14.1 The Hopes of Immigrants

1. 14.1The Hopes of Immigrants Why people migrated Immigrants came from all over the world in the mid-1800’s: Britain, Ireland, Germany, Scandinavia, and China (most were from Europe). Immigrants came to the U.S. because of push-pull factors:

2. Push Factors • Push: population growth: in Europe caused overcrowding, hunger, and poor sanitation • agricultural changes: which included the use of more machinery caused large landowners to force small tenant farmers off the land because they were no longer needed • crop failures: caused by a variety of factors in places like Ireland and China caused farmers to want to start over in the U.S. • industrial revolution: caused small artisans to go out of business because now their products could be manufactured in large factories • religious and political turmoil: was a factor in Europe. Quakers and Jews left Europe because they were persecuted, and many Germans came to America because there was a revolution in Germany. People will usually try to get out of a war zone.

3. Pull Factors • freedom in all its forms: freedom to start a business, to practice a religion, etc. • economic opportunity: people wanted to be able to feed themselves and their families; immigration goes up when the U.S. has a good economy and goes down when the economy is not so good. • abundant land: The Louisiana Purchase and Mexican Cession gave the U.S. huge amounts of land and most of the land in Europe was already owned.

4. Scandinavians Seek Land • Scandinavians came to the U.S. for cheap land. • At first the Scandinavian government and clergy tried to keep the people from emigrating, but it was no use. • Many Scandinavians settled in Minnesota and Wisconsin because it reminded them of their home with cold winters and forests. • Most Scandinavians became farmers.

5. Germans PursueEconomic Opportunity • Germans settled in Wisconsin and Texas where, again, most became farmers. • However, many Germans were artisans and they settled in cities and started businesses. • One of the most recognizable of these is the lens manufacturer Bausch and Lomb which was started in 1853 by John Bausch and Henry Lomb.

6. Some of the Germans who came to the U.S. were Jews fleeing persecution in Germany. • Many of these people worked as traveling peddlers selling necessary items to people who could not get to stores. • Germans were the largest immigrant group of the 1800’s and German culture can still be seen in the U.S. today: Christmas trees, gyms, kindergartens, hamburgers and frankfurters.

7. The Irish Flee Hunger • Most Irish immigrants were Catholic and were trying to get away from Britain (ruled Ireland) because it had become Protestant for centuries. • Irish Catholics were denied rights just because they were Catholic: they couldn’t vote, hold office, own land, or go to school . • To make matters worse, in 1854 the potato famine killed at least a million Irish people who starved to death (the Brits probably did little to help these people).

8. By 1854 up to 2 million Irish people had fled to the U.S. • Because almost all of the Irish people coming to the U.S. were poor (couldn’t afford land), they mostly settled in the port towns where they got off the ships in Boston, New York, and Baltimore. • Because the Irish really only knew potato farming and had almost no education, they had to take low-paying hard jobs. • It was the Irish immigrants who were responsible for the beginning construction of the railroads.

9. U.S. Cities Face Overcrowding During the 1800’s cities in the U.S. grew rapidly and this caused problems: • Not enough housing was available and so greedy landlords could charge high prices. • Apartment buildings were built with small rooms, not many windows, and only outdoortoilets. • Most large cities including New York had no police force and only a volunteer firedepartment. • Many immigrant groups and some politicians set up organizations to help newcomers get jobs.

10. Some Americans Oppose Immigration • Some Americans who were native born were worried that the new immigrants would not want to become “American” and that they would outnumber native born Americans. (Hmmmm…) • So, many of the new immigrants faced prejudice either because of their home country or their religion. • Native born Americans who wanted to eliminate foreign influence on American culture were called nativists.

11. Some of the nativists began to form secret groups that would not hire immigrants for jobs in their shops and businesses, and also made a pact not to vote for immigrants or Catholics for public office. • When asked openly about the secret groups, the people would respond, “I know nothing about it.” • This is how the “Know-Nothing Party” got its start. • opposed Catholics and foreign-born people from holding office • wanted the wait for citizenship to be 21 years (!!) • Know-Nothings did elect six governors, but the party fell apart because of arguments over slavery between the northern and southern group.