CHAPTER 14 • SECTION 1
Teach
America Adjusts
to Immigrants
Reader, Recorder, Reporter
Answer: Freedom,
economic opportunity,
and abundant land drew
people to America.
In America, Irish farmers became city-dwellers. Arriving with little or no
savings, many of these immigrants had to settle in the port cities where their
ships had docked. By 1850, the Irish made up one-fourth of the population
in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.
The uneducated Irish immigrants came with few skills and had to take
low-paying, back-breaking jobs. Irish women took in washing or worked as
servants. The men built canals and railroads across America. So many Irish
men died doing this dangerous work that people said there was “an Irishman buried under every [railroad] tie.” The Irish competed with free African
Americans for the jobs that nobody else wanted. Both groups had few other
choices in America in the 1800s.
SUMMARIZE Explain what attracted immigrants to America in the mid-1800s.
• What problems resulted from the rapid growth
of urban areas in the United States during the
mid-1800s? NUDQBQNVCHMFONNQR@MHS@SHNM
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America Adjusts to Immigrants
KEY QUESTION What was life like for the new
immigrants?
• What was the Know-Nothing Party? What
particular group of American citizens did the
Know-Nothing Party represent? 6GD-MNV
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• Main Ideas and Details What did new
immigrants experience in America? 2NRRHAKD
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The huge numbers of immigrants caused overcrowding in the cities. This population explosion
alarmed many Americans. However, some formed
organizations to help immigrants adapt to their
new country. Soon, like all immigrants before
them, the new arrivals began to influence American society and culture.
Life for the New Arrivals Immigrants flocked
During the mid-1800s,
thousands of new
immigrants settled in the
crowded New York City
neighborhood known as
Five Points.
More About . . .
Becoming a Citizen
Most immigrants who came to America in
the 1800s shared an appreciation for the
nation’s values and laws. As a result, many
chose to become U.S. citizens. This trend
continues today. In recent years, a sizable
number of immigrants have arrived from
countries in Eastern Europe, Southeast
Asia, and the Middle East. Some of these
countries have experienced significant
political change or are embroiled in political
unrest. Each year, immigrants from these
countries and others from around the world
are sworn in as U.S. citizens on Citizenship
Day, September 17.
454 • Chapter 14
to American cities. So did many native-born
Americans, who left rural areas hoping to make
a better living in new manufacturing jobs. The
North, with its higher wages and greater economic
opportunity, attracted many more immigrants
than the South. Because the South was a plantation economy based on slave labor, it offered
fewer opportunities for free laborers. Between
1800 and 1830, New York’s population jumped from 60,489 to 202,589.
Both St. Louis and Cincinnati doubled their populations every 10 years
between 1800 and 1850.
Rapid urban growth brought problems. Without enough space for newcomers, greedy landlords packed tenants into buildings. Cramped living
quarters allowed little sunlight and fresh air, and outdoor toilets overflowed,
spreading disease. In such depressing urban neighborhoods, crime flourished. Cities were unprepared for these problems. Most lacked a public
police force, fire department, and adequate sewers.
Most immigrant groups set up aid societies to assist newcomers from their
country. Many city politicians also offered to help immigrants find housing
and work, hoping to earn votes in exchange.
Chapter 14
DIFFERENTIATING INSTRUCTION: TIERED ACTIVITIES
OBJECTIVE Prepare and discuss a list of the ways in which immigration affected life in
America and form a main idea statement based on the examples cited.
Basic
On Level
Challenge
Distribute a list of the
ways in which immigration
affected life in America.
Include one or two facts
MNSS directly connected to
immigration—for example:
9NLDMB@LO@HFMDCENQ
RTEEQ@FD Lead students to
recognize the main idea that
these details support.
Distribute a list of the
ways in which immigration
affected life in America. Have
small groups discuss the
list. Ask groups to identify
details that relate directly
or indirectly to immigration.
Ask volunteers to state the
main idea that these details
support.
Have each student prepare
a list of ways in which
immigration affected life in
America, identifying how
each detail is connected to
immigration. Students should
then create a main idea
statement. Have students
exchange lists, adding and/
or removing details.
CHAPTER 14 • SECTION 1
Opposition to Immigration Some native-born Americans
believed that immigrants were too foreign to learn American
ways. Others feared that immigrants might outnumber natives.
prejudicce—a
— negative opinion that
Immigrants faced anger and prejud
is not based on facts. For example, some Protestants believed
that Catholics threatened democracy. Those Protestants feared
that the Pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, was
plotting to overthrow democracy in America.
People who want to eliminate foreign influence are known
nativvists
sts. In the mid-1800s, some American nativists
as nat
refused to hire immigrants and put up signs like “No Irish
need apply.” In cities such as New York and Boston, nativists formed a secret society. Members promised not to vote
for Catholics or immigrants running for political office. If
asked about their society, they said, “I know nothing about it.”
Know-Nothing
ng Party.
Party
In the 1850s, nativists started a political party called the Know-Noth
It wanted to ban Catholics and the foreign-born from holding office. It also
called for a cut in immigration and a 21-year-wait to become an American
CONNECT
to the Essential Question
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Ask students what they have learned so far
that can help them answer this question.
Students might mention:
• Immigrants came to America in huge
numbers.
A nineteenth-century
advertisement for
“Know Nothing Soap”
What might the Native
Americans represent?
• In America, immigrants sought suitable
land for farming and job opportunities
in cities.
Answer: Because
they are native to
America, they may
represent antiimmigrant feeling.
citizen. The Know-Nothings did get six governors elected. But their Northern and Southern branches couldn’t agree on the issue of slavery, and they
disappeared quickly as a national party.
MAKE GENERALIZATIONS Describe what life was like for new immigrants.
Answer: Many immigrants found economic opportunities in
cities. Some experienced discrimination.
• Aid societies and political organizations
helped immigrants.
O NLIN QUIZ
ONLINE
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1
Section Assessment
For test practice, go to
Interactive Review @ ClassZone.com
TERMS & NAMES
1. Explain the importance of
• “push” factor
• Know-Nothing Party
• “pull” factor
KEY IDEAS
3. What difficulties did immigrants face in the United
States?
4. How did the arrival of immigrants affect U.S. cities?
USING YOUR READING NOTES
2. Main Ideas and Details Use the diagram you
started at the beginning of the section to record
details about immigration. Note which groups came
and why, and where they settled.
CRITICAL THINKING
5. Make Inferences Why were immigrants willing to
endure the hardships of coming to America?
6. Analyze Primary Sources In 1841, British novelist
Charles Dickens described the huts in which some
Irish railroad workers in New York lived:
4
Assess Have students complete the Section
Assessment.
Unit 5 Resource Book
• Section Quiz, p. 171
Interactive Review
@ ClassZone.com
Power Presentations
“
abundant
land
“pull” factors drew
immigrants
The best were poor protection from the
weather; the worst let in the wind and rain
. . . some had neither door nor window;
some had nearly fallen down.
Test Generator
Reteach Stage a mock tug of war with string.
Volunteers call out factors that motivated
immigrants during the 1800s to move to
America. Others call out “push” or “pull” for
each factor. If it is pull they tug the string toward
them; if it is push they hold it away.
”
Do you think these immigrants were better off in
America than in Ireland? Explain.
7. Writing Letter Research the Irish Potato Famine.
Write a letter to friends in America that describes life
in Ireland and why you want to join them in America.
Unit 5 Resource Book
• Reteaching Activity, p. 174
A New Spirit of Change 455
SECTION 1
Assess & Reteach
ASSESSMENT ANSWERS
Terms & Names
1. “push” factor, p. 452; “pull” factor, p. 452;
Know-Nothing Party, p. 455
Using Your Reading Notes
2. Possible Answers: Immigrants included
Germans, Scandinavians, Irish, Chinese,
French, English, and Swiss. They came to
find land, to find jobs, to open businesses,
to escape famine and political or religious
oppression, and to improve their lives.
Key Ideas
3. cramped living spaces, disease, poverty, crime,
prejudice
4. Cities grew rapidly, creating overcrowding,
poor sanitation, the spread of disease, a strain
on city services, and an increase in crime.
Critical Thinking
5. It is likely that immigrants took courage in the
hope that a better life in America was more
than worth the hardship of traveling there.
6. Possible Answers: These railroad workers were
worse off in America than in Ireland because
they had very little and worked at dangerous
jobs.
7. Letters should convey the harsh conditions
that existed during the Irish Potato Famine
and the writer’s hopes for improving his or her
situation in America.
Letter Rubric
Content
Mechanics
4
excellent; addresses all
important points
no errors
3
good; addresses some
important points
few/minor
2
fair; addresses few important
points
several
1
poor; addresses no important
points
many
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• 455