Transcript Immigration and the “Melting Pot” (1890-1920)

Immigration and the “Melting
Pot” (1890-1920)
U.S. History
Immigration

Reasons for Immigration – push/pull
factors
◦ Religious Freedom – Jews in Eastern
Europe/Pogroms
◦ Employment/Better Wages
◦ Political Freedom – Russians
Immigration

Who came to the United States?
◦ Mid 1800’s – British/Irish (NW Europe)
◦ Late 1800’s – Italians, Russian Jews, Greeks,
Slavs, Armenians, Japanese, Chinese, etc.
◦ VAST differences in groups that came –
customs, language, religion, etc.
Immigration

How did they get here?
◦ Large steamships carried immigrants to the
United States
◦ Took roughly one week to get to the U.S. from
Europe, three weeks from Asia
◦ Three classes on the steamships carrying
immigrants
 First class
 Second class
 Steerage – lower class, smelly conditions, cheaper ticket
($30)
 Played cards, sang songs, or rehearsed answers for the
inspection questions with each other
 Learned language constantly
Immigration

What happened when an immigrant got to
the United States?
◦ Most went through a large naturalization center
 New York – Ellis Island
 San Francisco – Angel Island
 Some went to smaller cities or ports – Savannah,
Boston, Seattle
◦ Had to be tested for diseases – don’t spread
unwanted diseases to rest of U.S.
◦ Had to have documents from other countries
◦ Had to be mentally fit – intelligence tests
Immigration

Response to immigrants from mainstream
U.S. society
◦ Nativism – favored native-born Americans
 Had problems with ethnic groups – stagnant and
downtrodden
 Had problems with religion – Catholics in a
Protestant Nation?

Chinese Exclusion Act – Chinese workers
aren’t allowed entry from 1882 to
1943…only teachers, students, tourists,
etc.
Immigration

What did most immigrants do when they
got here?
◦ Looked for work – closest place was in cities
◦ Many families lived in extremely cramped
conditions in the city called tenements
 Unsanitary, no electricity, etc.
Immigration

Reforms for immigrants
◦ Many reform movements begin to pop up as a
result of the plight of immigrants
 Settlement Houses – similar to a YMCA
 Famous settlement house – Hull House in Chicago (Jane
Addams)