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Immigration to the us in the 19th century introduction
Immigration to the us in the 19th century introduction
The immigrant experience in the united states
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My great grandfather, Martin Wicklund, was born in Halsingland, Sweden, on December 23, 1872. In 1892, at the age of nineteen, he left Sweden and immigrated to the United States where he made Minnesota his permanent home. Although immigration from Sweden to the United States in the 1800s was primarily due to economic reasons, my great grandfather immigrated because he wanted religious freedom.
My great grandfather was raised on a farm in Sweden. At the age of nine, my great grandfather left home for a short period of time. He became a shoeshine boy on a ship on the Baltic Sea before returning back to his family in Sweden. At the age of 19, he left Sweden again, but this time he immigrated to the United States with his father and two brothers. They traveled over three thousand miles across the Atlantic Ocean, spending nine days on a steam ship. He came through Ellis Island and settled in Minnesota.
Upon arrival in the United States, my great grandfather traveled to northern Minnesota. He lived with approximately 50 men in a crude barracks in northern Minnesota. Although he knew no English, he was able to get a job working at a lumber mill in Northern Minnesota. Around 1900, my great grandfather and his father bought 80 acres in Minnesota where they logged lumber on their own land. In 1913, my great grandfather married. Over the years he had six children and twenty-one grandchildren.
Since my great grandfather came to the United States with his father and his two brothers, saying goodbye to his homeland, friends and loved ones was not as difficult as it would have been had he come by himself. Once he arrived in the United States, the most difficult thing for him was learning English and adjusting to a completely different c...
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...g which they could deliberately join and contribute to financially (Rudolph 289-90). My great grandfather became very active in the Evangelical Free Church and remained so over the years. He was happy to be able to worship in a church of his choosing.
Works Cited
Daniels, Roger. Coming to America. 2nd. Princeton, NJ: HarperCollins Publishers, 2002. 166-67. Print.
Granquist, Mark. Swedish Americans. Countries and Their Cultures. Advameg, inc., 2011. Web. 27 Apr 2011. .
Rudolph, Vecoli. Religion. Encyclopedia of Multicultural America. Ed. Judy Gates. Vol. 2. Gale Research, Inc. 1995. 289-90. Print.
Stegeby, E. Kenneth. An Analysis of the Impending Disestablishment of the Church of Sweden. Brigham Young University Law Review 1999.2 (1999): 703. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 25 Apr. 2011.
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The 18th Century was a time where most immigrants were of Irish, British, and German descent. From the 1890’s, through the next couple decade, Italians, and Jews would be the cause a new wave of immigration. Between 1900 and 1915, 3 million immigrants would take the journey, and travel to America. They would come through the famed “Ellis
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There are many challenges that one must face as we go through life. I have faced a few myself, however, none proved more challenging than moving from my country; Jamaica, to the United States and subsequently moving to the state of Wisconsin. Deciding to leave behind family and friends is the hardest decision to make, however, there are a few things that I was not prepared for that made the transition more challenging than expected. Moving away from all that is familiar culturally, socially and economically can be even more of a daunting task than imagined. There are things that are taught to us by our parents and others that are more dictated by our environment than anything else, so when I immigrated to the United States I had three major challenges to overcome.
Throughout the history of this nation there are thousands of upon thousands of immigrants coming to this country and achieving the American dream. The Irish immigrated to the United States in 1840 – 1850s in big numbers driven by hunger and by the oppression of the British. Many of them became successful politicians, police officers and businessmen. One of the brightest examples in the history of Irish immigration success is Henry Ford. His grandfather immigrated in the 1840s escaping the potato famine. Henry Ford himself was born in a poor family in Dearborn, Michigan went on to become the most successful car builder in the country (Hennigan). Between 1880 and 1920 the first wave of Italians mainly from South Italy immigrated in the United States (Hendin 13). Many escaped from the poor countryside in Southern Italy to seek better life in America. Shining ex...
In the late 1800s my great-great-grandfather, Andrew Jackson Green, moved he and his family to Lindale, Georgia. Andrew Jackson Green moved from Ellijay, Georgia to Lindale, Georgia, because there was a new textile mill in town. This new textile mill was looking for employees and Andrew Jackson Green went there looking for a job. When my great-great-grandfather moved to the new mill town he found a job immediately. Since that time, that textile mill has employed four generations of my family. The lives of the four generations of my family entirely revolved around the town in which they lived. The Mill in Lindale, Georgia offered my family great health resources, spiritual avenues, and practical amenities.
“They are willing to sell themselves in order to find a better life for themselves or
I walked around unsteadily all day like a lost baby, far away from its pack. Surrounded by unfamiliar territory and uncomfortable weather, I tried to search for any signs of similarities with my previous country. I roamed around from place to place and moved along with the day, wanting to just get away and go back home. This was my first day in the United States of America.
Immigration to America began when Christopher Columbus discovered the new land now called the American continent. Immigration increased in the 17th century when people came from Europe, Africa, and Asia to the new land. There were many colonies, such as the British and Dutch. When people came they go to their people and find jobs as farmers. The first immigrants were in the east coast around 1607 to 1775 after the number of immigrants increased. In 1790 - 1850 there were few immigrants who came to America, but in 1850 to 1930 the number of immigrations increased (Dolan 4).
When my family and I got in the plane that would take us to the U.S., I was very excited. It was as if I had butterflies in my stomach. I was also nervous because I had heard of people that were turned away when they got to America because the government was not letting as many immigrants into the U.S as they had in the past. Therefore, my whole family was a little anxious. Two things could happen when we arrived at the Washington, D.C., airport. We could either come to the United States to chase after “the American dream”, or we could be turned away which meant that we would have to return to our country of origin.
Over the course of the 1900s, immigration from Europe to the United States was a huge step to take to become free. The idea of immigration was very appealing to many because the lifestyles were so rough, and the income to support a family was very low ( ). Although the anticipation of arriving in Ellis Island was beyond imaginable, the immigrants often came across many hardships, making the journey to freedom difficult. Immigration to the United States in the 1900s was a challenge due to unrealistic expectations of a better life, the hardships faced during migration, and the uncertainty of the inspection process once arriving to Ellis Island.
Until the 1860s, the early immigrants not only wanted to come to America, but they also meticulously planned to come. These immigrants known as the “Old Immigrants” immigrated to America from many countries in Northern and Western Europe, known as, Sweden, Norway, Scandinavia, Wales and Ireland. Some of them traveled to Canada, but most of them came to the U.S. seeking freedom they didn’t get in their own countries. Ireland had also recently suffered through a potato famine, where the citizens were left poor and starving. Most settled in New York City and other large cities, where they worked in factories and other low-paying jobs. The immigrants caused a great increase in population in these areas. The “Old Immigrants” tried not to cluster themselves with others of their own nationality. They would mostly try to fit in with Americans as best as they could. Many of them had a plan to come to America, so they saved their money and resources before they arrived so they could have a chance at a better life. On the other hand, another group of immigrants began to arrive
I interview my father who arrive to the united states from Mexico The major problem that motive my father to migrate to the U.S.A were as he mention on pages (1-2) was an economically problem has he said since he was a child he grew up in a farm with his parents and brothers and sisters and had many struggles since the only one that work was his father. My grandfather did all he could to give him an education and a better life that he had that’s the same idea he view for me when he become a father he was young and money was like the priority to care for the necessary that a child has, but to get money you need to have a job. With salary he earned at my grandfather farm he knew was not enough to support himself and a child and he could get any better job since he had not yet finish school so the only job he probably might had was a job that pay the same he was been pay at my grandfather farm.
Immigration is the movement of non-native individuals into a country in order to permanently live there. The movement of immigration has occurred for as long as society has existed. In the previous few centuries, immigration has brought lots of new people from other countries of the world to the U.S. According to UN figures, there are more than 45 million immigrants live in the U.S and this figure is more than four times as many living in any other nation in the world (Hess and Thomas C. Frohlich). The United States is said to be a land of hope and good prospects. That is why people from all parts of the world are moving into the United States for better life for themselves, and most prominently for their spouse and children.