IMMIGRATION AND URBANIZATION

Immigration and Urbanization

During most of the 1800s, the U.S. followed a policy of unrestricted immigration because the American economy needed many unskilled workers.

3 types of immigrants There are 3 categories of groups of immigrants:

• Old immigrants 1600s-1850: from northwestern Europe. They were light skinned and had light eyes and hair. Most were also Protestant.• New immigrants 1860-1920: from Eastern

and Southern Europe. These immigrants were Russian, Polish, Jewish, Italians, Irish, and Chinese. Their religions were different from the Old Immigrants (Catholic and Jewish). They were typically darker in color with darker hair and eyes.• Modern immigrants 1965-present: from

Latin America and Asia.

RELIGION

BIRTHPLACE

DESTINATION

OCCUPATION

Protestant Catholic and Jewish

North/Western Southern/Europe Eastern Europe

Moved to farms Moved to cities in the Midwest the Northeast

Became farmers Unskilled workers

Old v. New

• 1862 Homestead Act and aid from railroad companies made western farmland inexpensive.

• Workers were recruited from homelands to build railroads, dig mines, or work in factories.

• Many wanted to find gold.

• The promise of freedoms and rights included in the US Constitution.

In the mid-to-late 1800s…•(1845-1850) the potato famine (a fungus) destroyed Ireland's potato crop. During these years, starvation and related diseases claimed as many as a million lives.•(1848-1870) War in Italy (Italian unification)•(1850-1871) War in Germany (German unification)•(1880s) Persecution of Jews in the Russian Empire.

Angel Island

Ellis Island

Where did the “new” immigrants first arrive?

Ellis Island

•Once on Ellis Island, the immigrants had to go through three inspections:• Physical•Mental• Legal

Angel Island

• Angel Island - Immigrant station in California

• One million Asian immigrants traveled through here.

•Read Vartan’s statement below and list at least 3 of his expectations

“Coming to America had meaning. I was a kid of seven and in contrast to what I had gone through, Ellis Island was like not a haven but a heaven. I don’t remember any fright when I got to Ellis Island. My father’s dream and prayer was ‘I must get my family to America’…America was paradise, the streets were covered with gold. And when we arrived here, and when we landed form Ellis Island and [went} to Buffalo, it was as if God’s great promise had been fulfilled that we would eventually find freedom”

Vartan HartunianTurkey (Armenian)age 7

What did the ‘new immigrants’ expect when coming to America?

Tenements

Sweatshops

Homelessness

What impact did the increased immigration of the late 1800s have on the U.S.?

population shift from rural to urban areas

How did “new” immigrants adjust to life in the United States?