1. GROWING IMMIGRATION

2. Where did they come from?
The Americas
Asia
Northern Europe (before the Civil War)
English, Scots, Irish, Germans, Scandinavians
Southern Europe, Eastern Europe (After the Civil War)
E. European Jews/Southern Italians/Greeks Slavic peoples (Poles, Slovaks, Czechs, Croats, Serbs, Ukrainians, Russians, Armenians)

3. To clarify…
Before 1890, most European immigrants came from northwest Europe
After 1890, most European immigrants came from southwest Europe

5. Push and Pull Reasons of Course!
Why did they leave?
Push and Pull Reasons of Course!

6. Over-Population

7. Lack of Jobs

8. Government Tyranny

9. Crop Failures!
Land Shortages!

10. Famine

11. High Taxes/ Cost of Living

12. Political or Religious Persecution

13. How did they get here? Steamships made of iron and steel
2-3 weeks to 1 week by 1900
Created “birds of passage”-single male worker who came for a short time, earn money, and return home

14. Steamships cont.
Most immigrants traveled in Steerage (large open area beneath ship’s deck)
Cheap fares
Limited toilet facilities,
no privacy, poor food

17. Castle Garden ( )

18. In 1886 greeted by Statue of Liberty in NY harbor

21. ELLIS ISLAND “Gate to America” or “Golden Door”
70% of European immigrants arrived in NYC
In 1892 an immigration center opened at Ellis Island in NY harbor
Immigrants were given medical check-up and a series of questions

26. Vito’s Story

27. The caption reads . . .
Held at Ellis Island – Undesirable emigrants to be taken back by steamship company that brought them
Sometimes immigrants were “quarantined” (isolated to prevent the spread of disease): tuberculosis, small pox, measles
Some were even deported due to serious diseases: trachoma or other reasons

28. Name?
Occupation?
Who paid your fare?
Can you read or write?
How much money do you have?
Have you been to prison or in a poorhouse?
Where are you going?
Do you have a job already?

29. Many immigrants received new names
Buchenroth=Roth
Stefanopoulous= Stevens

30. Angel Island - California
The Ellis Island of the West Coast

31. Angel Island San Francisco Horrible conditions
On Ellis Island, immigrants were processed through within hours or days; on Angel Island, they spent weeks or months.

32. Where did immigrants settle?
Most lived with friends and relatives in established communities
Communities formed in ports of entry (NY/Boston) and inland cities (Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Chicago)
Only 2% went to the south

33. Jobs for immigrants
Mines, mills, and factories
Friends and relatives helped each other
In other cases, a Padrone (labor boss) found jobs, provided food and shelter in exchange for large percentage of immigrant wages