Some historians may believe that the reactions of Americans to immigration in the 1840s-1850s were different from the reactions in the 1910s-1920s due to the different areas of the immigrants. However, these two time periods are much more similar than different because of the strong feelings of nativism and the ideas of fear, anxiety, and intolerance within Americans. Therefore, the reactions of Americans to immigration during these time periods were significantly similar to one another. During the 1840s-1850s, there was a surge of the amount of immigrants coming into the United States from Germany and Ireland. There were the “old immigrants” who had emigrated from places like northern and western Europe and were very similar to the American …show more content…
In the 1840s-1850s, strong feelings of nativism became prevalent in American society. This showed itself through the formation of the “Know-Nothing Party”, who were anti-Catholic, and felt that immigrants were taking the jobs of native-born Americans and that immigrants were plotting to take over the democratic government. They also believed that immigrants were the reason that crime rates and poverty rates were increasing. In addition, they believed in a ban of immigrants holding office. Some workplaces had signs that read “No Irish Need Apply”, which demonstrated the amount of discrimination that many immigrants faced. Similarly, in the 1910s-1920s, when there was a large amount of immigrants coming in from many places, the United States passed Quota Laws. The first law stated that three percent of the number of immigrants from 1910 would be the amount of people that could come into America. This percentage discriminated against Southern and Eastern Europe, but completely eliminated Japan. However, the American must have felt that this restriction was not enough, because a new Quota Law changed the percentage to 2 percent, and set the year for 1890. This drastically cut the number of immigrants. In addition to that, the Senate passed the addition of literacy tests into the immigration process. These laws showed that during this time period, immigrants were not welcomed …show more content…
These reactions are very similar to the same anxieties about immigration now. Today, the idea of Muslim refugees immigrating to the United States is very controversial due to the prevalence of terrorist groups like ISIS, but also the need of a home for typical Muslim immigrants. The Quota Laws in the 1920s is similar to the Travel Ban today; they are attempts to protect American citizens, but they also discriminate against certain groups of people. The anti-Catholicism in the 1850s is very similar to the fears and discrimination of the Islamic groups of Americans today. Perhaps throughout time, there may always be a heated debate over the idea of national identity, whether it be American culture or American diversity, or a mixture of both. The reactions to groups of people that have been discriminated against have been different during certain time periods. However, throughout American history, there has been an overwhelming negative reaction to immigrants through nativism and fear, anxiety, and
Since its inception, there has always been a subsection of the American people that think that sharing a country with people different than them is unacceptable. Whether it was the 5 tribes of Native Americans relocated in the Trail of Tears, or the prejudice against irish immigrants during the turn of the century, white anglo-saxon protestants have always tried to ‘stick together’ and keep others unlike them out. With the end of the civil war and an end to slavery, this nativism present within the American people manifested itself once more. While the journey taken by African-American citizens was long and unnecessarily arduous, the backlash against them has waxed and waned as time passes. During the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan was at it’s peak,
In the years from 1860 through 1890, the prospect of a better life attracted nearly ten million immigrants who settled in cities around the United States. The growing number of industries produced demands for thousands of new workers and immigrants were seeking more economic opportunities. Most immigrants settled near each other’s own nationality and/or original village when in America.
Immigration has existed around the world for centuries, decades, and included hundreds of cultures. Tired of poverty, a lack of opportunities, unequal treatment, political corruption, and lacking any choice, many decided to emigrate from their country of birth to seek new opportunities and a new and better life in another country, to settle a future for their families, to work hard and earn a place in life. As the nation of the opportunities, land of the dreams, and because of its foundation of a better, more equal world for all, the United States of America has been a point of hope for many of those people. A lot of nationals around the world have ended their research for a place to call home in the United States of America. By analyzing primary sources and the secondary sources to back up the information, one could find out about what Chinese, Italians, Swedish, and Vietnamese immigrants have experienced in the United States in different time periods from 1865 to 1990.
The Irish were refugees from disaster, fleeing the Irish potato famine. They filled many low-wage unskilled jobs in America. German immigrants included a considerably larger number of skilled craftsmen as compared to Irish immigrants. Many Germans established themselves in the West, including Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Milwaukee or the "German Triangle." The heterogeneity that had been a distinctive characteristic of American society since colonial times became more pronounced as some five million immigrants poured into the nation between 1830 and 1860. The Irish and Germans were numerically the two major immigrant groups during this period. These immigrants often faced the prejudice in American society. They were blamed for urban crime, political corruption, alcohol abuses, and undercutting wages. The growth of immigration caused the rise of nativism. The influx of Irish during the 1840s and 1850s led to violent anti-immigrant backlash in New York City and Philadelphia. Those who feared the impact of immigration on American political and social life were called "nativists."
The United States had an open door policy on immigration from the nations beginning until 1921. During that time, between 1790 and 1920, the population grew by 102 million. That’s about one million new immigrants each year for 130 years. Most of these immigrants were from European countries. In 1921 Congress passed the Quota Act which put a cap of 360,000 new immigrants per year. Congress did this because the public was concerned about the number of new immigrants and how it would affect the country. This act also favored immigrants from England, Germany, France, and Scandinavia over those from Asia, Africa, and southern Europe.
Coming from a life of poverty and despair would cause anyone to search for a better life; a life in which there is the belief that all of your dreams can come true. This is the belief that many Mexican immigrants had about “El Norte,” they believed that the north would provide them with the opportunity that their life in Mexico had not. Many Immigrants believed that the United States was “the land of opportunity,” a place to find a successful job and live out the life that one only dreamt about living. The North was an open paradise for the immigrants. They were told by the people who had already ventured to the north that the United States was a “simple life, in which one could live like a king or queen, but in reality immigrants were treated like slaves in the new country that promised them their dreams.
As America continued to recruit workers from other countries, they continually worried about an immigration problem. In 1924, the Federal government passed the Immigration Act which officially barred further immigration from Asia and Europe to the U.S.
In the early 1920's, many generational Americans had moderately racist views on the "new immigrants," those being predominantly from Southern and Eastern Europe. Americans showed hatred for different races, incompatibility with religion, fear of race mixing, and fear of a revolution from other races. At the time, people believed the Nordic race was supreme.
-The 1921 Immigration Act was the first to include any quantitative restrictions on immigration. The Asian “barred zone” was upheld, but all other immigration was limited to three percent of the foreign-born population of any given group in the United States at the time of the 1910 census.
The Untied States of America is commonly labeled or thought of as the melting pot of the world where diverse groups of people flock to in order to better their current lives. In our countries history this has proven to primarily be our way of living and how the people as a nation view immigration. However, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries this open door mentality was quite the opposite to what the majority of people felt towards the idea of welcoming these huddled masses. Immigrants were not seen as equals or people willing to work hard for a better life but rather a diseased parasite that would suck the prosperous and prestigious life that the old immigrants had become accustomed to. American nativist groups during this time period acted in a hypercritical manner with the impression that open immigration would, in the end cause our country to be overtaken and overrun by a far less superior race.
The Nativists feared the immigrants because Americans were outnumbered, outvoted, and overwhelmed. The Nativists established the Order of the Star-Spangled Banner, which demanded restrictions on immigration and even promoted violence against immigrants. This soon transformed into the American Party, also known as the Know- Nothings. The American Party claimed the immigrants were a threat to American values and democracy. For example anti-Irish feeling was high for several reasons. The Irish were poor and the cities they lived in eventually developed into slums. The American people blamed the Irish for the crime, disease, and corruption taking place. To take another case in point, The Irish were Catholic and many Americans were Protestant. The American belief was Catholics could not be trusted because they were more loyal to the Pope than the United States Government. The Germans were seen as anti-American for preserving their culture and language when they emigrated to America. The truth that many Americans failed to see was immigrants created a racially and ethnically diverse
What is Nativism and what impact did it have on American society? Between the 1800s and early 1900s, favoritism towards “native-born” American residents sparked a rivalry between them and America’s new immigrants. This rivalry caused immigrants to have a hard time with jobs and adapting to the new culture and language. This was known as nativism. Immigrants came from different parts of Europe and Asia and flocked to urban city areas where they lived in poor, congested neighborhoods (ghettos) created due to the rapid and unexpected urbanization in America.
It was unjustified for congress of the United States to pass the Immigration Act of 1924 to limit the immigration in 1920s. During 1917, congress of United States passed a law that every immigrants whoever want to entry into United States Also people should be accepting to the immigrants because the United States was a place that thirteen colonies overthrew the British government and created United States. All Americans are immigrants because no American is native to United States. People all came here from other places. People should not have discrimination to any immigrants.
As early as the early 1600s, America was a country of refuge, opportunity, and prosperity. The American land was a chance to begin a new life to many. Over the centuries, the population and reasons for immigration grew more varied. Likewise, immigration during the 1930s was a result of various push and pull factors that ultimately led to a diverse population in the United States, created more competition for employment, and introduced many new cultures in the country. Immigrants came into America through Angel (Pacific Coast) and Ellis (New York) Islands.
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