Immigration and urbanization

Contributed by:
Steve
This booklet helps students to learn about the concepts of immigration and urbanization.
1. IMMIGRATION AND
URBANIZATION
2. New Immigrants
 New Immigrants= Southern and Eastern Europeans
during 1870s until WWI.
 Came from Ireland, Germany, Italy, Greece, Poland, Hungary
and Russia.
 Often unskilled, poor, Catholic or Jewish, and planning to
save some money to take back home.
 Old Immigrants- Came before the Irish and German
immigrants.
 After 1900, New Immigrants made up 70% of all
immigrants.
 American natives felt threatened by the new
immigrants
3. Immigrants from Europe
Old New New New
4.
5.
6. Old v. New
RELIGION Protestant Catholic and Jewish
North/Western Southern/Eastern
Europe Europe
Both escaping poverty, religious and political
REASONS persecution
Moved to farms Moved to cities in
the in the Midwest Northeast
OCCUPATION Became farmers Unskilled workers
7. Push Factors
Push Factors= Things that force/“push”
people out of a place or land.
 Drought or famine
 Political revolutions or wars
 Religious persecution
 Economic struggles
8. Push Factors
1880s- Farmers had a difficult time in
Mexico, Poland, and China.
1840s- many wars and political revolutions
in China and Eastern Europe which caused
economic troubles.
Russian and Eastern European Jews faced
religious persecution and fled to the U.S. for
safety.
9. Pull Factors
Pull Factors= Things that attract people
to a place or land.
 Plentiful Land
 Employment
 Religious Freedom
 Political Freedom
 New Life
10. Pull Factors
1862 Homestead Act and aid from railroad
companies made western farmland
inexpensive.
Workers were recruited from homelands to
build railroads, dig mines, or work in factories.
Many wanted to find gold.
Chain immigrants= come to be with family or
friends who had gone before to start new lives.
11. Journey to America
Many immigrants could barely afford a
ticket to come to the U.S.
They could only pack what they could carry.
(Clothes, photograph, tools for their trade)
Many would wait in line for hours to try to
get on a ship and in many cases it was very
dangerous to do this.
12. Journey to America
Steerage= Where most immigrants traveled
on the ship.
Steerage was located on the lowest decks
of the ship with no private cabins, and was
dirty and crowded.
Seasickness was an issue in rough weather
and illnesses spread quickly in the lower
decks.
13.
14.
15. Immigrants Arrive in
America
2 ports of entry into the U.S.
 Ellis Island- New York City
 Angel Island- San Francisco Bay
To enter the ports immigrants had to be
healthy and show they had money, a skill, or a
sponsor to provide for them.
They had to go through a series of health tests
and evaluations and could possibly be sent
back to their homeland if they did not meet
proper guidelines..
16. Ellis Island
was built in
1892 as the
1st
“Immigration
Center”
Later, closed
in the 1940s
Today it is a
museum.
•The goal was to “screen” immigrants coming from Europe.
•Immigrants took physical examinations and were held at Ellis Island before they
were released to the US mainland.
17. Ellis Island
 Most European immigrants came through here. (NYC)
 1st and 2nd class passengers were inspected on the ship
then released.
 3rd class had to go in to be inspected.
 A series of medical and legal inspections would take
place before you were allowed to take a ferry in to the
city.
 Ellis Island was the more welcoming of the two ports.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22. Angel Island
 Most Chinese and Asian immigrants came through here
(San Francisco Bay)
 Opened in 1910.
 Made it very hard for Chinese immigrants to come into the
U.S.
 Most had to prove they were American citizens to be let in.
 Immigrants were sometimes left here for days or weeks in
poor conditions.
23.
24.
25. Immigrants Assimilate Into
Society
Assimilate = to fit in.
Most immigrants stayed in cities and lived in
ethnic neighborhoods called ghettos.
These neighborhoods would share the same
language, religion, and culture.
By 1890 many cities had a huge immigrant
population. 4/5 people in NYC were
immigrants.
26. Assimilation
Americanization = helping newcomers
learn American ways. (Language, customs,
dress, and diet)
In many cities Americanization institutions
arose to help immigrants fit in.
America became known as the “Melting
Pot”.
Immigrants usually stuck with their native
cultures but children of immigrants were
more likely to adopt American ways.
27. Immigrants Face Hostility
 Nativism = belief that native born white Americans
were superior to immigrants.
 Competition for jobs and homes often fueled
resentment and religious and cultural differences
caused tensions as well.
 Chinese Exclusion Act = 1882 Prohibited
immigration by Chinese laborers, limited civil rights
of immigrants in America, and forbade
naturalization of Chinese residents.
 A later ruling said the Chinese who were already in
America were considered U.S. citizens.
28. Chinese Exclusion Act
• Resentment and
discrimination
against the
Chinese.
• First law to
restrict
immigration.
• Taking away jobs
from Nativists
29. Congress also passed another act that
prohibited the entry of anyone who was a
criminal, immoral, or someone who
handicapped.
These were the beginnings of immigration
restriction in America.
A quota act is later going to be placed on
how many immigrants can come to the U.S.
from a given country.
30. Immigrants Change America
Immigrants changed America in many ways.
 Fueled industrial growth
 Acquired citizenship
 Elected politicians
 Made their traditions a part of American culture.
 Mexican Americans developed ranching techniques.
 Chinese, Irish, and Mexican workers built railroads.
 Immigrants worked in coal mines, steel and textile
mills, and factories.
 Women immigrants worked in factories,
seamstresses, laundresses, made piecework, and
worked as servants.
 Immigrants helped the U.S. become a world power.