Unit VI – A Growing
America
Chapter 20
Section 1 – New Wave of
Immigration
The Impact of Immigrants on
the United States



Video- 4:21
Question: Why do you think the United
States had stricter immigration regulations for
Asian Immigrants?
Answers vary; The United States had a
history of predominantly European Settlers,
and so Asian immigrants may have seemed
unfamiliar to Americans during the first major
waves of immigration.
Immigrants – 1:06
The Statue of Liberty: A Symbol of Friendship and Freedom (04:27)
A New Wave of Immigration
The Big Idea
A new wave of immigration in the late 1800s brought large
numbers of immigrants to the United States.
Main Ideas
• U.S. immigration patterns changed during the late 1800s
as new immigrants arrived from Europe, Asia, and Mexico.
• Immigrants worked hard to adjust to life in the United
States.
• Some Americans opposed immigration and worked to
restrict it.
Main Idea 1:
U.S. immigration patterns changed during the
late 1800s as new immigrants arrived from
Europe, Asia, and Mexico.
Old Immigrants
New Immigrants
• Arrived before 1880s
• Came after 1880
• Mostly from Britain,
Germany, Ireland, and
Scandinavia
• From southern and eastern
Europe; included Czechs,
Greeks, Hungarians,
Italians, Poles, Russians,
and Slovaks
• Mostly Protestants, but
some Roman Catholics
• Many were skilled workers.
• Some settled in rural areas
and became farmers.
• Diverse cultures and
religious backgrounds.
• Wanted job opportunities
in cities
New Immigrants – A Nation of
Immigrants




1800-1880- more that 10 million immigrants“Old Immigrants”- from Northern and Western
Europe.
1880-1910- some 18 million immigrants- “New
Comers”- from Southern and Eastern Europe,
including Catholics, Orthodox and Jewish faiths.
Severe immigration laws limited East Asia.
1910- one out of every seven Americans was
foreign born.
19th-Century Immigration (04:16)
Irish Potato Famine and Immigration to America – 1:36
Changing Patterns of Immigration



What areas of Europe did old immigrants
come from ?
Some people imagined that their lives in the
United States would be ideal Once they
arrived, how do you think their opinion might
have changed?
What kind of character would people need to
face the hardships of immigration?
Journey to America
Immigrants faced a difficult journey, usually traveling in
steerage, the area below the ship’s deck.
New arrivals had to go to immigration processing centers
run by state and local governments.
Officials in processing centers interviewed immigrants to
determine whether to let them enter the country.
Some immigrants were kept at processing centers for weeks or
months while officials investigated their families. Detained
Immigration Centers
East Coast
• Ellis Island in New
York Harbor was the
busiest East Coast
center.
• Opened in 1892
• Millions of immigrants
came through its
center over the next
40 years.
• Less than 2% of
arrivals were denied
entrance into the
country.
West Coast
South
• Angel Island near
San Francisco
• El Paso, Texas had
the main
processing center
for immigrants
from Mexico.
• Opened in 1910
• Entrance for
many Chinese
immigrants
• By law, only
Chinese whose
fathers were U.S.
citizens were
allowed into the
country.
• Most settled in the
Southwest.
• Found work in
construction, steel
mills, mines, and
on large
commercial farms
Ellis Island
Angel Island
Main Idea 2:
Immigrants worked hard to adjust to
life in the United States.

Many immigrants moved into neighborhoods with others from
the same country. Ghetto




They could hear their own language, eat familiar foods, and keep
their customs.
Business owners often helped new arrivals by offering credit
and loans.
Some communities formed benevolent societies to help
immigrants in cases of sickness, unemployment, or death.
Many immigrants lived in tenements—poorly built,
overcrowded apartments.
Immigrant Workers






Many immigrants were farmers in their homelands, but had to
find jobs in cities in the United States.
Had to take low-paying, unskilled jobs in garment or steel
factories and construction
Some worked long hours for little pay in small shops or mills called
sweatshops.
Immigrants with appropriate skills sometimes found work in a
wide range of occupations.
Others saved, shared, or borrowed money to open small
businesses.
Some Mexican immigrants worked on large commercial farms in
Arizona, Texas, and California.
Adjusting to a New Life



Tell why people might want to move
into neighborhoods with others from
the same country?
How might loaning money to
immigrants have helped the economy?
What kinds of businesses did
immigrants open?
Adjusting to a New Life



How do the Asian Americans pictured on
page 640 on the right appear different from
those on the left?
Why do you think new immigrants often
opened the same types of businesses as
earlier immigrants from the same country had
opened?
How might you feel about your job if you
worked as a thread trimmer in a shirtwaist
factory?
Main Idea 3:
Some Americans opposed immigration and
worked to restrict it.

Anti-immigrant feelings grew with increases in immigration.


Americans called nativists held racial and ethnic
prejudices.



Some unions feared immigrants would take away jobs.
Thought new immigrants would not learn American customs, which might
harm American society

Some were violent toward immigrants.

Some nativists advocated laws limiting immigration.
Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882.
Later laws were passed restricting convicts, immigrants
with certain diseases, and those likely to need public
assistance from entering the country.
Coming to America






Reasons to immigrate- Political, Economic and Religious
Ellis Island, New York Harbor- in 62 years over 12 million
came through
Angel Island, San Francisco Bay- newcomers from Asia.
Hardships in America- crowded tenements, low paying
unskilled jobs, ghettos.
Ethnic neighborhoods tried to keep their cultures alive and
build communities.
Prejudice


Nativists- American Natives who blamed immigrants for
increases in crime and poverty. Stealing American jobs.
Chinese Exclusion Act- 1882- banned Chineses immigration
for 10 years.
Some Nativists wanted literacy tests to determine the ability
to read. This Act was approved over President Wilson’s veto.
Opposition to Immigration


During which time period was there
great industrial growth in the United
States?
In what ways did the new wave of
immigrants contribute to the
development of America?