would eventually fade away and all immigrants would adopt the American way of life as loyal citizens of the United States.

8. Before 1890 most immigrants came from Northern Europe, especially England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany and Scandinavia
They usually arrived with a job already set up or with enough money to start a farm or small business
They were often not the poorest people in their home countries
Many were farmers, skilled workers or small businessmen

9. After 1890, most immigrants came from poorer areas of Europe such as Poland, Italy, Russia and the Ukraine
They often arrived without any money
They were often unable to speak English
Many of them were Jews and Catholics
Often poor, uneducated peasants

10. They thought they had made America powerful and strong
Old Vs New Immigrants
Old Immigrants- They were usually…
W.A.S.Ps
Protestant
White
They owned all of the big businesses in America and held many Government positions
Anglo-Saxon
They thought they were the most important people in America
They thought they had made America powerful and strong

11. New Immigrants They were often very poor and lived in the slums
Could not speak English
To outsiders they looked strange and ‘not American’
They came mostly from Southern and Eastern Europe
They seldom mixed with other groups
They often practised a different religion

12. Why Did Immigrants Leave Their Homes?
Low wages
Famine
Poverty
Unemployment
PUSH
Religious persecution
Political persecution
Terrible living and working conditions
Overpopulation and overcrowding in cities and on farm land

13. What Attracted Them To The USA?
The American Dream
Improvements in steamship technology meant that journeys were faster and safer
After 1850 the USA has a great industrial revolution
Greater political and religious freedom
PULL
Better wages
Greater opportunities promised to them by relatives, friends and recruiting agents
Employment in industries seeking cheap labour e.g. expanding railroads, factories, mines and the trans-continental railroad

14. The Island of Hope Or Tears
From 1892, Immigrants Were Taken To Ellis Island 1 Mile South Of New York Before They Were Allowed To Enter The USA
The Island of Hope Or Tears

15. 70% of all European immigrants arrived in America through Ellis Island
When they arrived, they were taken in groups of 30 to be ‘processed’
Around 5000 were tested each day to see if they were fit to live in America!

16. The First Test C-Conjunctivitis H-Heart disease F-Rash FT-Feet
Each immigrant had a medical exam be a doctor. He marked on a person’s back with chalk any defect or infectious diseases
C-Conjunctivitis
H-Heart disease
F-Rash
FT-Feet
Problems
-Feeble minded x

17. Only 2% of immigrants were denied entry for failing these tests
The Second Test
Inspectors asked immigrants 29 questions:
Have you any money?
Have you any relatives in America?
Do you have a job waiting for you?
Are you an anarchist?
If the inspections were all passed, they were given a landing card. This made them an American and they would be transported by ferry to New York
Only 2% of immigrants were denied entry for failing these tests

18. When they arrived in America, the majority of immigrants settled in cities
Why?

19. WAS AMERICA REALLY A MELTING POT?
By The Early 1900s, It Seemed Like American Cities Were Like Giant Jigsaws Of Different Nationalities Of People...
They tended to live with people from similar backgrounds, culture and language
These immigrants “enclaves” became identified by names such as Little Italy, Irishtown and Chinatown
POLISH
IRISH
They also tended to cluster in particular jobs
Hungarians and Italians flocked to the coal mines
Poles worked in steel mills
Greeks preferred the textile mills
Russian and Polish Jews clustered in the sewing trades
GERMAN
ITALIAN
WAS AMERICA REALLY A MELTING POT?

20. So When Did Attitudes Change Towards Immigration...

21. America was proud of it’s ‘open door policy’
This meant anyone could enter the USA providing they were not ‘feeble minded,’ extremely poor or had a serious disease
The focus of your first essay to analyse WHY attitudes changed towards immigration

22. The Dillingham Commission, 1907
The Commission thought these immigrants were inferior compared to the WASP immigrants who arrived mainly before 1890
They discovered that since the 1880s, immigrants had mainly come from Southern and Eastern Europe
They recommend that a literacy test be used to make it harder for ‘inferior’ immigrants to get into the USA
They had to show they could write a short passage in English or another language

23. Why Did Attitudes Towards Immigration Change So Much After 1918?
They were believed to be damaging American culture and bringing in dangerous new ideas like communism
Many Americans feared Revolution
The Russian Revolution in 1917
The Red Scare in 1919
During WWI many German immigrants supported the German side and when the USA joined the war against Germany there was a danger American society would split.
Why Did Attitudes Towards Immigration Change So Much After 1918?
After WWI there were few jobs
They were blamed for disease and rising crime
Immigrants put pressure on scarce housing in poorer areas of the cities
They were forcing down wages by working for less
Racism
“America must be kept pure and not turned into a second rate power by a second rate people”
Immigrant trade unions were growing too big and too powerful

24. The ‘Open Door’ Policy Did Not Apply To Everyone...
Exclusion Act of 1882
Restricts Immigration
Chinese immigration made illegal
1902
The Japanese Government promise to stop the emigration of its citizens to the USA
1907
Immigration Act of bans almost all Asians
1917
Congress encourages emigrants from Western Europe as they believe they are more likely to become ‘good’ Americans. The law discouraged immigration from Eastern and Southern Europe
1921

25. Immigration Laws in the 1920s: The Open Door Closes!
By the 1920s, the flow of immigrants to the USA was restricted as a quota system was used.
This meant that only so many immigrants from each country were allowed into the USA
The 1921 Emergency Quota Act allowed only 3% of each nationality living in the USA in 1910 to enter the USA
The 1924 Immigration Act reduced this percentage to 2% enter each year.
The proportion from each country was decided on the size of each national group in the USA at the time of the 1890 census
Remember! Up to 1890 most immigrants had come from Northern and Western Europe

26. Now time to start the first essay...
The effect of the 1921 and 1924 Immigration Acts was to discriminate against people from South Eastern Europe and allow more immigrants from Northern Europe to enter
A better balance was created in 1928 when they used the 1910 census as the basis for the quotas. This included far more Southern and Eastern Europeans.
ONLY SEND ME WASPS!
Now time to start the first essay...