1. The Rising Tide of Immigration:
U.S. Immigration

2. The Great Migration 1880

3. The Great Migration

4. The Great Migration The Largest Mass Movement in Human History.
From 1880 to 1910, a record setting 23 million immigrants arrived in America.
At this time the U.S. had no quotas or restrictions (limits) on how many immigrants entered the U.S.
From 1880 to 1921 approximately 70% of all immigrants came from Southern and Eastern Europe.
The typical Immigrant was young, male, and either Catholic or Jewish.
The majority were poor agricultural laborers with little money or education.

5. Push Factors Reasons Pushing immigrants to leave their homelands.
Agricultural Decline in Europe
Political & Religious Persecution in Eastern Europe
Groups who came included, Jews from Russia, Greeks from Romania, Turks from Bulgaria, & Poles living under Russian and Austrian-Hungarian rule.

6. Pull Factors Reasons pulling immigrants toward U.S.
Newspaper Articles and Letters sent from family members painted U.S. as a “Magic” land.
American businesses & factories sent recrutiers abroad in search of cheap labor.
Railroads & Steamship companies solicited immigrants businesses by distributing pamphlets that promised a better life in US
Immigrants faced Hardships as they traveled to the US

7. The Journey Across the Atlantic
Steamships Accommodations
Trip lasted 8 to 14 days, with approximately 1,200 to 2,000 people on Board
Most Immigrants traveled in Steerage class.
ARRIVAL IN AMERICA
1st & 2nd class passangers were questioned aboard ship and released
3rd class passengers went to Ellis Island

8. ELLIS ISLAND Medical Inspections The Great Hall
Sought to weed out “undesirables”
The Great Hall
Part of the Registry Hall, officals preformed a “six second” exam while immigrants climbed the stairs.
Given an inspection card at top of stairs.
Medical Exams lasted about 45 Minutes
If the doctor found anything wrong the immigrant was marked for further inspection

9. Legal Inspections The Registry Hall Legal Inspection
Wait was 2 to 3 hours long, sometimes as long as a day
Legal Inspection
Lasted 2 to 3 minutes,
Only about 2% were deported

10. Ethnic Enclaves

11. Ethnic Enclaves
Before Leaving Ellis Island many immigrants first visited the money exchange office, post office, and Railway room.
2/3 of Immigrants left Ellis Island for Cities other than NYC.
About 75% of immigrants settled in urban centers such as Boston, New York City, Chicago, & Philadelphia.
Ethnic Enclaves provided immigrants with a sense of home
They included newspapers in native languages, grocery stores with familiar foods, people in native dress, and churches who were filled with people from the home country. They strengthened Community and Economic ties.

12. Living Conditions

13. Living Conditions City Tenement Buildings Overcrowding
Most Tenements were run down, low rent apartment buildings clustered together in the poorest parts of town.
Tenements had six or seven floors which contained four four-room apartments
Overcrowding

14. Working conditions

15. Working Conditions The Immigrant Workforce Working Conditions
Majority worked in industrial jobs
Rapidly growing industries needed workers
Immigrants did not want to work in Agriculture
Immigrants unskilled or semiskilled
Working Conditions
Immigrants were vulnerable to exploitation
Average salary was 10 cents an hour ($16 dollars a week needed to live)
Improved Standard of Living
Most immigrants better off economically than they had been in Europe.

16. American Treatment of Immigrants

17. American Nativism
Both Native-born & assimilated immigrants viewed newcomers with fear, hostility, and suspicion.
Based on a belief that immigrants posed a threat to native-born Americans and their way of life.
Nativists often held deep-seeded prejudices about immigrants based on their ethnicity, race, religion, political and social beliefs

18. Restrictions on Immigration
Literacy Test
Called for a restriction on the number of immigrants entering the U.S.
In 1921, congress passed the Dillingham Bill, which established quotas on the number of immigrants entering the U.S. and ended the U.S. open-door policy on immigration.