S. Rosen http://stevenlrosen.yolasite.com 19 th Century Immigration to the United States Introduction In the 19 th century America was an open country. At this time there was no need for a passport of visa! There were two main waves of immigration, before the Civil War and after 1880. These immigrants completely changed American economy and society and culture. The Irish Because the potato crop failed in Ireland in 1845, thousands of Irish had little food and started to immigrate to America. At this time, almost 1/2 of all immigrants were Irish. They continued to come in large numbers, starting big communities in New York (see Gangs of New York) and also Boston and later Chicago. Chinese Immigrants After the Gold Rush of 1849, the Chinese were drawn to the West Coast as a center of economic opportunity. About 25,000 came in the 1850 s. They helped build the first transcontinental railroad which was finished in 1869. In 1882, the Chinese were banned from America (the Chinese Exclusion Act). White people, especially in California hated and feared the Chinese. Another wave of Chinese came to America after the communist revolution in 1949. Today there is a large Chinese American population in America, with a tradition of hard study and especially high achievement in the sciences and engineering. The Scandinavians Immigration to the US from the Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland increased dramatically in the late
19th century, due to economic pressures and overpopulation. Scandinavian immigrants settled primarily in the Midwest. Though not as numerous as German or Irish immigrants, Scandinavians still arrived in massive numbers: 1,000,000 Swedes (1868 1914), 800,000 Norwegians (1825 1925), 300,000 Danes (1820 1920), and 230,000 Finns (1890 1924) forever transformed the culture of the American Midwest After the Civil War: the Big Flood After the Civil War ended, ship travel became faster and cheaper. Europe and Asia were having many economic difficulties. America was a rapidly growing industrial nation which needed cheap labor, so it was the place to go for poor people. Especially between 1890 and 1919, the growth in industry attracted many newcomers because of so many job opportunities. European Immigration: 1880-1920 Between 1880 and 1920, a time of rapid industrialization and urbanization, America received more than 20 million immigrants! Beginning in the 1890s, the majority were from Central, Eastern and Southern Europe. In that decade alone, some 600,000 Italians came to America, and by 1920 more than 4 million had entered the United States. Jews from Eastern Europe escaping religious persecution also arrived in large numbers; over 2 million entered the United States between 1880 and 1920. The peak year for admission of new immigrants was 1907, when approximately 1.3 million people entered the country. The outbreak of World War I (1914-1918) caused a decline in immigration. The Immigration Act of 1924 created a quota system that restricted entry to 2% of the total number of people of each nationality a system that favored immigrants from Western Europe and prohibited immigrants from Asia.
Ellis Island Ellis Island, a small island near NY s Statue of Liberty, opened in 1892 as a federal immigration station, a purpose it served for more than 60 years (it closed in 1954). Millions of newly arrived immigrants passed through the station during that time--in fact, it has been estimated that close to 40 percent of all current U.S. citizens can trace at least one of their ancestors to Ellis Island. It is now a great museum where you can learn much about immigration to the U.S. during the year of the Industrial Revolution. Ellis Island, immigration station The Italians There was little Italian immigration to the United States before 1870. However, many began to consider the possibility of leaving Italy to escape low wages and high taxes. Most Italians were from rural communities and had very little education (Sicily or Naples, rather than Rome or Milano). From 1890 to 1900, 655,888 arrived in the United States, of whom two-thirds were men. From 1880 to 1900, southern Italian immigrants became the main Italian immigrant group. By this time, free or cheap agricultural land was gone, so this last wave of immigrants became mostly urban. Italians sometimes joined organized crime families (known as the Mafia). (see movie, The Godfather)
The Japanese The first generation of Japanese came during the Meiji Period and came to work on the sugar plantations of Hawaii. Some also went to the west coast of the U.S. After the Chinese Exclusion Act, the sugar industrialists in Hawaii turned to Japan as a source of labor, which at this time was going through an economic depression. Between 1885 and 1907, about 157,000 Japanese contract workers immigrated to Hawaii. Most either stayed there or went to California, Oregon or Washington State on the west coast after their contract ended. From 1885 through 1894, over 28,000 Japanese went to Hawaii, mostly single men. When Asian immigration was restricted, there was still a need for women, so America allowed Asian women to immigrate. This started the Picture Bride period (see movie, Picture Bride). Although the first generation Japanese (issei) were not American, their children were born in the U.S., so the second generation (nissei) were American citizens. Picture brides came to America between 1910 and 1920. In 1900 there were only 410 married issei women in America and by 1920 there were 22,193. The women s arrival was key to the foundation of the Japanese presence in America. The increased amount of women immigrants and Japanese families caused anti-japanese sentiments to increase. As a result, the Japanese government stopped issuing passports to picture brides; the end of the picture bride era was in 1920. *It is said that the Nikkeijin of Hawaii are very different from the California. Why? Main reason: The Japanese dominated Hawaii, but in California they were only about 1% of the population and faced much more prejudice. Hawaii was a free and easy place for Japanese, whereas California was a much more difficult environment. As a result, Japanese Americans in Hawaii have a free and easy spirit.
5 Conclusion Immigration had a great effect on industrial growth. Thanks to all this cheap labor, America could rise to become the number one economic superpower in the world by the 20 th century. Life wasn't easy for these new comers. There was extreme prejudice against each of the new immigrant groups. There is a happy ending to the story, however; these immigrant groups quickly adapted to their new country and their children and grandchildren could realize the American dream. Furthermore, their hard work helped America achieve great economic prosperity.