Old Vs New Immigration Essay

In a time of social and economic reform, many different groups of people traveled from their homeland in search for a better life in America. Between 1840’s and 1880’s, began the introduction of now known as today the “old” immigrants, most generally known as the Irish and German. In contrast, later in 1880’s and 1920’s arrived the “new” immigrants, which includes mostly Southern and Eastern Europeans, as well as Asians. The new immigrants differentiated from the old immigrants in many different ways but yet faced similar struggles that impacted American history we know as today. In this paper, I will contrast the different experiences and obstacles both the “new” and “old” immigrants faced as they come to America and how they are both significantly important in the social era.

It all began with the changing patterns in immigration. Immigration started around the 1840’s with the Northern and Western Europeans, who were either Catholic or Protestant. This included the Irish who left their homeland because of poverty and inconceivable hardships. The Irish also went through what we all know today as the “Potato Famine” where they depended on most of their income and food sources from potato farms. They experienced so much poverty and famine that migrating to America was their only choice. The Germans left their

America started become an industrial powered country, from predominantly rural to largely urban. The immigrants back in their homeland had been primarily farmers, but once immigrated to America, they intended to stay in cities like New York. With the “old immigrants” it was ideal that the “American Man” would be a dedicated hard working farmer who resided out west. As the “new” immigrants started to arrive, Most of the men began their work as low wage unskilled laborers who worked in factories, but overtime they came to have much more varied job