2.19.08
Chapter 6, Section 2: The New Americans
p. 140
* Most immigrants lived in poverty and oppression in their native lands
* ex: Russian Jews (& Armenians – Ottoman Empire – p. 141)
* for immigrants, America represented future
* most arrived poor, but determined
p. 141
p. 142
p. 143
The New Immigration
 two waves of immigration
o 1st: 1800-1880 (“old immigration”)
 Protestants mostly from n. & w. Eur.: GB, Ire, Sweden
 farmers, overcrowded, settled in Midwest and Great Plains
nd
* 2 : 1880s to early 1900s (“new immigration”)
 mostly Catholic and Jewish from s. & e. Eur.: Italy, Greece,
Poland, Russia
 new immigrants went from 5 to 75% of imm. by early 1900s
 factors for increase in immigration:
o emigration laws relaxed
o regular steamship service made trip quicker and cheaper
o letters from friends and relatives
 ½ of imm. came to U.S. – rest went to Canada, Argentina, and Australia / New
Zealand (Brits & Irish)
The Immigrant Experience
 most were excited, but scared and anxious
* tough trip – cramped in steerage (lowest deck), seasick, disease, few clothes, no
money
o ex: 16 yr. old Serb – hugged smokestack to keep warm
 most landed in New York City (Ellis Island st. 1892)
o medical exams, asked Qs
o convicts, diseased, and some others deported
 new imm. stayed in cities – jobs avail., farmland taken, cities had imm.
neighborhoods (helped transition)
* sharp generational differences – kids adapted easier to Am.
* parents thought kids disrespecting old ways
* kids thought parents too stuck to old country
* Aid groups existed to help imm.
* Mutual Aid societies (ex: Sons of Italy): helped find jobs, pd. for burials,
made loans
* churches and synagogues, esp. parochial schools (run by religious)
Help From the Bosses
 bosses: headed political machines – small groups that controlled the elections
and politics of a city (usually pretty corrupt)
 but bosses provided help when nobody else would and got things to work in a
city
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p. 145
The Nativist Reaction
 Nativism – hostility from native-born Americans
 been around for a while (“Know-Nothing Party”) but came back to life after
1880s
 most of the fear econ.-based: steal jobs, poor conditions
o no clear proof that ever happened
o still same fears today
 also claimed would take money and go back to old country – rarely happened
 other fear based on social issues, esp. religion
* felt Catholics and Jews would take away from being “American”
o used ghettos as proof of inability to mix
 groups formed to fight immigration (American Protective Assoc.)
 racial prejudice, too, esp. ag. Chinese
o efforts to restrict imm., esp. by Congress in late 1800s
o most of these bills vetoed by Pres. Cleveland
Building Modern America
 imm. played imp. roles in U.S. industries (mills, garments, coal)
 more imp. – broadened what we call “American” in our culture (actors,
restaurants)
o ex: Irving Berlin (Russian Jew) wrote “God Bless America”