Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
A Land of Immigrants
support of immigrants' rights Dec. 18 in New York City.
January 30, 2017
Successive waves of immigration More than 60 million newcomers
entered the country since its early days.
In the past centuries, 80% of new comers were from Europe.
Today only 15%
Why immigrate to America:Push Factors1. Population growth. 2. Agricultural changes3. Crop failures. 4. Industrial Revolution. 5. Religious and political turmoil.
Pull Factors 1. Freedom. 2. Economic opportunity. 3. Abundant land.
First European Settlements
Early Immigrants Spanish explorers established in the south during the 16th century
Christopher Columbus 1492 Motives for exploration: wealth, religion and power
Early Immigrants
French fur traders travelled down from Canada to the Mississippi establishing trading posts.
The Pilgrim Fathers British settlers: Most numerous group Left the country for religious reasons Puritans : radical Protestants:
- They wanted to purify the Church of England of its remaining Catholic practices. (called the pilgrim fathers), formed their own churches.
Early Immigrants: The Pilgrim Fathers They were harassed by the government-> they had to leave England. ->The Pilgrim fathers, left for the New
World in 1620, on the Mayflower.
Arrival of the Pilgrim Fathers aboard the Mayflower
THE PURITANS
Puritanism Puritanism was a way of life (theocracy) Puritan spiritual life stressed self-
discipline Puritans saw their lives as a “divine
mission”: God gave them the New World for they were his chosen people
This idea is the precursor to the concept of Manifest Destiny
Hard Work & Self-Discipline To the Puritans, a person was sinful by
nature and could achieve good only by severe discipline.
Hard work was considered a religious duty.
Puritans & Education
Puritans were highly literate people Education was highly valued as a
way to fight atheism and to instill in children the value of hard work
1636: The Puritans founded Harvard, the first college in America
17th & 18th Centuries
Permanent settlement on the East CoastA majority of British Northern Europeans: Germans, Swedes, Dutch
19th Century’s European Waves1st wave: Mid 19th Century 1840 ->1860: 10 million immigrants poured into
AmericaNorthern Europe: British, Dutch, Scandinavians
Common culture, similar languages & religionHomogeneous populationBirth of the WASP concept
Starting from the 1870’s Central, Eastern and Southern Europeans started to be overrepresented
Irish Potato Famine In 1845,a disease attacked Ireland’s
main food crop, the potato, causing a severe food shortage called a famine.
The Irish Potato Famine killed 1 million people and forced many to emigrate.
By 1854, between 1.5 and 2 million Irish had fled their homeland and came to America.
19th & early 20th CenturyThe Second European Wave
2nd Wave: 1870 to the 1920s
20 million Europeans : 4.5 Italians, 4 Austrian Hungarians, 3.4 Russians and Poles
Central and Eastern Europe over-represented
The Second European Wave Newcomers had different cultures, origins and
were not protestantsRegarded with suspicionConsidered as a potential threat to social cohesion
+ They were often poor, illiterate and unskilled and looking desperately for a jobBlamed for lowering wagesAccused of taking jobs from “old stock” American workers
The Second European Wave: Impact
Impact twofold:Economic: Boosted US industry which
was to become world leaderWorked in manufacturing & building railroads
Social: the number and difference created problems Revival of nativist feelings. The Ku-Klux-Klan reappeared
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTIONS &
LEGISLATION
COMING NEXT
The New Immigration
Immigration continued at a high rate. From 1850s-1870s, more
than 2 million per decade 1880s - Five million.
Until the 1880s most immigrants integrated into American society relatively easily
Journey across the Atlantic
New Immigrants They Integrated
differently. Why?Were browner, more
Jewish, more Orthodox Christians
Poorer and not used to democratic governments
More illiterate Did not come looking for farming opportunities
Came looking for work, and were comfortable living in cities working industrial jobs.
New Immigrants Lived together in mini-
cities within cities. Consequences?
Americans began to fear that US a dumping ground for Europe’s refuse.
Immigration from Asia
1. Gold Rush and Railroad Work pulled
Chinese to America.2. Worked for less pay which created
conflicts.
Exclusion Act: Shutting the Doors on the Chinese
Blamed Chinese for 1870s Depression. Mob Violence Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)
Prohibited immigration for 10 years
Anti-immigration organizations
Racist attitudes and fear of foreign workers Creation of Anti-Chinese groups:
• Asiatic Exclusion League (AEL)1905 Cal.• Immigration Restriction League (IRL) in 1894 (East
Coast businessmen) Aim is to stop Japanese, Korean, and Chinese
immigration Preventing them from integrating US society
Anti -Japanese Movement
Movement pushed for laws to prevent immigrants from becoming legal residents, owning land, or owning business
racially inferior and products of repressive governments who would be unable to participate in a free, democratic society
The Literacy Test IRL petitioned Congress to require
immigrants to show that they could at least read the Literacy test in 1917
In the 1920s, restrictions on immigration increased. The Immigration Act of 1924 was the most severe
Nativists feared the newcomers were likely to be criminals, and even anarchist or Bolshevik terrorists
The Quota Acts 1920’s Legislation to limit new entries Imposed quotas according to country of origin
and number of residents already in the US. Objective: restore an ethnic balance Restrict immigration from Southern and
Eastern Europe and ban Japanese “Old Stock” immigrants (Anglo-Saxon origin)
were welcome43% immigrants from Great BritainBirth of the idea of preferential immigration
New trends in immigration
Since 1960s: radical shift. Leading immigrant group: Mexicans around
27%
Settlement pattern: Sunbelt states (California, Texas & Florida)
The Family Reunification Act of the 1960’s1965 : legislation named ‘brothers and
sisters act’: Preference to family reunification Family oriented policy vs. merit oriented
policy:Skilled workers with no relatives would seek
asylum in Canada or Australia where qualification is a priority
US lost educated immigrants
The Immigration Act of 1990
Designed to balance the previous Act:Visas are divided between: Family immigrants (immediate relatives) Employment-based immigrants (favoring
skilled workers) Diversity
immigrants (annual lottery of 50,000 green cards)
Illegal immigrants Unemployment
Economic hardship
Lack of opportunity
Famine Poor
education War Natural
disaster Persecution
Origin of Illegal Immigrants
Illegal immigrants Settlement: Same as legal immigrants :
Sunbelt states + New York Related issues:
Many Americans consider aliens as parasites taking advantage of social protection.
However, mostly are underpaid seasonal workers who don’t rely on social services.
Illegal immigrants
The US has a 2000 mile border with MexicoAn increasing influx of illegal aliens. They cross the Rio Grande (called
Wetbacks) Many pregnant women cross the border to
deliver their babies in the US Hundreds of underground birth clinics.
Wetbacks on the Rio Grande River
The Immigration Debate Immigration issues
regularly appear in the media.
The debate centers around:The costs and
benefits of immigration
The cultural impact of immigration
Border securityKnowing who’s
within American borders
Immigration Ban on Specific countries : Lessons from History A presidential commission after World War II
found that Japanese exclusion helped motivate Japan’s attack on the US in 1941.
When quotas were passed in 1924, the press in Japan declared a “National Humiliation Day”.
In 1941, as the Japanese navy steamed toward Pearl Harbor, Japanese commander stated that time has come to:“teach the US a lesson for the exclusion of
Japanese immigrants…”
Trump’s Order White House argued that the temporary
suspension of entries from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen are a reasonable measure to allow time for a new system of vetting to be introduced.
Denied the idea that the measures are a ban on Muslims…
