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The USA
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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‘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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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!
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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
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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
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When they arrived in America, the majority of immigrants settled in cities
Why?
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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?
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So When Did Attitudes Change Towards Immigration...
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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...
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