Immigration in the U.S.
I. Waves of Immigration

Colonial Immigration: 1600s - 1700s

“Old” Immigration: 1787-1850

“New” Immigration: 1850-1924
A. Where they came from

Old Immigration

Northern and Western
Europe (Ireland,
Germany, Scandinavia)

New Immigration


Southern and Eastern
Europe (Italy, Poland,
Russia)
East Asia (China,
Japan)
B. Reasons for Immigration



Economic opportunity
Irish: famine
Germans: political
revolution


Italians: economic
opportunity
Russian and Polish
Jews: escape antiSemitism, religious
persecution
C. Areas of Settlement


Irish: Northeastern
cities (Boston, New
York)
Germans and
Scandinavians:
Midwest


Eastern and Southern
Europeans: Eastern
cities, centers of
industry
Asians: West coast
D. Nativism: Belief in the superiority of one’s
home country; desire to restrict immigration and
the rights of immigrants


Know Nothing Party:
discriminated against
Catholics
“Irish need not apply”


Chinese Exclusion Act
– limited Chinese
immigration
Gentlemen’s
Agreement – limited
Japanese immigration
II. Theories of Immigration
“Melting Pot” Theory – people from
various cultures formed a unique
American culture. Individual groups aren’t
easily distinguishable.
 Assimilation – Immigrant cultures
disappeared into an already existing
American culture
 Pluralism (Salad Bowl Theory) –
Groups do not lose their distinctive
characteristics. Each group contributes in
different ways to society.
