The Lure of America: (492-493) –Many immigrants who came to the United States were searching for opportunity to have a better life –These hopes brought.

• The Lure of America: (492-493)– Many immigrants who

came to the United States were searching for opportunity to have a better life

– These hopes brought a new wave of immigrants to the United States during the late 1800s

• The Lure of America: (492-493)– A New Wave of Immigrants: (492-493)

• From 1800 to 1880, more than 10 million immigrants came to the United States. Often called old immigrants, most were Protestants from northwestern Europe

• Between 1891 and 1910, some 12 million immigrants arrived on U.S. shores

• The increase was so great that by the early 1900s about 60% of the people living in the nation’s 12 largest cities either were foreign born or had foreign-born parents

• The Lure of America: (492-493)– A New Wave of

Immigrants: (492-493)• About 70% of these

new immigrants were from southern or eastern Europe.

• Some made money to bring back to their homeland and buy land and others just stayed here

• The Lure of America: (492-493)– The Journey: (493)

• Many immigrants learned of available opportunities from railroad and steamship company promoters. These companies pained a tempting – and often false – picture of the United States as land of unlimited opportunity

• Some railroad companies exaggerated the availability of employment

• The Lure of America: (492-493)– The Journey: (493)

• Most of the millions who answered these appeals found the ocean journey difficult.

• Most traveled in the poorest accommodations, called steerage – these accommodations were below deck on the ship’s lower levels near the steering mechanisms.

• The quarters were cramped, with no privacy and little breathing room

• Despite these conditions, many immigrants clung to the hope for a better life in the United States

• Arriving in America: (493-494)– Millions of newcomers in the late

1800s first set foot on U.S. soil on Ellis Island in New York Harbor or on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay.

– See Statue of Liberty = a symbol of hope for many immigrants

– All newcomers who passed through Ellis Island were subjected to a physical exam.

– Those with mental disorders, contagious diseases like tuberculosis, or other serious health problems were deported

– Those with criminal records or without means to support themselves were sent back

– The vast majority of immigrants were allowed to stay

• Arriving in America: (493-494)– On Angel Island, S.F.,

thousands of Asian newcomers, who were mostly from China, underwent similar processing.

– Chinese applicants faced strict immigration laws. These laws limited entrance to certain skilled groups or to individuals who could show that their parents were born in the United States

• A New Life (494-496)– Many immigrants found life in

the United States an improvement on the conditions of their homeland

– Nevertheless, the newcomers endured hardships in America:

• Settled in crowded cities where they could find only low-paying, unskilled jobs

• Lived in poor housing located in crowded neighborhoods and slums

• A New Life (494-496)– Immigrant Communities: (495)

• Settling in close-knit immigrant communities, newcomers found institutions and neighbors that made their transition more bearable both financially and culturally

• In these neighborhoods, for example, residents often spoke the same languages and followed the customs of the old country

• A New Life (494-496)• Religious institutions:

– Neighborhood churches, synagogues, and temples provided community centers that helped immigrants maintain a sense of identity and belonging

– Residents in many cities formed religious and nonreligious aid organizations, known as benevolent societies, to help immigrants in cases of sickness, unemployment and death

– Benevolent societies attempted to provide an important function by helping immigrants obtain education, health care and jobs

• A New Life (494-496)• Cultural Practices: (495-496)

– Immigrants were often urged by employers, public institutions, and sometimes even family members to join the American mainstream

– Many older immigrants cherished ties to the old country

– By contrast, children often adopted American cultural practices and tended to view their parents’ old-world language and customs as old-fashioned

• A New Life (494-496)• The immigrant Worker: (496)

– Whether they adopted American habits or remained tied to the traditions of their homeland, most new immigrants shared a common work experience. Many did the country’s “dirty work.”

• Work was difficult and physically exhausting.

• Hours were long, and wages were low

• The Nativist Response: (496-497)– Many native-born Americans saw

immigration as a threat– Some Americans blamed

immigrants for social problems such as crime, poverty, and violence as well as for spreading radical political ideas

– Many Americans charged that the immigrants willingness to work cheaply robbed native-born Americans of jobs and lowered wages for all

– Unions began demanding restrictions on immigration

• The Nativist Response: (496-497)– Chinese exclusion: (496-497)

• For years Chinese laborers had been tolerated – and taken advantage of – on the West Coast, particularly in California

• As unemployment mounted following the Panic of 1873, workers grew less tolerant of the Chinese

• The new Workingmen’s Party of California wanted the Chinese to go because they were taking their jobs

• Denis Kearney, the Workingmen’s Party leader, addressed crowds across California exciting them through vicious speeches

• The Nativist Response: (496-497)– Chinese exclusion: (496-497)

• In 1882 Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which denied citizenship to people born in China and prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers

• This act made conditions worse for Chinese Americans

• Many Chinese still came to the United States only to be held for months at immigration stations

• The Nativist Response: (496-497• Immigration Restriction League:

(497)– Immigrants endured additional

discrimination as new organizations took up the anti-immigration cause

– Immigration Restriction League sought to impose literacy tests on all immigrants

– Congress passed such a measure, but President Grover Cleveland vetoed it, calling it “illiberal, narrow, and un-American.”

– Despite efforts to impose restrictions, immigration continued.