Immigration

A. Who are They1. Old Immigrants (1800-

1880)– Northern and Western

Europeans– UK, Netherlands, Sweden,

Germany, Norway– Religion: Protestants

2. New Immigrants (Starting in 1880)– Southern and Eastern Europeans– Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Russian– Religion: Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians,

and Jews

B. Coming to America

1. Why come to America?– Seeking a better Life– Poverty and little opportunity

in their own country– Religious Persecution– US viewed as the land of

opportunity

2. The Trip Across the Ocean– Passage to the US was cheap for a reason– Ships were crowded– Unsanitary conditions– Most poor immigrants traveled in the steerage

or bottom of the boat

“The ventilation is almost always inadequate, and the air soon becomes foul. The unattended vomit of the seasick, the odors of not too clean bodies, the reek of food and the awful stench of the nearby toilet rooms make the atmosphere of the steerage such that it is a marvel that human flesh can endure it…All of these conditions are naturally aggravated by the crowding.”

3. Ellis Island– In New York Harbor– Gateway for 112 million

immigrants– Used from 1892-1954

– Immigrants held in holding pens– They were interviewed for radical ideas and

inspected for diseases– If immigrants had trachoma (an eye disease) they

would be deported immediately– Some were held for weeks

4. Angel Island– San Francisco– 1910-1940– Immigration Gate of the West

– Immigrants in the west – Many Chinese had come to America during the California Gold Rush. – The Chinese Exclusion Act 1882 stopped immigration for 10 years. Renewed in 1892.– Japanese went to Hawaii for the sugar plantations Later they moved to the mainland.

Japanese were put in segregated schools.– Angel Island – Like Ellis Island only outside San Francisco.

More prison like than Ellis Island.

C. Conditions for Immigrants

1. Living Conditions– Most immigrants lived in

large cities– Lived in Tenements (run

down apartment buildings)

– No indoor plumbing– Overcrowded– Small– No sewage or trash

systems

2. Working Conditions– Routine repetitive tasks– 10-12 hrs a day 6 days a

week– Low pay = $400 -$500 a

year– Unsafe unhealthy

atmosphere– Women and children

work too

D. Reaction to Immigrants1. Nativism– The idea that those who had

been here longer were better

– Viewed immigrants as a threat to society

– Viewed them as a threat to the economy• Accepted low wages, took

jobs from Americans

2. Immigration Laws– Number of immigrants

continued to increase– US passed laws limiting

the number of immigrants that could come in

– Chinese Exclusion Act: 1882, Bans immigration for 10 years

– In 1917 Congress passed a Literacy Test. You had to be able to read English to come here.