1. America’s Immigration History Essential Qs: 1) What were the push and pull factors that led to mass migration? 2) What was the journey to America like?

2. The Great Migration / 46 million left their homes. / 56% came to the U.S. / From 1880 to 1921, more than 23 million immigrants arrived in America. / Few limits on immigration. / 46 million left their homes. / 56% came to the U.S. / From 1880 to 1921, more than 23 million immigrants arrived in America. / Few limits on immigration.

3. Demographics of Immigrants after 1880 / Most immigrants came from Southern and Eastern Europe: / Italians, Russians, Polish, Slovaks, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Greeks, Armenians / Young, male, spoke little or no English, unskilled, little money or education / Most immigrants came from Southern and Eastern Europe: / Italians, Russians, Polish, Slovaks, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Greeks, Armenians / Young, male, spoke little or no English, unskilled, little money or education

4. Why Did They Leave Home? Push 1: Lack of Work Farmers laid off local farm laborers as their jobs could be performed more cheaply and easily by machines. Craftspeople are unable to compete with factory production and need new employment. Push 2: Rising Population More people competing for fewer resources like land, food and jobs. Push 3: Political and Religious Persecution Jews in Russia Push 1: Lack of Work Farmers laid off local farm laborers as their jobs could be performed more cheaply and easily by machines. Craftspeople are unable to compete with factory production and need new employment. Push 2: Rising Population More people competing for fewer resources like land, food and jobs. Push 3: Political and Religious Persecution Jews in Russia

5. The Lure of America / Newspaper articles, and letters home said America was “magical” with lots of opportunity and riches.

6. The Lure of America / Business owners sent representatives overseas to recruit cheap labor. / Steamship companies were eager for passengers. / Both began to make marketing flyers to paint America as something it was not - “the streets are paved with gold.”

7. Leaving the Homeland / Most families used up all the money they had getting to America. / Steamship fare ran from $65 to $100 per ticket. / Some had to travel hundreds of miles just to get to the coast.

8. The Journey to America / Immigrants boarded steamships carrying 2,000 people. / Trip would take 8-14 days. / Most immigrants traveled in steerage compartments (storage). / Usually 1 toilet for every 50 - 1,000 people.

9. Living Conditions in Steerage / Diseases spread on ships (smallpox and typhoid) / Very little food / Bed of “donkey’s breakfast” / Very bad odor / Poor ventilation / Diseases spread on ships (smallpox and typhoid) / Very little food / Bed of “donkey’s breakfast” / Very bad odor / Poor ventilation

10. Cabin Class / By the early 1900s, some steamships removed steerage areas, and replaced them with “cabin class” / Vast improvement over steerage / Had cabins, or small rooms, more toilets, dining rooms, a lounge.

11. Pick a Section! / Talk to your neighbor about important ideas from today’s lecture. Be ready to share with the class!

12. America’s Immigration History Essential Qs: 1)What was the typical Immigrant’s experience at Ellis Island and in the U.S.?

13. Arrival in America / The Statue of Liberty (lady liberty) / “Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift up my lamp beside the golden door.” / ElIis Island: immigrant processing center / Checked for contagious or life-threatening diseases / Cholera, the plague, and typhoid / 1st class passengers were briefly questioned, and then allowed into America

14. Steerage Class Inspections / Steerage Class faced very rigorous inspection process. / Each person was given a tag with a number. / The inspections were designed to weed out immigrants they believed might require public assistance (mentally ill and the sick). / Medical Inspections usually took 45 minutes per person, and were very intrusive

15. Steerage Class Inspections / After medical inspections, new arrivals awaited an interrogation. / Wait time for questioning could be anywhere from 3 hours to one day. / Questions determined if the immigrant was coming to America “for a legitimate reason, had a proper moral character, and was unlikely to become a ward of the state, or a violent revolutionary” / After medical inspections, new arrivals awaited an interrogation. / Wait time for questioning could be anywhere from 3 hours to one day. / Questions determined if the immigrant was coming to America “for a legitimate reason, had a proper moral character, and was unlikely to become a ward of the state, or a violent revolutionary”

16. Leaving Ellis Island / Most immigrants were allowed entrance to the U.S. / Only 2% were deported. / After 1921 however, more and more immigrants were deported following stricter immigration laws. / After the Island / Make travel plans, go to RR station, exchange $, mail letter back home, and/or stay in NY

17. Ethnic Enclaves / Most immigrants settled in urban areas / New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia / Initially stayed with friends/relatives. / Lived in ethnic communities: provided familiar customs, food, language, etc.

18. Where did they live? / Cities were not ready to handle the growing population. / Raw sewage (that’s right, POOP!) overflowed into streets. / Housing was scarce. / Some lived in makeshift shanties built in alleyways.

19. Tenement Buildings / Those lucky enough to find housing lived in a tenement building. / 6-7 floors / Up to 1,231 people in a 120 room tenement (10 ppl/room) / One shared bathroom per floor / Those lucky enough to find housing lived in a tenement building. / 6-7 floors / Up to 1,231 people in a 120 room tenement (10 ppl/room) / One shared bathroom per floor

20. Where did they work? / Most immigrants worked industrial jobs. / Provided lots of cheap labor for business owners. / Most were unskilled or semiskilled laborers, and uneducated.

21. Working Conditions / Families typically needed $16/week to survive, many immigrants were paid $4/week. / Kids were paid $1.25/week. / Worked 12-16 hours a day, 6 days/week

22. Improved Standard of Living “Nowhere there is heaven, everywhere misery, in America no good, but still better than in the [old] country.”

23. American Nativism / Nativism is the preference for native born Americans. / Nativists believed that immigrants threatened “the American way of life.” / Believed immigrants took jobs away from “real” Americans, and are invading America.

24. Push for Immigrant Restrictions / Nativists lobbied to restrict the number of immigrants entering the U.S. / Called for a literacy test for all newcomers. / In 1921 Congress passed the Dillingham Bill: set quotas for the number of immigrants entering the U.S. each year.

25. Pick a Section! / Talk to your neighbor about important ideas from today’s lecture. Be ready to share with the class!