Transcript Immigrants flock to America and face discrimination The Chinese

Immigration
to the
United States
Immigrants came to America for
many reasons and faced a number of
challenges.
Immigrants flock to America
• Old Immigration
• Prior to 1871, most immigrants came from
Northern and Western Europe – Germany,
Great Britain, Ireland, etc…
• New Immigration
• Between 1871-1921, most immigrants came
from Southern and Eastern Europe - Italy,
Greece, Poland, present-day Hungary, etc…
• Also, many of the Catholic and Jewish faiths
came during this time.
From 1866 to 1915,
more than 25 million
immigrants migrated
to the U.S.
America is a nation
of immigrants.
Immigrants
are people that
go to a new
country
to make it
their home.
All Americans are related to immigrants
or are immigrants themselves.
Reasons For Increased
Immigration
1. Hope for better
opportunities
2. Religious freedom
3. Escape from oppressive governments
and political persecution…War or fighting
in their country
4. Adventure
5. Letters from family
and friends
What pushed
immigrants from
their homeland?
• Poverty
• Shortage of farmland
• Lack of opportunity
• Political & religious
persecution
• Wars & threats of war
What pulled
immigrants to
the United
States?
• Jobs
• Opportunity
• Political & religious freedom
• Letters from family & friends
Old Immigration 1830 – 1890
The Irish from
Ireland
The Germans from
Germany
The Scandinavians from Sweden,
Norway, and Denmark
New Immigration 1890 - 1920
The Italians
from Italy
The Chinese
from China
The Russians and
Polish from Russia
and Poland
The Japanese
from Japan
The Mexicans from Mexico
Arrival In America
The two ports of immigration entry
They first had to go to the immigration
center on Ellis Island in New York or Angel
Island in California
Before they could enter the U.S., they had to
have a medical inspection…then wait in
long lines….
…before they could finally enter the U.S.
Immigrants flock to America and
experience discrimination
•
•
•
•
The American “Melting pot” faces
resistance
Nativism - open favoritism towards “native”
born Americans; especially WASPs
Xenophobia - the fear and/or hatred of
foreigners
Fear of “cheap labor”- that immigrants will
work for lower wages, and therefore “take
jobs” away from “real” Americans
There was also prejudice based on religious
and cultural differences
There was first discrimination against
the Irish because they were Catholic…
Second, there was discrimination
against the Chinese…
In 1882, Congress passed the
Chinese Exclusion Act.
This act banned Chinese immigration
for ten years
Repealed/ended in 1943 during WWII.
Immigrants flock to America and face
discrimination
• The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
The first significant law that
restricted immigration of an
“ethnic working group“ into the
United States.
• Immigration Restriction Act of 1921
This law effectively ended
immigration for a couple of
decades.
Example and Compromise
• San Francisco Segregates Schools
Following the destruction from the San
Francisco earthquake, the city decided to
segregate Japanese from their rebuilt public
schools. Japan protested directly to
President Roosevelt.
• The Gentleman’s Agreement, 1907
President Roosevelt has San Francisco
School Board meet at the White House.
Japan agrees to limit immigration & San
Francisco ends segregation