Multicultural History
Off to America…
 Millions of immigrants entered the U.S. in the late 19th and early
20th centuries
 Causes
 Famine
 Land shortages
 Religious and political persecution
 Some were “birds of passage,” intending to immigrate only
temporarily to earn money and return home
 Immigration today reflects many of the same causes…
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Sudan (Darfur)
Middle East
Africa
Mexico
Europe
Europeans
 Arrived at Ellis Island (New York)
 1870-1920
 Approximately 20 million
immigrants flooded the U.S.
 Before 1890 most came from western
and northern Europe
 Ireland, England, Scandinavia, etc.
 After 1890 most came from southern
and eastern Europe
 Italy, Austria-Hungary, Russia,
Balkans, Poland, etc.
 Causes:
 Rising population in Europe---400
million
 Land and farm scarcity
 Job scarcity
 Religious persecution
Chinese and Japanese
Arrived at Angel Island (San Francisco)
 1851-1883
 Approximately 300,000 immigrants
 Gold Rush of 1849 ---Chinese came
to make their fortunes
 Helped build the transcontinental
railroad-connected the east and west
 After completion of the railroad
most turned to farming, mining, and
domestic services
 1884
 Approximately 200,000 immigrants
 Hawaiian planters were allowed to
recruit Japanese workers
 United States annexation of Hawaii
in 1898 led to an increased number
of Japanese immigrants to America
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The West Indies and Mexico
 1880-1920
 Approximately 260,000 immigrants
 Arrived in eastern and southeast U.S.
 Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and other islands
 Came to the U.S. because jobs were scarce and the U.S.
was in the middle of an industrial boom
 Early 1900s
 700,000 immigrants (7% Mexico’s entire population)
 Mexicans arrived to work on newly created farmland
and political/social upheavals in Mexico
Hardships
 Faced many adjustments to
culture
 Trip from Europe took 1 week
 Trip from Asia took nearly 3
weeks
 Many traveled in steerage, the
cheapest accommodations
 Crammed into small areas with
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many other travelers
Rarely allowed on deck
Louse-infested beds
Shared toilets with many others
Disease spread quickly and
many died
Once Admitted to the Country…
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Find a place to live
Get a job
Get along in daily life without
understanding the language
and culture
Search out those who shared
common culture, religion,
language and values
Pool money with those people
and build churches or
synagogues and create social
clubs
Publish newspaper in native
language
Deal with hatred and
prejudice from natives
Restrictions on Immigration
 Many natives (born in America) viewed the country as a
melting pot, where the old language and customs are
abandoned to blend with American culture
 new immigrants did not wish to abandon their native
customs, enraging the natives
 Nativism-overt favoritism toward American-born citizens
Anti-Asian Sentiment
 Native-born workers feared Chinese immigrants would
take jobs, accepting lower wages
Multicultural History
Urban Opportunities
 Technological/industrial boom of the 19th century led
to rapid growth of the cities
 Immigrants settled in cities
 Cheap and convenient places to live
 Offered unskilled laborers steady jobs
 By 1910 immigrants made up more than half the total
population of 18 major American cities
 Americanization Movement
 Designed to assimilate people of wide-ranging cultures
into the dominant culture (AMERICAN)
 Schools and volunteers taught immigrants skills needed
for citizenship
Urban Problems
 Housing
 Tenements (multi-family urban
dwellings) were often over
crowded and unsanitary
 Transportation
 Transportation meant to move
large numbers of people along
fixed routes
 Water
 Little to no access to safe water
 Sanitation
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Horse manure
Sewage
fowl smoke into the air
trash
 Crime
 Pickpockets and thieves
 Fire
Reform
 Settlement House
Movement
 Settlement Houses
 Community centers that
provided assistance to
people
 Educational, cultural, and
social services
 Social Gospel
 Salvation through service
to the poor and unable
 Jane Addams
 One of the lead reformers
at Chicago’s Hull House