TURNING INTO A MELTING POT:IMMIGRATIONChapter 25
PUSH AND PULL FACTORS
Push Factors: Make people want to leave a country Examples: Poverty, famine, Political Violence,
Religious punishment, Insecurity
Pull Factors: Things that attract you to another country Examples: Economic Opportunity,
Religious/Political freedom, Land, Fresh start
A FRESH START
Many immigrants, especially Jewish people, were refugees feeling from religious persecution in Russia
Ships made it easier for people to come to US
Railroads made it easier to move once in US New hope for immigrants, US took them all:
“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to be free”
~~~~~~DIFFERENT WAVES~~~~~~
Before the 1880s: Germans, Irish, Northern
Europe (England, France, Sweden etc)
Chinese on the West Coast By 1890:
Southern Europe (Greece, Italy) and Eastern Europe (Russia, Poland)
Chinese joined by people from Japan, Korea, India, and Philippines, Canada and Mexico
DIVERSIFYING Unlike being a country of mostly White,
Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs), the US was turning into a nation of all kinds of people
Catholics, Jews, Buddhists bring a different religious body to the US and different cultures
Many were not well educated, and poor coming over, which had not always been the case before
ELLIS ISLAND The immigrant welcome center in New York City Mostly European immigrants since they came
across the Atlantic
Had to check in and wait in line after a two week journey by boat
Were medically examined upon arrival Processed and sometimes given new names so
they could be registered immigrants
ITALIANOS
There was little land and bad farming in Italy, especially in the southern part of the country
Would come to US for a fresh start, sometimes just the men so they could send money home
The poor usually put on the bottom deck of ships and stuck down there most of the two week journey
Many families forced to separate at Ellis Island
Nearly ½ of Italians returned to Italy because they didn’t find what they were looking for in the US or worked only seasonal jobs
ITALIANS CONTINUED…
Because family closeness was so valued, many Italians did not send their kids to school because they did not want them to learn English
Children would work instead (were able to bring in more money too)
Looked down upon by most Americans because they came here poor and uneducated
Started, like many other immigrants “Little Italys” in large cities to stick together
The Mob/Mafia was a small group of Italians, but not the majority like the Godfather portrays
JEWISH AMERICANS: FLEEING FROM RUSSIA
Mostly came from Eastern Europe (Near Russia)
Russian laws persecuted Jews since the 1800s because of their differences
Jews blamed for many Russian problems, even killing the Czar (king) in 1881
Russians would attack the Jews for decades with pogroms
JEWISH AMERICANS FLOCK NEW YORK
Between 1881-1924, 2.4 million Jews came here
Just like Italians, many had to wait in lines at Ellis Island and were often separated
Most moved to Lower East Side of NYC Came to the US with many skills and did very
well, benefited from American school system Even though times weren’t always easy, they
cherished living in a land of opportunity without persecution
CHINESE IMMIGRANTS
Started coming during the Gold Rush of 1849 Helped build the railroads of the West In 1882, and exclusion act kept Chinese out
of the US and would not let those already here become citizens (Chinese Exclusion Act)
Due to an earthquake that destroyed many public records, tons of Chinese men were able to say that they were citizens
Many tried to get their “families” over to the US
Held on Angel Island in San Francisco
CHINESE IN CALIFORNIA Tough questions asked to
the apparent family members of the men already in the US
Deported if they couldn’t answer them
More men than women in the US (20:1 in 1900) Led to a declining
population. WHY??? Chinatown in SanFran
was a tourist attraction for many Americans to see new things
Chinatown, SF California
MEXICAN IMMIGRANTS
Tough times in Mexico as 14 million people were having their lands taken from them by the gov’t
Civil war ensued as farmers rebelled 500,000 came to US during the 10 year war
(1910-1920) Many came to work the railroads in the West Benefitted from Chinese being excluded in
1882 They were paid better than back home in
Mexico Most found work on farms and would return
home after the season was over or started barrios
MEXICAN LIFE Barrios were similar to Little Italy's or
Chinatown: Mexican communities Many same ideas by whites towards
Mexicans now “They take our jobs, go back to Mexico”
Worked for much less wages and worse conditions than whites at almost every job
Proven to work very hard and be good employees
CLOSING THE FLOODGATES
By 1920, many Americans began to resent the new immigrants
Each new group looked down upon by those that came before them
Thought the new people were “polluting” America
America began a series of policies that were meant to restrict the numbers of new immigrants coming into the country
“The only way to handle it”
RESTRICTION POLICIES
Chinese Exlcusion Act of 1882 1907- Japanese forbidden to enter US 1917- Congress passes bill requiring new
immigrants to prove they can read and write 1921- Emergency Immigration Act
Quota system established For each immigrant group, only 3% were allowed
to be new each year 1924- Immigration Act
Dropped the quota to 2% Numbers were to be based off 1890 census
During 1927, new people allowed was 150,000 for each country, not just 2% (even less people)
TREND OF IMMIGRATION (EUROPEANS)
DEALING WITH IMMIGRANTS AT HOME
Since there were so many new people here, America wanted to keep its identity
Started with the public school system Free school to help students read, write and
become American citizens of the future Developed a national identity
Why would this be important? What were the WASPs afraid of?
TOTAL NUMBERS
Between 1890 and 1920, 47 million immigrants came to the United States ~41 Million of them from Europe
29 M from North and West Europe and 13 from S, E Europe
US Population by the decades (Census numbers) 1880: 50.2 Million 1890- 63 Million 1900- 76.2 Million 1910- 92.2 Million 1920- 106 Million