Responses to Immigration

1. Responses to Immigration SSUSH12 The student will analyze important consequences of American industrial growth. a. Describe Ellis Island, the change in immigrants’ origins to southern and eastern Europe and the impact of this change on urban America.

2. Rise of Nativism • One response to the growth of immigration was nativism, or overt favoritism toward native-born Americans • Nativism gave rise to anti-immigrant groups and led to a demand for immigration restrictions • Many nativists believed that Anglo-Saxons, the Germanic ancestors of the English, were superior to other ethnic groups • They didn’t object to immigrants from the “right” countries – Britain, Germany, and the Scandinavian countries • Immigrants from the “wrong” countries were Slavic, Latin, and Asian • They often objected to these people because of their religious beliefs

3. Chinese Exclusion Act • The nativist movement was also active in the labor movement – many people were upset because immigrants were willing to work for lower wages • Economic problems of the 1870s intensified the problems – labor unions on the west coast put pressure on the government to restrict Asian immigration • In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act which banned entry to all Chinese except students, teachers, merchants, tourists, and government officials • In 1892, Congress extended the ban for another 10 years • In 1902, Chinese immigration was restricted indefinitely and was eventually extended to Japanese and other Asian immigrants – this was not repealed until 1943 • Although the door to Asian immigration was closed, European immigrants continued to fill cities on the east coast

4. Further Limits on immigration • By the 1920s, many nativists felt that because the US had fewer unskilled jobs available, fewer immigrants should be let into the country • In 1921, the US set up a quota system for immigration – this established the maximum number of people who could enter the US from each foreign country • 2% of the number of nationals living in the US could enter – this discriminated against people from eastern and southern Europe who hadn’t started coming to the US in large numbers since the 1890s • These quotas will limit the number of the people who will be allowed to enter the country before World War II – Jews fleeing Hitler’s Europe, for example

5. Americanization Movement • The Americanization movement in the 19th Century was designed to assimilate people of all different cultures into the American culture • Schools and voluntary associations provided programs to teach immigrants skills to become citizens – English literacy and American history and government • Cooking and social etiquette were also taught • Despite these efforts, may immigrants did not wish to abandon their traditions • Immigrants typically lived in communities with people who spoke the same language and had the same culture which allowed them to continue their own cultural traditions • Many resented this forced “Americanization”