1. The USA What was it like at the start of the Twentieth Century? Downloaded from SchoolHistory.co.uk

2. Coming to America! Between 1850-1914, 40 million people emigrated to the USA For most the journey was hard and consisted of two weeks in the cheapest class of travel with little or no privacy There was also no guarantee that they would be allowed in!

3. Why America? Overcrowding in Europe Lack of Opportunity Unemployment Persecution America offered escape from these

4. Who were the Americans? Immigration had made the USA a very mixed society America was like ‘a melting pot’ The idea was that the immigrants lost their old identity and became AMERICANS! Old Immigrants. These were the first European settlers from Britain, Germany and Scandinavia. Their descendants tended to hold the best jobs, the most money and political power- WASPs

5. Who were the Americans? Southern and Eastern Europeans. In the late C19th most new immigrants came from Russia, Poland and Italy. Many were Jews and Catholics. Hispanics Asians

6. Questions to Consider Why do you think the Americans ‘processed’ the immigrants before letting them in? What were the push and pull factors that encouraged people to go to America? Do you think that the hopes of the immigrants would be easily achievable?