Immigration in 19th and 20th Century America During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many American nativist groups opposed free unrestricted immigration. Although racism is a main reason, there were many others. Economic, political, social and moral standards seemed to be threatened by these newcomers. The immigrants were unfamiliar of the language and customs that we take for granted in our everyday lives. The fear that gripped the nation was why people reacted so strongly against immigrants. The people feared change might distort the course of our prospering country. We did not want to become what those immigrants were fleeing. Many economic changes were changing the pace of our nation during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. There were changes being made in how business was being taken care of and how the workers were being treated. Strikes and riots were a constant concern to factory owners. They felt they could not afford to risk their enterprise to demonstrations of dissatisfaction by their workers. By the owners standards, their workers were being paid quite well. However, an immigrant would be willing to twice as much work for half the wages. Millions of immigrants came to America looking for work. This made many Americans apprehensive at the thought of immigrants taking over their jobs. With so many immigrants, who were thought of as untrained, dirty, uncultivated and an inconvenience, factory owners feared that they would be unable to control such kind of unfamiliar people. These immigrants stuck together, almost like animals, nativists thought. Living in ethnic communities, and working in groups with one another. Separately they were seen as weak and unworthy of any basic human ca... ... middle of paper ... ...n garbage that failed to even get recognition in their old country, and then they come here to spread their disease. This is what the nativists believed. Jails were full, because immigrants were violent animals. Insane asylums were full because, immigrants were not as capable of equal mentality. Almshouses, were full of immigrants because they were lazy, leaching people who wouldn't get jobs. This may sound harsh, but this is how nativists felt. Immigrants were seem and treated like breathing debris that could stepped on without a second thought. However when so many people set so many obstacles against you, it I hard to overcome them and become successful. Immigrants were part of the changes in society, that is true, but they did not cause the change. Civilizations evolve and most people just could not come to terms with that unless they had something to blame.
Immigrants during this time period came to America seeking wealth for their family they had brought with them, or to send back to their families in their homeland. Whichever case it was immigrants spent the majority of their time working in the factories in hope for a better life than the one they gave up in coming to America. However, upon arriving immigrants soon realized that the home they left behind was not all that different than their new one. Immigrants came seeking the types of jobs that would give them Liberty and independence, leaving them only to find themselves just a working part in a large factory dependent on machines, rather than their own skills.
In the late nineteenth century, many European immigrants traveled to the United States in search of a better life and good fortune. The unskilled industries of the Eastern United States eagerly employed these men who were willing to work long hours for low wages just to earn their food and board. Among the most heavily recruiting industries were the railroads and the steel mills of Western Pennsylvania. Particularly in the steel mills, the working conditions for these immigrants were very dangerous. Many men lost their lives to these giant steel-making machines. The immigrants suffered the most and also worked the most hours for the least amount of money. Living conditions were also poor, and often these immigrants would barely have enough money and time to do anything but work, eat, and sleep. There was also a continuous struggle between the workers and the owners of the mills, the capitalists. The capitalists were a very small, elite group of rich men who held most of the wealth in their industries. Strikes broke out often, some ending in violence and death. Many workers had no political freedom or even a voice in the company that employed them. However, through all of these hardships, the immigrants continued their struggle for a better life.
During the 1900’s, it was common for people to immigrate to America. They saw it as a land of freedom and opportunity. Some thought that this was a great way for the US’ economy to boom, but some thought otherwise. With the shortage of jobs, many believed that the immigrants were stealing their precious jobs. Because of the competition over jobs, immigrants became the new public enemy to many.
Even though northerners were hesitant to work with blacks, employers were recognizing the demand for labor. The North heavily depended on southern reserve of black labor. This is when black men in particular got their first taste of industrial jobs. One motive for the great demographic shift as we know today as the “Great Migration” were jobs. Jobs in the North offered many more advantages than those in the South. Advantages such as higher wages, which was another motive. Other motives included educational opportunities, the prospect of voting, and the “promised land.” As blacks were migrating to the North in search for jobs, there was also a push for equality. There were heightened efforts to build community and political mobilization as more people migrated. Although white conservatives did not hold back their postwar reactions, the optimism to move forward with attempting to change racial order did not disappear. The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in the 1920’s, the National Negro Congress, Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Work, as well as the March on Washington launched a style of protest politics that carried on well into the
Ellis island brought millions of immigrants to America between the years 1892 and 1954. It is said that 40% of our population today can trace their ancestors to Ellis Island. Many people of many nationalities came to The United States get a chance at having the “American Dream”. Whilst pursuing their dreams, they left their marks on American culture. No one has influenced us so much as the Italians and their way of life.
The social and economic developments of the last quarter of the nineteenth century drastically changed the United States. The business world changed once industrialization was introduced to the world. Opportunities grew as people heard about the boundless American opportunities. Immigrants from all races flooded the cities which doubled in population from 1860-1900 (Barnes and Bowles, 2014, p. 34). However, as industries grew, owners prospered off the hard work of others. People started to feel they were not being treated fairly. People had to work harder and longer for their money. Barnes and Bowles (2014) noted “In the era of industrialization, millions of workers fought to simply have the right to work in safe conditions, and earn a fair wage” (p. 45). Many Americans feared that giant corporations would one day seek to restrict the ability of common people to get ahead and curtail individual freedoms. These fears were particularly strong among farmers, laborers, an...
In the eyes of the early American colonists and the founders of the Constitution, the United States was to represent the ideals of acceptance and tolerance to those of all walks of life. When the immigration rush began in the mid-1800's, America proved to be everything but that. The millions of immigrants would soon realize the meaning of hardship and rejection as newcomers, as they attempted to assimilate into American culture. For countless immigrants, the struggle to arrive in America was rivaled only by the struggle to gain acceptance among the existing American population.
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.
Immigration has always been a major part of America. In fact, without immigration the creation of America would not have been possible. The majority of immigrants came to America for religious freedom and economic opportunities. However, for the most part before the 1870’s most immigrants were Protestants from northern and western Europe. These immigrants often migrated to the United States as families and usually lived on farms with family or friends who had already migrated beforehand. A lot of immigrants came to America with a plan or goal in mind. They often had saved up money for the long immigration overseas, were skilled in a certain trade, or had already been educated at a high level. Sadly, this would not last. Immigration became so prominent in America between 1870 and 1900 that the foreign-born population of the United States had almost doubled. A lot of German and Irish Catholics had immigrated in the 1840’s and 1850’s, and more decided to immigrate after the Civil War. A portion of Americans were biased against Catholics. Thankfully, the Irish spoke English and the German Catholics reputation was improved because of their Protestant countrymen’s good reputation. However, their children often lacked any skill or education, but they were able to blend in quite well with the American society. More and more immigrants would migrate to the United States without any skill or education and on top of that they were usually poor. These immigrants were called “new” immigrants and they came from all over the world including Italy, Greece, Poland, Hungary, and Russia. However, you cannot blame immigrants for migrating to America. Many immigrants faced religious persecution in their home countries which pushed them away, otherwi...
Perea, Juan. Immigrants Out! The New Nativism and the Anti-Immigrant Impulse in the United States. New York or London: New York University Press, 1997. Print.
... middle of paper ... ... With the startling growth of immigration, in what seemed like overnight, immigrants were met with hostility as they were the target of religious differences as well as labor unrest, the promoted sentiment was termed, nativism. As the continuation of industrialization and urbanization sparked an increasing demand for a larger and cheaper labor force; an influx in immigrants from all over Europe, migrated in pursuit of higher wages.
another country were coming into the United States of America not only to take away their jobs. but to use up valuable resource’s. What was so disturbing to them is that they were coming over. at such a staggering rate. At this time Americans resorted to nationalism, which is as Merton E. Hill stated in 1931....
Millions of immigrants over the previous centuries have shaped the United States of America into what it is today. America is known as a “melting pot”, a multicultural country that welcomes and is home to an array of every ethnic and cultural background imaginable. We are a place of opportunity, offering homes and jobs and new economic gains to anyone who should want it. However, America was not always such a “come one, come all” kind of country. The large numbers of immigrants that came during the nineteenth century angered many of the American natives and lead to them to blame the lack of jobs and low wages on the immigrants, especially the Asian communities. This resentment lead to the discrimination and legal exclusion of immigrants, with the first and most important law passed being the Chinese Exclusion Act. However, the discrimination the Chinese immigrants so harshly received was not rightly justified or deserved. With all of their contributions and accomplishments in opening up the West, they were not so much harming our country but rather helping it.
Today, in most cases, people don’t spend very much time thinking about why the society we live in presently, is the way it is. Most people would actually be surprised about all that has happened throughout America’s history. Many factors have influenced America and it’s society today, but one of the most profound ways was the way the “Old Immigrants” and “New Immigrants” came to America in the early to mid 1800s. The “Old Immigrants were categorized as the ones who came before 1860 and the “New Immigrants” being the ones who came between 1865 and 1920. The immigrants came to the United States, not only seeking freedom, but also education. Many immigrants also wanted to practice their religion without hindrance. What happened after the immigrants