Immigrants to America Chapter 8 Lessons 2, 3, & 4

Arriving in America Millions of immigrants moved to the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Where did the Immigrants come from? Most immigrants before 1880 came from Ireland, Germany, England, Sweden, Denmark and other countries in northern or western Europe. The newer immigrants were usually from southern or eastern Europe. They were from Italy, Russia, Hungary, Greece, and Poland. Some also came from Mexico. GPS SS5H3d

Why did Immigrants come to the U.S.? They were looking for work. Some also came to escape persecution. Persecution is unfair treatment or punishment. Jews, for example, were being persecuted for their religion in eastern Europe. GPS SS5H3d

Living in a New Country Most immigrants lived with family or friends. Immigrant communities grew quickly in big cities like New York (see map on page 268 in text). Most communities were made of ethnic groups, a group of people who share a culture or language. Many immigrants worked long hours for low pay and often lived in tenements, poorly built apartment buildings. Immigrants faced prejudice because some Americans feared they were taking their jobs. GPS SS5H3d

Immigration Stations When immigrants came into the U.S. they went through immigration stations such as Ellis Island in New York Harbor. They were questioned about where they planned to live and work. They were also examined by doctors to make sure that they didn’t have diseases that they could spread.

Laws against Immigration In 1882, Congress limited immigration by passing the Chinese Exclusion Act. It kept out almost all new Chinese immigrants. Later laws limited people from other countries. Immigrants overcame their hardships and helped America become one of the richest and fastest growing countries in the world.

Growing Cities Most of the immigrants who came to the United States between 1880 and 1910 lived and worked in cities. Many factories were built after the Civil War. Many were in cities that were near natural resources or transportation routes. Both the North and the South specialized in making goods using the resources in their areas. GPS SS5H3d

Changes in Cities Technology helped cities to grow, but overcrowding became a problem. The first skyscraper in the U.S. was built in Chicago, Illinois in 1885. A skyscraper is a very tall building. The growth of the steel industry made skyscrapers possible. The discovery of electricity also helped cities to grow. Rapid transit, like streetcars and subways, made travel faster. As cities grew, the problem of crowding grew too. Those who could not find good places to live, lived in slums. A slum is a poor, crowded part of a city. Slum buildings are also called tenements. Tenements were poorly and cheaply built structures.

Helping Each Other Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr were two people who wanted to help people find housing and jobs. They opened a settlement house called Hull House in 1889. A settlement house is a community center for people in cities. People came to settlement houses to learn English, get medical care, or find jobs.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh was just the right place to produce steel. It had two major rivers and it had natural resources nearby, such as coal. The nation needed steel for railroads, bridges, skyscrapers, and factories. Pittsburgh soon got the nickname “Steel City”. Have you ever heard of the Pittsburgh Steelers?

Time of Reform In the early 1900’s, people called progressives tried to fix what they thought was wrong with our country. Progressives wanted to make factories and cities cleaner and safer. They were reformers. They didn’t always agree with one another, but they did think that the government should make laws to protect workers, consumers, and citizen’s rights.

Making Changes Progressives wrote about children working and unsafe working conditions. The progressives were called muckrakers. A muckraker is someone who “rakes up,” or points out, unpleasant truths.

Government reforms President Theodore Roosevelt worked with Congress to pass two laws in 1906 to make food safer. The Pure Food and Drug Act, and the Meat Inspection Act said that medicine and foods had to be made without harmful chemicals and factories had to be clean.

Working for Equal Rights In 1920, the 19th amendment was passed that allowed women the right to vote in national elections. Women had been fighting for this right since before the Civil War. GPS SS5CG3b

Struggle for Racial Equality In the early 1900s, when trying to find jobs or rent/buy homes, American Indians, African Americans, Mexican Americans and Asian Americans faced prejudice. The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) was founded in 1909 to help support the African Americans that faced prejudice.

Struggle for Racial Equality One of the founders of the NAACP was W.E.B. Du Bois. He was an African American writer and professor. His writings helped persuade many Americans that change was needed.

Struggle for Racial Equality Booker T. Washington was another African American leader that started a school to educate and give job training to southern African Americans.