HCHS
SPI 6.4 and 6.5 Notes
SPI 6.4 – Identify patterns of immigration and the causal factors that led to immigration to the
United States of America (i.e., crop famines, European social and political unrest, and religious
freedom).
Target – What led to immigration to the United States?
SPI 6.5 – Distinguish the differences in assimilation of “old” vs. “new” immigration. (i.e,
languages, settlement patterns, education, employment, housing, Nativist reaction, religion,
geographic origin).
Target – Tell the differences between “old” and “new” immigrants.
Between 1860 and 1910 the population of the United States nearly tripled.
This population growth provided industry with an abundant workforce and also created greater
demand for the consumer goods manufactured by factories.
Population growth stemmed from two causes – large families and a flood of immigrants.
Immigrations grew due to social and economic conditions in Eastern Europe and China convinced
many people to immigrate to the United States.
Between 1870 and 1910, more than 17 million immigrants arrived in the United States.
These multitudes entered the growing industrial workforce, helped factories increase production,
and became consumers of industrial products.
Immigrants from Europe came to the United States for many reasons and entered the country
through Ellis Island.
Between 1865 – the year the Civil War ended – and 1914 – the year World War I began – nearly
25 million Europeans immigrated to the United States.
By the late 1890’s more than half of all immigrants in the United States were from eastern and
southern Europe.
This period of immigration involving mostly eastern and southern Europeans is known as “new”
immigration.
The “old” immigration occurred before 1865.
The “old” immigrants had been primarily people from northern and western Europe.
Europeans immigrated to the United States for many reasons.
American industries had plenty of jobs available.
Many came in hope of finding better jobs to escape the poverty and the restrictions of social
class.
Some moved to avoid military service.
In some cases high food prices encouraged people to leave.
Others, especially the Jews, fled to escape religious persecution.
Most European states made moving to the United States easy.
Immigrants were allowed to take their savings with them.
Moving to the United States offered a chance to break away from Europe’s class system and
move to a democratic nation.
The voyage to the United States was often very difficult.
Most immigrants booked passage in steerage, the cheapest accommodation on a steamship.
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HCHS
At the end of a 14-day journey, the passengers usually disembarked at Ellis Island. The Statute of
Liberty.
Many immigrants settled in cities.
By the 1890’s immigrants made up a large percentage of the population of major cities, including
New York, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Detroit.
Immigrants lived in neighborhoods that were often separated into ethnic groups.
How well immigrants adjusted depended partly on how quickly they learned English.
Asian immigrants arrived on the West Coast, where they settled mainly in cities.
China was suffering from severe unemployment, poverty, and famine.
Thousands of Chinese left for the United States.
Many worked for the Central Pacific Railroad.
Chinese immigrants settled mainly in western cities, (San Francisco).
Japanese also began immigrating to the United States.
The number of Japanese immigrants soared upward between 1900 and 1910.
Economic problems caused many Japanese to leave their homeland for new economic
opportunities.
In January 1910 California opened a barracks on Angel Island for Asian immigrants.
Economic concerns and religious and ethnic prejudices led some Americans to push for laws
restricting immigration.
Eventually the wave of immigration led to increased feelings of nativism on the part of many
Americans.
Nativism is an extreme dislike of immigrants by native-born people.
Nativism surfaced during the heavy wave of Irish immigrants during the 1840’s and 1850’s.
Nativists opposed immigration for many reasons.
Some feared that the influx of Catholics would swamp the mostly Protestant United States.
Many labor unions also opposed immigration, arguing that immigrants undermined American
workers because they would work for low wages and accept jobs as strikebreakers.
The Irish were among the immigrants who suffered most from the anti-Catholic feeling.
The Irish were trying to escape the potato famine.
Although several presidents vetoed legislation that would have limited immigration, prejudice
against immigrants stimulated the passage of a new federal law.
The law was enacted in 1882.
The law banned convicts, paupers, and the mentally disabled form immigrating to the United
States.
The law also placed a 50¢ per head tax on each newcomer.
Anti-Chines sentiment sometimes led to racial violence.
In 1882 Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act.
The law barred Chinese immigration for 10 years and prevented the Chinese already in the
country from becoming citizens.
Congress renewed the law in 1892 and made it permanent in 1902.
It was not repealed until 1943.
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