New Immigration 1865-1896

Europeans Flood into America Between 1865 and 1914, 25 million Europeans immigrated to the United States By the late 1890s, more than half of all immigrants were from southern and eastern Europe More than 70% of the new immigrants were men

Why did they come? Wars Forced military service Famine or high food prices Religious persecution Overpopulation Availability of jobs in America

The Atlantic Voyage Most immigrants booked passage in steerage, the cheapest accommodations available Passage to the United States often cost a life’s savings Entire families would often save enough money to send just one or two family members to America

On the Boat “Narrow, steep and slippery stairways lead to it. Crowds everywhere, ill smelling bunks, uninviting washrooms – this is steerage. The odors of scattered orange peelings, tobacco, garlic, and disinfectants meeting but not blending, No lounge or chairs for comfort, and a continual babble of tongues – this is steerage. The food, which is miserable, is dealt out of huge kettles into the dinner pails provided by the steamship company.” – World of Our Fathers

Ellis Island Most immigrants coming from Europe passed through Ellis Island in New York City A huge three-story building served as the processing center for many of the immigrants after 1892 Immigrants filed past a doctor for an initial inspection “Whenever a case aroused suspicion, the alien was set aside in a cage apart from the rest… and his coat or shirt marked with colored chalk.” If an immigrant failed the inspection, they risked the chance of being sent back to Europe

Ellis Island

Ellis Island With the huge numbers of immigrants, inspectors had just 2 minutes to complete the process Many immigrants had their last names changed by the inspectors because they didn’t have the time or patience to struggle with the foreign spellings. Long lines of immigrants were tagged according to what language they spoke

Ethnic Cities Most immigrants settled in the nation’s cities Immigrants made up a large percentage of New York City, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Detroit Immigrants tended to move into ethnically similar neighborhoods Ex. “Little Italy,” Jewish “Lower East Side,” “Chinatown” Adjustment depended partly on how well they learned English and adapted to American culture

In the Tenements Many immigrants lived in crowded tenement buildings. Families shared living space and decent lighting & fresh air were scarce. *

Living Conditions Conditions were uncomfortable, crowded, and dirty. In New York, 1,231 people lived in only 120 rooms in one part of the city. In Chicago in one year, over 60% of newborns never reached their first birthdays. Many babies asphyxiated in their own homes. Many immigrants had no home and slept in 5 cents a spot rooms where people paid for a small space to spend the night.

Jacob Riis An immigrant himself, Jacob Riis was well known for his photographs documenting the lives of immigrants & the urban poor in his book How the Other Half Lives.

Asian Immigration By the mid-1800s, China’s population reached about 430 million Country was suffering from unemployment, poverty, and famine Thousands of Chinese left the nation for the United States Demand for labor on the railroads led to further Chinese immigration Chinese settled mostly in the western cities Often worked as laborers, servants, or skilled tradesmen American business often would not hire Chinese, so they were forced to open their own businesses

Angel Island Until 1910, Asian immigrants arriving in San Francisco had to stop at a two-story shed on the wharf As many as 500 people were squeezed in at a time January 1910  California opened Angel Island for Asian immigrants Most were young men in their teens or twenties Wait could last months

Nativism Resurges Nativism  extreme dislike of immigrants by native-born people First surfaced during the Irish immigration in the 1840-50s  later focused on Asians, Jews, and eastern Europeans Feared the influx of Catholics would swamp the Protestant United States Labor Unions thought that immigrants undermined American workers by working for low wages and working as strikebreakers

Prejudice Against Catholics American Protective Association, founded by Henry Bowers in 1887, was an anti-Catholic organization Largely protestant population considered the Irish to be lazy, superstitious, and ignorant A new law in 1882 banned convicts, paupers, and the mentally disabled from immigrating to America Also created a $.50 tax on each head

Restrictions on Asian Immigration Denis Kearney organized the Workingman’s Party of California, and worked against Chinese immigration Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) Law banned all Chinese immigration for 10 years and prevented Chinese already in America from becoming citizens Congress renewed law in 1892 and it became permanent in 1902  not repealed until 1943 San Francisco required all Asian immigrant children to attend segregated “Oriental Schools” Theodore Roosevelt agreed to limit Japanese immigration if San Francisco would end the segregation of schools