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Immigration

Immigration. US History. Nation of Immigrants. Always has been a “nation of immigrants” After Civil War, industrialization brought even more immigrants. 1865-1900 13.5 million people from abroad. 1920s immigration slows down. Three “Waves”. Colonial Immigration (to 1776)

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Immigration

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  1. Immigration US History

  2. Nation of Immigrants • Always has been a “nation of immigrants” • After Civil War, industrialization brought even more immigrants. • 1865-1900 13.5 million people from abroad. • 1920s immigration slows down.

  3. Three “Waves” • Colonial Immigration (to 1776) • Old Immigration (1776-1850) • New Immigration (1850-1924)

  4. Colonial Immigration • From arrival of Europeans to Declaration of Independence. • In North America, mostly English, but also Scotch-Irish, German, Swedish, Dutch. • Many Africans. • Why? • Europeans: political and religious freedom; economic improvement. • Africans: forced

  5. Old Immigration • 1776-1850 • From Northern and Western Europe: Ireland, Germany, Scandinavia • Why? • Irish: Potato famine in late 1840s. • Germans: wars and failed revolution in 1848. • In general, economic opportunity.

  6. Old Immigration • Areas of Settlement • Irish: Northeastern cities (5-point area of NYC) • Germans and Scandinavians: Some cities; mostly farms in west

  7. Old Immigration • Problems Old Immigrants faced: • Irish and German Catholics experienced resentment from Protestant establishment. • Also fear of economic competition.

  8. New Immigration • 1850-1924 • Shift in immigration to southern and eastern Europe (Italy, Russia, Poland, Greece, Armenians) as well as Asia (Japan, China) • Why? • Again economic opportunity, political freedom. • Religious freedom (Jews in Russia faced pogroms)

  9. New Immigration • Most new immigrants settled in cities: • Industrial centers, ports • Concentrated in ghettos • “Urban area, usually poor, dominated by a single ethnic group.” • In NYC “Lower East Side” - Jewish; “Little Italy”; Chinatown

  10. New Immigration • Chinese Immigration to US • China: overcrowded; food shortages; Taiping Rebellion (1850) • US Gold Rush; Central Pacific RR advertised for workers on transcontinental RR

  11. New Immigration • Japanese Immigration • Between 1900-1910 • Rapid industrialization disrupted Japanese economy; Japanese looked to US for a “start over” • 1910 Angel Island in SF Bay • Immigrants waited for weeks or months for immigration hearings.

  12. Reaction to Immigration • Nativism: belief that native-born Americans were superior to immigrants. • 1880s-90s Nativism emerged even among descendants of “Old Immigrants.” • Believed that immigrant languages, religions and traditions impacted American society negatively. • Nativist workers feared low wages and loss of jobs. • Much discrimination, prejudice, stereotypes.

  13. Reaction to Immigration • Nativist legislation! • 1850s Know-Nothing Party: tried to limit voting strength of immigrants; to keep Catholics out of office; to require lengthy residence before citizenship. • Unsuccessful; party died out in late 1850s.

  14. Reaction to Immigration • Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) • Using Wilhelm II’s phrase “Yellow Peril” • Common in newspapers owned by William Randolph Hearst on West Coast • California barred Chinese from owning property or working in certain jobs. • Congress followed suit by limiting Chinese immigration.

  15. Reaction to Immigration • “Gentleman’s Agreement” (1907) • Pres. Theodore Roosevelt reached informal agreement with Japan to halt emigration of its people to US.

  16. Reaction to Immigration • Literacy Tests (1917) • Congress barred immigrants who could not read or write [in their own language].

  17. Reaction to Immigration • Emergency Quota Act (1921) • Limited number of immigrants to US each year to 350,000. • National Origins Quota Act (1924) • Further reduced immigration. • Favored immigrants from northern and western Europe. • National Origins Act (1929) • Limited number to 150,000 per year.

  18. Immigrants and American Society • Sociological theories on absorption of immigrants into a society: • Melting Pot: • people from various cultures meet in a place and form a new culture. Difficult to distinguish contributions of any one culture.

  19. Immigrants andAmerican Society • Assimilation • Immigrants become like the established American culture; they give up languages and customs for the dominant society. • Immigrants from Africa, Asia, Caribbean who looked least like nativists had hardest time assimilating.

  20. Immigrants andAmerican Society • Pluralism (salad bowl or mosaic) • No group really loses its distinctive characteristics. • People live side by side with each group contributing in its own way.

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