IMMIGRATION AND
URBANIZATION
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
Immigrants from Europe
Old
New
New
New
Old
v.
New
RELIGION
Protestant
Catholic and Jewish
BIRTHPLACE
North/Western
Europe
Southern/Eastern Europe
REASONS
Both escaping poverty, religious and political
persecution
DESTINATION
OCCUPATION
Moved to farms
Midwest
Moved to cities in the in the
Northeast
Became farmers
Unskilled workers
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
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.
Pull Factors
 Pull Factors= Things that attract people to a place
or land.
 Plentiful Land
 Employment
 Religious Freedom
 Political Freedom
 New Life
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.
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.
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.
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..
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Chinese Exclusion Act
• Resentment and
discrimination
against the
Chinese.
• First law to restrict
immigration.
• Taking away jobs
from Nativists
 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.
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.