Yenisleivys Pena
Period 8
Reasons for Immigration
Seeking opportunities
Escape religious/political
persecution
Escape
Famine
Cramped Conditions Unsanitary Conditions
Little/No Privacy
The first sight immigrants had of the USA was the Statue of
Liberty.
Ellis Island was the most common port of
arrival.
1892
Poor people lived in small houses in cramped streets.
These homes would share toilet facilities, have open sewers
(initially at least) and would be susceptible to damp. Conditions
did improve during the 19th century as a number of public health acts were introduced
covering things such as sewage, sanitation and
imposing some restrictions upon the construction of
homes.
By the early 1900’s, 60% of the people living in the 123 largest cities in this country were the
children of foreign-born parents or were foreign born themselves.
70% of theseimmigrants came from the
south and eastern parts of Europe.
Many women worked in textiles and factories along
with children.
Most men worked in mines.
Hours were long and pay was extremely low.
Women : $ 2
weeklyChildren : $
1 weekly
Men : $ 5 weekly
Q: why was there so much rivalry between the Americans and the
incoming immigrants?
A: the immigrants were cheap workers, which
represented a threat to the Americans which
refused to work for less. The Americans also disliked the fact that
these immigrants spoke another language,
practiced a different religion and had different
customs.