IMMIGRATION Coming to America

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)

To clarify…• Before 1880, most

European immigrants came from northwest Europe

• After 1880, most European immigrants came from southwest Europe

Why did they leave?

Push and Pull Reasons of Course!

Over-Population

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!

How many Immigrants came to the United States?

Lack of Jobs

Government Tyranny

Crop Failures!

Land Shortages!

Famine

High Taxes/ Cost of Living

Political or Religious Persecution

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

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

Steerage postcard

Ports of Entry

• Boston• Philadelphia• Baltimore• Seattle• San Francisco• But New York was most

popular!

Entrance to USA

• In 1886 greeted by Statue of Liberty in NY harbor

What do you think she represented to

immigrants?

Castle Garden

• Overwhelmed by 1890!

• 70% of all European immigrants arrived in

NYC

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

ELLIS ISLAND“Gateway to America” or “Golden Door”• 70% of European immigrants

arrived in NYC• Processed

through within hours or days

http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?417074

http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?trg=1&strucID=242892&imageID=416750&total=97&num=60&word=col_id:165&s=1&notword=&d=&c=&f=&k=0&lWord=&lField=&sScope=&sLevel=&sLabel=&imgs=20&pos=62&e=r

http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?trg=1&strucID=1862205&imageID=1693105&total=97&num=20&word=col_id:165&s=1&notword=&d=&c=&f=&k=0&lWord=&lField=&sScope=&sLevel=&sLabel=&imgs=20&pos=23&e=r

• 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

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)

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?

The Ellis Island of the West Coast

Angel Island• Located in San Francisco Bay

• Poor conditions: • Overcrowded

• Poorly ventilated

• Filthy conditions

• Men and women, including husbands and wives, were separated and not allowed to see or communicate with each other again until they were admitted to the country.

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

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

Where Did Immigrants Settle?

• Only 2% of Immigrants went to the

south –why?

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!

• Limited opportunities

• Mines, mills, and factories

•Friends and relatives helped each other

Jobs for European Immigrants

Asian (Chinese) Immigrants

• Viewed with suspicion and subject to hostility because the culture was so different!

• Kept to themselveswith otherChineseimmigrants

Jobs for Chinese Immigrants• On the railroad (Transcontinental Railroad

in particular)• Agriculture

• Mining

• Fishing

• Food Prep.

• Laundry

• A Chinese Laundry

Chinese Exclusion Act• Racism and the loss of jobs fuels

Anti-Chinese sentiment in California.• In response to California labor

unions, the U.S. government bans all Chinese laborers from entering the country in 1892!

• This and other Chinese restriction laws remain in effect until 1965!

Jobs for Japanese Immigrants• Worked in private business and were

not involved much with unions, unlike the Chinese

Immigration Restrictions• Poor Economy

• War• Racism

• Overpopulation

All lead to official restrictions on U.S. Immigration

Limiting Immigration

How do you limit the amount of immigrants coming into a country?

• Quotas – a limit placed on the number allowed to immigrate

• Exclusions – preventing a group from immigrating

Most notably… The Gentleman’s

Agreement• In California, Asian students attended

segregated schools.

• Japan protests, so…

• T. Roosevelt made a compromise with Japanese officials.

According to the Gentleman’s Agreement – America promised

not to segregate Japanese students and Japan promised

not to send Japanese workers to America

Example of a Quota• Immigration Act of 1924 – limited the

number of immigrants from each country.

• the 1890 US Census totaled the amount of immigrants in the US, and then restricted immigration to 2% of each individual group’s total – IE. There were 200,000 Italian immigrants in

the US in 1890. Only 4,000 Italians were allowed entry each year.

What about Mexico?• Starting in 1902

immigration from Mexico was PROMOTED for jobs in the farming and mining industries of the Southwest

• …how does that differ from today?

• The Growth of the Cities

Urbanization!

• Filled w/ tenements – low cost apartments, designed to hold many families

• Very poor living conditions–Rats, Open Sewers, Disease, & Fire

Immigrant Ghettos

City Growth

• Urbanization – the growth of the cities!

Rise of Political Bosses

• Political Machine – unofficial city org. that kept a party / group in power.

• Headed by a single leader / “Boss”

Rise of Political Bosses• Most Famous - William “Boss” Tweed• Ran Tammany Hall - Democratic Party

in NYC

Rise of Political Bosses• That doesn’t sound so bad…..

– City government grows powerful to provide for people’s (immigrants) needs• Fire protection, transportation, etc

– Exchange of favors• Politicians offer jobs, loans, help finding a place to live• They helped poor people when gov’t or industry would not

…so what’s the problem?

All those “gifts” were given with understanding that you would support the “machine”.

You had to vote for who they wanted and not complain about it.

…if not, you could find yourself without a job or a home!

Is that true democracy?• Other candidates didn’t stand a chance

“the Tammany Tiger destroys democracy…”

Brought down by Political Cartoonist – Thomas Nast