immigarants in america

1. IMMIGRANTS IN
AMERICA
1865-1915
Millions of immigrants moved to the United States in
the late 1800’s & early 1900’s.

2. “OLD IMMIGRANTS”
 Most immigrants
before 1890:
Protestants from
Northern Europe
 U.S. culture at that
time reflected the
traditions and beliefs of
northern Europe.

3. “NEW IMMIGRANTS”
 Southern and Eastern Europeans
 Jews
 Catholics
 Unskilled
 Settled in cities

4. WHY?
Push Factors
Pull Factors

5. PUSH FACTORS
 Things that cause people to want to leave a
country, or push them out.
 Religious Persecution, War, Poor/unstable economy.

6. PULL FACTORS
 Things that attract people to move to a place, or
pulls them in.
 Land, Employment, Religious or Political Freedom.

7. PULL FACTORS (CONT’D)
 Homestead Act of 1862- Made Western farmland
inexpensive.
 R.R.’s offered assistance with fares. They needed
customers in the West who would buy their goods.
 Many Norwegians and Germans settled the new,
 Western territories to farm.

8. WHO WERE THEY?
 The crowded steerage deck
usually contained a diverse
group of people. Many were
poor farmers whose fathers’ or
grandfathers’ land had been
divided so often that the plots
were no longer large enough
to support even single
families.

9. WHO WERE THEY? (CONT’D)
 Others were schoolmasters
unable to find work or
artisans looking for greater
opportunities. Many were
young men and women
willing to risk traveling to an
unknown land in hopes of
finding a brighter future.

10. THE TRIP
 Think Titanic.
 Many traveled in poor conditions  “steerage”
Many people became sick because of tight
living quarters. Disease spread easily.

11. ARRIVAL
 Ellis Island in the East (New York City)- This is
where most people from Europe arrived.
 Angel Island in the West (San Francisco)- This is
were most people from Asia arrived.

12. ELLIS ISLAND
 *In 1890, Congress
designated low-laying, three-
acre Ellis Island in Upper
New York Bay as an
immigration station. By the
end of 1910, six million
immigrants had come
through Ellis Island.

14. IMMIGRATION STATIONS
 Once immigrants arrived in the U.S., they went
through immigration stations, such as Ellis Island in
New York Harbor. Government workers questioned
them about where they planned to work & live.
Doctors also examined them to make sure they
didn’t have any diseases. Almost all European
immigrants were allowed to enter the U.S. initially.

15. WAITING
 *Long lines of immigrants
were tagged according to what
language they spoke and
marked with chalk according
to the medical ailments they
suspected of having and they
waited for the inspectors to
decide their fate.

16.  With the huge numbers
of immigrants, inspectors
had just 2 minutes to
complete the process
and many immigrants
had their last names
changed by the
inspectors because they
didn’t have the time or
patience to struggle with
the foreign spellings.

17. Only one third of the immigrants who
came to the United States through
Ellis Island stayed in New York City.
Most scattered across the country.
Immigrants were given tags to pin to
their hats or coats. The tags showed
railroad conductors what lines the
immigrants were traveling and what
connections to make to reach their
destinations.

18. New immigrants arriving at Ellis Island. At Ellis they were
"processed" before they were allowed to continue their
journey to find a new home.

19. Where Did They Settle?

20. CITIES
The arrival of large numbers of
immigrants radically changed the face of
the nation’s cities.
Before the Civil War, cities were compact.
Between 1865 and 1900 the percentage
of Americans living in the cities doubled.
Cities grew upward. Prior to the Civil
War, buildings were built only to five
stories.

21. CITIES CONT.
 “Noise, traffic jams, slums, air pollution, and
sanitation and health problems became
commonplace. Mass transit, in the form of
trolleys, cable cars, and subways, was built,
and skyscrapers began to dominate city
skylines. New communities, known as
suburbs, began to be built just beyond the
city. Commuters, those who lived in the
suburbs and traveled in and out of the city
for work, began to increase in number”.
memory.loc.gov

22. URBAN LIVING CONDITIONS
 Immigrants often lived in buildings
abandoned by middle-class residents and
converted into multifamily units.
 These tenements soon became identified as
“slums”.
 Many families would cram into spaces only
meant for a few.
 Many immigrants tended to settle with
others from the same country creating the
ethnic neighborhoods and sections that can
still be found in many big cities today.

23. TENEMENT HOUSING
Tenement housing in New York City.

24. IN THE TENEMENTS
 *

25. “FIVE CENTS A SPOT” ROOMS
 Many immigrants had no
home and slept in 5
cents a spot rooms
where people paid for a
small space to spend the
night.
 Can you imagine
sleeping crowded against
strangers?

26. WHAT WAS IT LIKE FOR THEM HERE?
 Some native-born
Americans feared and
resented the new
immigrants. Their
languages, religions, and
customs seemed
strange. They also
competed for jobs.
Desperate for jobs,
immigrants often
accepted lower wages
and worse working
conditions.

27. LEGITIMATE VS. IMPOSTERS
 Conflicts between old and
new immigrant groups
common.
 Earlier groups considered
themselves to be
legitimate U.S. citizens.
 Established groups
viewed new immigrants
imposters or trespassers.

28.  “Melting Pot”: immigrants assimilated into
culture through education and
acculturation.
 Many immigrant groups maintained their
ethnic identity.
 Does not correspond with reality of U.S.
experience.
 Melting pot did not take into account
immigrants and ethnic groups who did
not easily blend into the culture.
 Asians, African Americans, Native
Americans, and others were excluded
from this process of fusion and
amalgamation.
EXCLUDED FROM THE “MELTING POT”

29. LAWS AGAINST IMMIGRATION
 1882 Congress passed Chinese Exclusion Act
 Almost all Chinese immigrants were kept out of
America.
 Did not allow for naturalization of Chinese residents.
 Limited civil rights for the Chinese already living in U.S.
 1921 & 1924 Congress passed laws that lowered
the number of Europeans & Asians
 All immigrants faced prejudice upon arrival

30. IMMIGRANTS HELPED THE U.S. BECOME ONE OF THE
RICHEST AND FASTEST-GROWING COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD.
THEY BUILT RAILROADS, DUG MINES, AND WORKED IN
FACTORIES. THE SUCCESS OF AMERICA AS A WORLD
SUPERPOWER RESTS ON THEIR HARD WORK.

31. You are an immigrant who is moving to America in the year 1900.
Imagine if Facebook were around at that time (silly concept, I
know, but we’ll just pretend for today). Of course updating your
status about your move is important so that you keep family and
friends updated. Be sure to include:
•Your name,
•Where you’re moving to and from (remember the map),
•Why you are moving (think of push and/or pull factors).
•Any emotions: Sad? Happy? Nervous? Do you even want to
move?
Why or why not?
What’s on Your Mind?