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IMMIGRATION Coming to America

IMMIGRATION Coming to America. Where did they come from?. MOSTLY FROM: Northern/Western Europe ( B efore Civil War) English , Scots, Irish, Germans, Scandinavians

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IMMIGRATION Coming to America

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  1. IMMIGRATION Coming to America

  2. Where did they come from? MOSTLY FROM: • Northern/Western Europe (Before Civil War)English, Scots, Irish, Germans, Scandinavians • Southern /Eastern Europe (After Civil War)Italians, Greeks, Slavic peoples (Poles, Slovaks, Czechs, Croats, Serbs, Ukrainians, Russians, Armenians)

  3. To clarify… • Before 1880, most European immigrants came from northwest Europe • After 1880, most European immigrants came from southwest Europe

  4. Why did they leave? Push and Pull Reasons of Course!

  5. Over-Population

  6. How much did the US Population change over time? • US population 1860: 31.5 million • US population 1920: 61.5 million • What a HUGE addition -30 million more people!

  7. How many Immigrants came to the United States?

  8. Lack of Jobs

  9. Government Tyranny

  10. Crop Failures! Land Shortages!

  11. Famine

  12. High Taxes/ Cost of Living

  13. Political or Religious Persecution

  14. How did immigrants get here? • Steamships made of iron and steel • 2-3 weeks to 1 week by 1900 • Created “birds of passage”-single male worker who came for a short time, earn money, and return home

  15. Steerage – for the “Economically Disadvantaged” • Most immigrants traveled in Steerage (large open area under the ship’s deck) • Cheap fares • Limited toilet facilities withno privacy

  16. Steerage postcard

  17. Ports of Entry • Boston • Philadelphia • Baltimore • Seattle • San Francisco • But New York was most popular!

  18. Entrance to USA • In 1886 greeted by Statue of Liberty in NY harbor

  19. What do you think she represented to immigrants?

  20. Castle Garden • Overwhelmed by 1890! • 70% of all European immigrants arrived in NYC

  21. ELLIS ISLAND • In 1892 an immigration center opened at Ellis Island in NY harbor to “process” those in lower-class/”steerage” • Immigrants were given a medical check-up and asked a series of questions

  22. ELLIS ISLAND“Gateway to America” or “Golden Door” • 70% of European immigrants arrived in NYC • Processed through within hours or days

  23. Sometimes immigrants were “quarantined” (isolated to prevent the spread of disease): tuberculosis, small pox, measles • Some were even deported due to serious diseases: trachoma or other reasons The caption reads . . . Held at Ellis Island – Undesirable emigrants to be taken back by steamship company that brought them

  24. Deportation of “idiots, imbeciles, feeble-minded persons, epileptics, insane persons; …persons with chronic alcoholism The Ellis Island record of an immigrant who deemed "feebledminded" by US officials, then summarily deported. (source: ForgottenEllisIsland.com)

  25. After the Medical Exam, an interview… • Name? • Occupation? • Who paid your fare? • Can you read or write? • How much money do you have? • Have you been to prison or in a poorhouse? • Where are you going? • Do you have a job already?

  26. Angel Island - California The Ellis Island of the West Coast

  27. Angel Island • Located in San Francisco Bay • Poor conditions: • Overcrowded • Poorly ventilated • Filthy conditions • Men and women, including husbands and wives,were separatedand not allowed to see or communicate with each other again until they were admitted to the country.

  28. Immigrants were processed over a longer period of time: weeks or months vs. days on Ellis Island

  29. Urbanization – Growth of the Cities! • Most immigrants tended to settle in the city of their arrival (i.e. - land in Ellis Island, stay in New York…) • Ethnic neighborhoods develop – people in the neighborhood share a common language, food, history, etc…(i.e. – Little Italy, Little Greece, Chinatown, etc

  30. Where Did Immigrants Settle? • Only 2% of Immigrants went to the south –why?

  31. Immigrant Work • Unskilled jobs • Low paying – even children had to work • Long hours • Factory work – tedious, tiring, dangerous • So many people needed jobs – you could be replaced very easily – don’t even think about calling in sick!

  32. Jobs for European Immigrants • Limited opportunities • Mines, mills, and factories • Friends and relatives helped each other

  33. Asian (Chinese) Immigrants • Viewed with suspicion and subject to hostility because the culture was so different! • Kept to themselveswith otherChineseimmigrants

  34. Jobs for Chinese Immigrants • Agriculture • Mining • Fishing • Food Prep. • Laundry • On the railroad (Transcontinental Railroad in particular)

  35. A Chinese Laundry

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