THE NEW IMMIGRATION APUSH – Spiconardi

Changing Trends  Prior to 1890  Countries of Origin  England  Ireland  Germany  Scandinavian  1890 – 1924  Countries of Origin  Italy  Russia  Austro-Hungarian  Poland Old ImmigrationNew Immigration

Reasons for Immigrating to America  Escape religious persecutions  Jews, particularly from Russia, had become the victims of pogroms Pogroms  attacks against Jews characterized by killings and/or destruction of homes and businesses

Reasons for Immigrating to America  Available land and farming opportunities  In countries like Italy there was less and less land available  Farming had become unprofitable in Europe  Many peasants lost their land due to the commercialization of agriculture

New Nativism  Many believed the new immigrants had no appreciation of liberty and therefore posed a threat to democracy  In 1894, the Immigration Restriction League called for restricting illiterate immigrants from entering the U.S.  Congress passed this in 1897, but the legislation was vetoed by President Grover Cleveland

New Nativism  Several states ended their policy of allowing immigrants to vote before becoming citizens  Secret ballots adopted  Illiterate immigrants could not receive assistance from party officials at the polls  States adopted literacy requirements  Suffrage become more of a privilege than a right