The Gilded Age: The Gilded Age

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Recommended: Immigration in early 1900s America

Large amounts of immigrants from all over became attracted to the United States in the 19th and 20th century because of the fact that we had started expanding rapidly, new industries opened up which leads to more job openings; this time was called the Gilded Age. The immigrants coming to the United States realized they had a chance for a better life; they have the chance to start over and have a job. “While they endured harsh conditions during their time of service, as a result of their labors, they acquired ownership of small pieces of land that they could then work as independent yeoman farmers.” (Diner). Americans built bigger corporations, cities, and buildings; some people made fortunes and others created a new middle class and proved …show more content…

Most of the immigrants coming on the steamboats came from southern and eastern Europe. The start of World War I in 1914 caused 15 million immigrants to come to the United States, they were coming from new places; 80% of them from Italy, Greece, Russia, the Empire of Austria-Hungary, Romania, and Turkey. The other immigrants came from Japan, China, Korea, Mexico and other parts of Latin America. A lot of these immigrants came for many reasons, the economy was very low, there was no jobs and no way to support their family, there were government-directed attacks against Jewish citizens, property, and villages. In China the federal legislation suspended Chinese immigration, limited the civil rights of the Chinese residents and forbade their naturalization, their own home wasn’t treating them well. However it started to become so much that the National Origins Act in restricted the amount of immigrants who attempt or try to enter the United States and also assigned slots according to quotas based on national origins. This stated that all potential immigrants from Asia are unworthy to enter the Unites States of …show more content…

American employers who were short of workers often promoted jobs so that the immigrants could come and work for them, they even published a guide book called “Where to Emigrate and Why”, steamship companies advertised for passengers and told them about how much faster it would be and that it is healthier/safer. Once the immigrants were down here they would write to their families and friends and describe just how good it is in the United States, which brought even more immigrants into the United States. However when some immigrants arrived they realized that it isn’t what people described nor what they expected/hoped for; the immigrants were going to be the ones doing all of the dirty work. They didn’t have the best of housing either, the bathrooms were at the end of the hall and they shared their apartment. They were filled with families in one small room; 50% of families slept three or four people to a room and 25% had five or more people per room. Each different ethnic immigrant found a different type of

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