Immigration (1870s-1920s)
SOL: VUS.8a Objective: The student will demonstrate knowledge of how the nation grew and changed form the end of Reconstruc...
SOL: VUS.8a Objective: The student will demonstrate knowledge of how the nation grew and changed form the end of Reconstruction through the early twentieth century by explaining the relationship among territorial expansion, westward movement of the population, new immigration, growth of cities, and the admission of new states to the Union.
Immigrant: Person who enters a new country to SETTLE.
Where did immigrants come from? Immigration Prior to 1871 Northern and Western Europe • • • • •
GERMANY GREAT BRITAIN IRELAND NORWAY SWEDEN
Where did immigrants come from? Immigration from 1871-1921 Southern and Eastern Europe • • • • •
ITALY GREECE POLAND RUSSIA Present-day HUNGARY and YUGOSLAVIA
Where did immigrants come from? Immigration from 1871-1921 Asia • CHINA • JAPAN
Why did immigrants come to America? • Seeking FREEDOM and BETTER LIVES for their families
How did immigrants contribute to American industrial growth? • CHINESE workers helped to build the TRANSCONTINENTAL railroad • Immigrants worked in TEXTILE and STEEL mills in the Northeast and in the CLOTHING industry in New York City
How did immigrants contribute to American industrial growth? • SLAVS, ITALIANS, and POLES worked in the COAL mines of the East. • They often worked for VERY LOW PAY and in DANGEROUS working conditions to help build the nation’s INDUSTRIAL strength.
Where did immigrants arrive in America? • During this period, immigrants from Europe entered America through ELLIS ISLAND in New York harbor. • Their first view of America was often the Statue of LIBERTY standing nearby, as their ships arrived following the voyage across the Atlantic.
Where did immigrants arrive in America? • Liberty Enlightening the World was presented to the US by FRANCE in 1886 as a gift. • The tablet in her hand says, JULY IV MDCCLXXVI which means JULY 4th, 1776 • Worldwide, the Statue of Liberty is one of the MOST RECOGNIZABLE icons of the United States
Physical examinations at Ellis Island
Meaning of Symbols • • • • • • •
X- Suspected Mental Defect X w/ circle- Definite signs of Mental Defect C- conjunctivitis (pink eye) E- eyes FT- feet N- neck G- goiter (swelling of the thyroid)
How did immigrants adapt to life in America? • Immigrants began the process of ASSIMILATION into what was termed the American “MELTING POT” • Assimilation- the process by which a MINORITY GROUP gradually adopts the CUSTOMS and ATTITUDES of a dominant culture
How did immigrants adapt to life in America? • While often settling in ETHNIC neighborhoods in the growing cities, they and their children worked hard to LEARN ENGLISH, adopt American CUSTOMS, and become American CITIZENS. • The public SCHOOLS served as an essential role in the process of assimilating immigrants into American society.
Little Italy
Street vendors in Little Italy
Chinatown in San Francisco
First Chinese telephone operator in San Francisco
Chinatown in New York City
How did Americans respond to the immigrants? • Immigrants often faced HARDSHIP and HOSTILITY. • There was FEAR and RESENTMENT that immigrants would take JOBS for LOWER PAY than American workers. • There was prejudice based on RELIGIOUS and CULTURAL differences.
The caption reads: The Chinese Question Lady Liberty says, “Hands off, gentlemen! America means fair play for all men.”
The caption reads:
“Every dog (no distinction of color) has his day.” “Red Gentlemen to Yellow Gentlemen: “Pale face ‘fraid you crowd him out, as he did me.”
How did Americans respond to the immigrants? • Mounting resentment led Congress to LIMIT immigration, through the CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT of 1882 and the Immigration RESTRICTION Act of 1924. These laws effectively cut off most immigration to America for the next several DECADES.
Provisions of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 • Prohibited Chinese laborers from ENTERING THE COUNTRY. • Did not prevent entry by those who had previously established RESIDENCE in the United States. • Law continued until 1943 when it was finally REPEALED.
Provisions of the Immigration Restriction Act of 1924 • Limited the number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already living in the United States in 1890. • The law was specifically aimed at RESTRICTING the Southern and Eastern Europeans, who had begun to enter the country in large numbers beginning in the 1890s, as well as East Asians and Asian Indians, who were prohibited from immigrating entirely.
