Unit 1 Immigration

The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-lost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!’ -Base of Statue of Liberty –making her greeter of new immigrants

Old: before 1870’s: Northern and Western Europe Old vs. New Immigrants Old: before 1870’s: Northern and Western Europe Primarily settled on farms, were Protestant, many were educated, and came as families New: after 1870’s: Southern and Eastern Europe Most were unskilled, poor, Catholic or Jewish, and settled in cities

Push and Pull Factors for Immigrants PUSH FACTORS: -Disease -Poverty -Dictatorships giving people no rights -Religious discrimination PULL FACTORS: -Jobs with little skill needed were available “Melting Pot” in America “American Dream” could happen for everyone

Working Conditions Long days (avg. 10 hour day), long weeks (usually 6 days/week-Sundays off), low pay (“wage slaves”) Dangerous Conditions-child labor, factories, Triangle Shirtwaste Fire Increasing pay differential between workers and owners Main reason for strikes

Many “New” Immigrants came with very little and spoke no English. Ethnic Clusters Many “New” Immigrants came with very little and spoke no English. Many settled into cities with others who shared their language, culture, and religion

Immigrant Enclaves and Tenement Life

Job Competition and Nativism Due to language and competition, many immigrants had trouble finding jobs. New immigrants would almost always work for less money Faced Nativism-belief that native-born whites were superior to newcomers. Conflict in: jobs, religion, culture, housing, education, and more. Example is the Chinese Exclusion Act

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 1882: Prohibited immigration by Chinese Laborers, limited Civil Rights of Chinese in the US, and did not allow Chinese residents to become citizens. Start of many restrictions against immigration

Biggest concerns about immigrants Overburden the welfare system and raise taxes-79% Take jobs away from Americans-63% Lead to increased conflict between races and ethnic groups-63% Create too much diversity changing American culture for the worse-44% Lead to whites of European descent no longer being the majority-36%