US History & Government
Immigration
Terms to Know:
Nativism
Assimilation
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Melting-Pot Theory
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Cultural Pluralism __________________________________________________________________________
Quota
Naturalization
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“Old” and “New” Immigration
Use the data on the next page to compare “old” and “new” immigration
Old Immigration
New Immigration
Document #1- Timeline
1800
1820
1840
1860
1880
1900
“Old Immigration”
1920
“New Immigration”
Document 2 – Origins of Immigrant Population
“OLD IMMIGRATION”
“NEW IMMIGRATION”
Document #3 - Labor Force and Employment by Industry
(numbers in thousands of persons 10 yrs and over)
YEAR
1820
1860
1880
1920
AGRICULTURE MANUFACTURING
Number not Available
2,470
5,880
1,530
8.920
3,290
10,790
11,190
TRADE
Number not Available
890
1,930
5,845
DOMESTIC SERVICE
110
600
1,130
1,660
Document #4 - Percentage of Males and Children Under 15 Among Immigrants
YEAR
MALES %
CHILDREN %
1845
57.7
21.8
1855
58.8
23.0
1900
67.8
14.1
1910
70.7
11.6
Document #5 - Immigration Totals by Decade from Europe
Decade
Number of
Immigrants
1830-1839
1850-1859
1870-1879
1890-1899
1910-1919
538,381
2,814,554
2,742,287
3,694,294
6,347,380
Reaction to “New” Immigration
Why do you think that “New” Immigrants faced more opposition native born Americans than “Old” immigrants?
Reaction against Immigration
Year
Know Nothing Party
1850’s
Chinese Exclusion Act
1882
“Gentlemen’s Agreement”
1907
Literacy Tests
1917
Emergency Quota Act
1921
National Origins Act
1924
Definition
“New” Immigration - Why did they immigrate to the United States?
The following are quotes from 20th century immigrants:
“The main reason was bread. There was always bread in America.”
“Life in America was better. There was always work in America.”
“I never went to an American school, but I insisted that my children attend university in the United States.’
“I have a scar where a Russian soldier struck me with his sword when I was three years old.”
“During the pogrom, my collarbone was broken and the back of my head still bears a scar.”
“I wanted to go to America for freedom of speech. I was afraid to express myself in Europe.”
“It did not seem reasonable for me to serve the Czar in the army for four years under the conditions that existed.”
“I thought America was a wonderful place. There was no royalty – everyone was equal and had political freedom.”
Below categorize the reasons why people emigrated to the US in the late 19th Century
Social
Political
Economic
A Few Famous (or Infamous) Immigrants: Albert Einstein; John Jacob Astor; Alexander G. Bell; Andrew
Carnegie; Patrick Kennedy; Enrico Fermi; Rudolph Valentino; Al Capone; Irving Berlin; Greta Garbo