New Immigrants - LHS Social Studies- Mr. Riddlebargerriddlebargerlhs.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/7/4/24747354/15.1_new_immigrants.pdf · The New Immigrants 18 million arrivals between

New ImmigrantsChapter 15Section 1Life at the Turn of the 20th CenturyRiddlebarger

Changing Patterns of Immigration

Why did they come?

A. Personal freedomB. Religious persecutionC. Political turmoilD. Escape poverty/starvationE. Economic Opportunity

The Old Immigrants

US has been called a nation of immigrants as all of our (non-Native American) ancestors came to the US as immigrants.

A. 1800-1880: 10 million arrivals a. “Old Immigrants”b. Mostly from Northern and Western Europec. Protestant Christiansd. Culture is fairly similar to those already here

Many (Europeans) were attracted by the cheap/easy access of open farming land in the US

● non-European Immigrants○ 25,000 Chinese in 1840’s-50’s

■ California Gold Rush○ Later, more Chinese come as railroad

labor■ Transcontinental Railroad

○ 1880’s immigration laws reduce Chinese arrivals

■ Still around 90,000 Chinese in US by 1900

The New Immigrants

18 million arrivals between 1880-1910

A. Place of origina. Many from Southern or Eastern Europeb. Many are not Protestant Christians

i. Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christians or Jewsc. Other points of origin

i. Arab, Armenian and French Canadian arrivals ii. East Asians in smaller numbers

1. Japanese in 1880’sa. 1st on sugar plantation in Hawaii then many come to mainland

d. Dramatic change in make-up of US population (diversity)i. By 1910, 1 in 12 were foreign born

How did the new immigrants differ from the old?

Old and New Immigrants

Old

● Arrived before 1880● From Northern and Western Europe● Mainy Protestant Christian● Culturally similar to original settlers● Settled in rural and urban locations

○ (why?)

New

● Arrived 1880- 1910● From Southern and Eastern Europe● Catholics, Jews & Orthodox Christians● Often culturally different from original

settlers● Mostly settled in urban areas

○ (why?)

Coming to America

“ There were probably as many reasons for coming to America as there were people who came.”

- John F. KennedyA Nation of Immigrants

Desire for a better life

Leaving one’s homeland is usually not an easy decision- separation from loved ones and a cultural that you know

A. Varied reasons for leavinga. Russian Jews fled religious persecution

i. Pogromsb. Southern & Eastern Europeans flee poverty and lack of opportunity

i. Rising European population with jobs and land scarcec. US seen as land of opportunity

i. Work hard, save money = prosperity

The Journey to America

A. Family decisiona. Often, all would be involvedb. Father, or eldest son, usually came first

i. Work and save money to pay for passage of remaining familyc. Travels to port cities via train, wagon or on foot

i. May have to wait weeks for a departing ship

B. 1893 restrictionsa. Changes force immigrants to gain approval from steamship authorities before boarding

i. ID, $30, background (prison, poorhouse, mental institution?)ii. Medical exam & vaccinations

C. Travela. Most in steerage (bottom of ship)

i. Crowded and unsanitaryb. Pass through immigration station upon arrival

1911 Government Report:

“ The ventilation is almost always inadequate and the air soon becomes foul. The unattended vomit of the seasick, the odors of the 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.”

“Well, I came to America because I heard the streets were paved with gold. When I got here, I found out three things: first, the streets weren’t paved with gold; second, they weren’t paved at all; and third, I was expected to pave them.”

Old Italian story

Ellis Island

A. 1892- Immigration station opened in New York harbora. 112 million pass through in the next 62 years

B. Inspection upon arrivala. 1st or 2nd Class passengers inspected on board shipb. Steerage passengers went through checkpoint on Ellis Islandc. Could take up to 5 hours (fail and you are deported)d. Doctors look for disease or disability

C. Quarantinea. Some held for weeks or longer before being allowed to enter (20% in peak years)b. 5 of 6 detainees eventually get cleared

D. Clearancea. New arrivals begin new life either on own or meet family

Russian Jewish immigrant upon arrival in 1910 meeting her father for the first time

“I saw a man coming forward and he was so beautiful I didn’t know he was my father...Later on I realized why he looked so familiar to me. He looked exactly like I did...But that’s when I met him for the first time. And I fell in love with him and he with me.”

Angel Island

A. West Coast arrivals after 1910 enter through center in San Francisco Bay

a. Some pass through quicklyb. Chinese immigrants often detained for weeks, or

months, awaiting entry

B. Prison-like conditions for detaineesa. Locked in barracks and supervised when allowed

outside

C. For those allowed to enter, more hard times await

a. Poverty and discrimination face many new arrivals

Anonymous Chinese immigrant:“Imprisoned in the wooden building day after day,

My freedom withheld; how can I bear to talk about it?

I look to see who is happy but they only sit quietly.

I am anxious and depressed and cannot fall asleep…

After experiencing such loneliness and sorrow,

Why not just return home and learn to plow the field?

Building Urban Communities

A. Many find a better life than that which they lefta. Still experience hardships

i. Crowded citiesii. Low-paying, unskilled jobsiii. Results in poor housing- slums

B. Where they settlea. Generally, near others from their homelandb. Common language and culture helped adaptation to new lifec. Cities become patchwork of ethnic clusters

i. Work to keep cultures alive1. Religion

C. Benevolent Societiesa. Work to help immigrants through hard timesb. Various aid offered

New York City, 2007

How did Ellis Island and Angel Island differ?

Nativist Response

● Immigrants seen as strengthening American economy by keeping factories running and building up American cities

● May native-born Americans see them as a threat

○ Too different to fit in○ Blamed for crime, poverty and

violence○ Nativists also saw them as bad for

the economy■ Worked for lower wages■ Causes job loss for others and

lower wages for all○ Oppose further immigration & want

government restrictions

Limiting Chinese Immigration

A. Chinese tolerated but not welcomed for many years

B. Faltering economy (1873) & resulting job loss is blamed on Chinese

C. “The Chinese Must Go” gains support in California

a. State laws take away Chinese rights

D. Congress passes Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)a. Bans Chinese immigration for 10 yearsb. No Chinese already here can become citizens

i. Law was renewed in 1892ii. 1902: Ban on Chinese immigration indefinitely

c. 1st law passed explicitly based on race/ethnicity

Limiting Japanese Immigration

A. West Coast nativists also resent Japanese

B. Results in San Francisco school segregation in 1906

a. Japanese kids must attend separate school from white kids

C. Japanese government angrily protestsD. Gentleman’s Agreement (1907)

a. President Theodore Rooseveltb. Japan stops sending unskilled labor to US in

return for San Francisco ending school segregation

Deterring other immigrants

A. Some want to ban Southern & Eastern European arrivalsa. Claim they can’t blend in here

i. Poor, illiterate, non-Protestant

B. Demands for Literacy Test requirementa. An exam to determine whether they could read English

C. Passed in 1917 over President Wilson’s vetoD. Others are not so hostile

a. Would rather teach newcomers to help assimilate them

Why did Nativists oppose immigration?