1. Unit 3 - Immigration Changes in American Life
7.2
The New Immigrants

2. Essential Questions/Learning Goals:
To describe changes in immigration patterns in the late 1800’s
To understand where and how immigrants settled and the jobs they took
To explain the process of assimilation and efforts to restrict immigration

3. Key Terms: New immigrants Ellis Island Angel Island Melting pot
Assimilation
Chinese Exclusion Act

4. One American’s Story
Where was Edward Corsi’s point of entry into the United States?
Ellis Island

5. The New Immigrants
Prior to the 1890’s where did most immigrants come from?
Northern and Western Europe
Where were new immigrants from?
Southern and eastern Europe
Italy, Jews, Poles, Slavs, and Russians

7. The New Immigrants
What was the Point of Entry for most European immigrants?
Ellis Island in New York

8. The New Immigrants
What steps had to be completed at Ellis Island before an immigrant would be allowed to enter the country?
They had to have a health inspection
If you had in infectious disease, you were sent back to your home country
They were asked a series of questions
If it was found that a person had a criminal background, they were also sent back to their home country

11. The New Immigrants Where did Asian immigrants enter the United States?
Angel Island in San Francisco, California
Where did Mexican immigrants enter the country?
Through Texas
Was immigration into the United States difficult at this point in history?
No. It was very easy to come to America

14. Concept Check:
How did the patterns in immigration change from the period before the 1890’s and afterwards?
Prior to 1890, most immigrants were from Northern and Western Europe
After 1890 immigrants came from many other areas including Eastern and Southern Europe, Mexico and Asia.

15. Settling in America:
Where would immigrants settle once they entered the country
Wherever they could find jobs.
This usually meant factory work in large cities
Most would also settle into communities where other people from their home country were already living
This resulted in the growth of ethnic neighborhoods such as…
Little Italy
China Town

16. Settling in America:
How did these ethnic neighborhoods work together for a better life?
They often pooled their money and resources to build churches or other places of worship
Published newspapers or magazines
Developed their own political machines with the goal of making life better for their group

17. Immigrants Take Tough Jobs:
What types of industries did most immigrants work in?
On the East coast…
Most ended up working in factories such as sweatshops
On the West coast…
Many Asians worked to build the railroads or opened up their own businesses and restaurants

18. Immigrants Take Tough Jobs:
What types of industries did most immigrants work in?
Japanese immigrants…
Worked on the sugar plantations in Hawaii
Mexican immigrants…
Worked on farms and in mines in the West

19. Concept Check: On white lined paper, answer the following questions as a warm-up.
What were the most important influences on where immigrants settled in America?
In what ways did immigrant communities help new arrivals adjust to life in America?
How did the types of work that immigrants could find vary from one part of the country to another?

20. Becoming Americans Why is America sometimes called a melting pot?
With all of the immigration into America, cultures blend or melt together
The process of blending into the culture of another country is called…
Assimilation
Did most immigrants want to be assimilated into American culture?
Yes

21. Becoming Americans
Where did a lot of the assimilation process take place?
At the workplace
Unions often offered classes to learn English and for U.S. citizenship

22. Becoming Americans
Immigrants were clearly changed by America, but how did immigrants also change America?
They brought their culture with them
Foods
Language
Music
Customs

23. Becoming Americans
Was there any resistance to immigrants from U.S. citizens?
Yes!
Many native-born Americans feared that the immigrants would bring about changes to America that they were not in agreement with

24. Restrictions on Immigration:
Why did many native-born Americans want to restrict immigration?
Many feared that immigrants would take their jobs
What resulted from these fears?
The 1882 restrictions on immigration were passed by Congress
The Chinese Exclusion Act banned immigrants from China for…
10 years