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Logan J. Viet
English IV
Ms. Froiland
30 September 2010
Immigration in America from 1880s-1930s
On a clear brisk day in 1892, the immigration offices opened at Ellis Island in New York
Harbor and the first immigrants walked through halls of the Main Building. Soon over 12 million
more immigrants would take the same journey through Ellis Island. This journey would lead
many of the immigrants through several series of tests for infectious and mental diseases. For the
poor souls that did not pass the series of tests, were homeward bound. Some of the immigrants
were weeded out by the national government, but millions more would pass the tests and began
to settle in their new lives as American citizens. They were just as varied as Americans are so
were these immigrants. In the late 1890s to the early 1920s, America’s population was booming
with immigrants from across the world; they went to several different regions for many different
reasons.
To thousands of immigrants coming from every continent and every corner of the earth,
America was a fresh start, a new beginning, or a shining light through troubled times. They came
from Eastern Europe, to China and even some from south of the border. Some took the journey
by foot while others ferried their way to vast wildernesses known as America. These vast
wildernesses are what many immigrants faced when starting their new lives.
Many of the immigrants moved to the immensely urban wildernesses of the major cities,
such as New York or Philadelphia, others headed towards the high plains for farming the fertile
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soil or some even headed west in search of their fortunes in the Sierra Nevada’s beautiful, yet
treacherous, terrain. With these locations in mind, they set off on a journey to build their lives in
new settings. Even though they came from different places, they all intermixed to help build the
United States of America as we see it today.
Several immigrants were Scandinavians or people from Scandinavia. Scandinavia is a
mountainous region in Northern Europe that has several countries within this region including:
Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and Finland. It is a region known for being treacherous
both in landscape and in temperature. The people there were mainly farmers or fisherman, which
the society circled around. Eventually this place that the people called home was abandoned by
the few souls who wandered their way to the shores of the United States.
In these countries, according to the Minnesota State University’s History Department,
there were several factors for their citizens picking up and leaving everything behind. For
instance in Sweden, during the 1880s, there were several laws passed that forced young men to
serve into the military. To avoid this, many young men went to America. The Norwegians had
been exposed to some endorsements for the United States with several poster and flyers
advertising the Homestead Act.
With the help of these endorsements the Scandinavians came in great numbers. These
numbers of people ended up all over the country, but the majority of them settled in certain parts
of the Midwest. These major settlements were primarily in Minnesota and Illinois (Strachan).
The Germans came to America, like the Scandinavians, in great masses. As they poured
out of Germany, a country in central Europe that has flat terrain, the country was an economic
powerhouse, but it still had strict regulations on religion, military involvement, and taxation.
With more taxation, people had less money and fell into poverty, and with the rising population,
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the resources were becoming scarce and expensive. This put even more of a financial burden on
the Germans. On top of the escalading expenses and the few resources, the jobs were becoming
scarce. With the job pickings skim it just further push the migration to America The Germans
had several reasons to leave. With political upheaval and religious persecution running rampant
in Germany, America had a certain draw towards it. The First World War had deepened the hole
in which Germany stood. The other European countries were demanding reparations for the
trouble the war caused and put Germany under more stress. The reparations had pushed
Germany into enormous amount of debt causing inflation to drop the value of the German
Mark’s to virtually worthless. This last threat, had thousands fleeing the country.
They left Germany and headed towards the United States with their bag packed with all
their precious belongings and memories of the Deutschland. They mostly headed towards the
plains, along with the Scandinavians, but a few German immigrants stayed on the East Coast.
Being one of the first helped them infuse more German Culture in today’s society. They
have placed several German Heritage Festivals around the world. That infusion, which is still
relevant today, had shaped America the way it is today. For example, German heritage is
celebrated around the United States with Oktoberfest, which is a celebration of a German prince
and princess’s marriage, but today, in America, it represents pride in German heritage and
culture.
Unlike the Germans, the Belgians and Luxembourgers never had a mass migration to the
United States. But some did come and brought with them their values of living life to the fullest.
This is a staple in American society today, as people always say this motto.
The Dutch lived in region known as the Netherlands. The Netherlands is a small country
in Western Europe. It has a low landscape with much of the country being under sea level. The
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Dutch are full of culture and they basically revolve around the sea. It has three major rivers
running north into the North Sea. Dikes, earthen embankments made around the 900 A.D. that
hold the North Sea back, follow the coastline down into Belgium and up into Germany. This
Geography made it difficult for people to live in large populations. They had some difficulties
with the waves washing up at their feet all the time, the Netherlands was cursed with treacherous
floods and howling hurricanes. These were tiresome and drew many people from the country.
According to Immigrating to USA: Dutch Immigration, over 340,000 Dutch immigrants
traveled to America within 1820-1900; in those days in the Netherlands, being the world’s most
densely populated country, were over-capacitated with people, animals, and buildings. Not
having enough resources to fuel this prosperous country, the Dutch government encouraged
people to immigrate not only to America but, also, to anywhere that would decrease the
population.
Being among the first to colonize North America, the people of the British Isles also
known as Great Britain, an island have had a long history of immigration to America. America
was one of these many colonies, but has been independent from Great Britain since 1776. With
Britain being only an island, there were limited resources and space for growth. This prompted
the people of Great Britain to emigrate out of Great Britain and into the United States.
The Irish had come to the United States in the late 1800s and by the early twentieth
century they had already left their mark with perseverance and hard work. Their hard work led to
one of the United States’s greatest achievement, the continental railroad, a rail road running from
coast to coast. This railroad took years to complete and cost the United States millions of dollars,
and hundreds of lives, to complete. The Irish helped build US’s first fast transportation route that
connected California with the rest of the US. They not only helped create the railroads but they
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helped create many national icons still seen today such as the Statue of Liberty—it was
assembled by a group of mainly Irish workers.
Several Asian immigrants made their way through Angel Island in San Francisco Bay in
California. Almost none, if any, went through Ellis Island, Angel Island’s sister immigration
depot in New York City. Since most Asian Immigrants went through Angel Island in California,
many of them settled there and created their own separate districts, such as Chinatown in San
Francisco, which has the appearance of Asian architecture. In these districts there are certain
people who only speak Asian Languages and little or no English. With so many Asian
immigrants in one place, there was no need to learn a new language. This was truly a haven for
new Asian immigrants.
This haven for Asian immigrants was changing quickly; in 1882 the Chinese Exclusion
Act had shown that the growing fears of the immigrants taking over America. With that they
thought that immigrants would be bringing disease, pestilence, and foreign espionage. This led to
natural born citizens to repent immigrants. An example of this for the Chinese would be after the
Great Earthquake of 1906 in San Francisco. The town’s council put up racial charters saying that
Chinese could not rebuild in the city limits, but today we know that they did not succeed with
this because of the vibrant district of San Francisco’s world-renowned Chinatown.
The Asians did come in numbers, as well as the Scandinavians, Germans, and
Beneluxians, but the Italians take the gold as far as numbers are concerned; the Italians had over
four and a half million people uproot their lives to come to the United States (Ellis Island
Foundation). They mainly stayed in the bigger cities of Chicago or New York and their suburbs.
They had several reasons to leave the lovely Italia; one of the major one was Mussolini, a
fascist Italian dictator, who had taken control of Italy during the march on Rome that caused
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several riots. After Mussolini gained control of the Italian government in 1922, he suppressed
political parties, almost completely killed the freedom of the press, and placed Fascist bosses in
charge of towns (Linda Miners). With this happening in just a few short years they yearned for
political freedoms.
Several other ethnicities immigrated to the United States other than the Scandinavians;
the people of Benelux, and Germans; the British Islanders; and the Eastern Asians. There were
Hispanics, Russians, Austrians, Yugoslavians, Hungarians, Greeks, Polish, etc. These ethnicities
came later throughout the twentieth century than the ones previously mentioned. These
immigrants came during the 1910s-1940s but still brought their customs and values with them.
Several Hispanics came in great masses but most of them did not travel the same way the
Europeans or Asians did, they came on horseback or on foot. Their journey was through the
American Southwest or through the Gulf of Mexico. Hispanics are the people from Mexico,
Guatemala, Peru, Cuba, Dominican Republic, or any other Spanish speaking country. The
Mexicans mainly traveled on foot while the Cubans and Peruvians sailed their way to America.
They had mainly lived in Southern United States but now the Hispanic community is found in all
fifty states and a primary part of our work force.
The Eastern European immigrants were mainly immigrated to the United States either
from the Anti-Semantic groups or from Soviet’s religious suppression. Many Eastern European
immigrants were Russians, Polish, people of Slavic decent, Austrians. In this time many
Catholics, people of the Jewish faith, and eastern Europeans came to America. They came to be
relieved of racism, Anti-Semitisms or to flee war torn countrysides.
The immigrants have had their trials to become part of the American culture. They have
seemed to strive to have a better life; while some of them did, many of them had found that
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America had comparable problems to their homeland. But they overcame the harsh nature of
early twentieth century America and lined the way to a bright future for American citizens.
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Annotated Work Cited
Bryant, Joyce. “Immigration in the United States.” Yale-New Haven Teacher’s Institute. YaleNew Haven Teachers Institute, 2010. Web. 20 September 2010.
This article has a different perspective than the articles below; it explains immigration
and defines how it happened throughout history. It seems to focus on immigration from
the 1890’s to the 1920’s. The perspectives on this article can be use to counteract or have
pros and cons of immigration.
“Danish Immigration.” Immigrating to the USA. Text. 19 October 2010.
This article shows me how and when the Danish came to America. It brings new light to
how they got America and how they lived in Scandinavia.
---. “Dutch Immigration.” Immigrating to the USA. Text. 29 April 2010.
This article helps me view the time line of Dutch immigration. It also helps me to see the
effect of the Dutch on Shaping America. The article helps me get other influences.
“Ellis Island.” Liberty: Ellis Island: The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation. Web. 5 May
2010.
This article shows me when the immigrants from all backgrounds started coming to
America. It also shows me how the laws stopped immigrants from over taking much of
the population.
Hirschman, Charles. “The Impact of Immigration on American Society: Looking Backwards
Towards the Future.” Border Battles: The U.S. Immigration Debates.Web. 25 October
2010.
This article helps me see into different cultures impact on America. It allows me to see t
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"Immigration in the early 1900s.” EyeWitness to History: History through the Eyes who lived
Ibis Communications, Inc, 2000. Web. 17 September 2010.
This site shares information about difficulties that the immigrants had at immigration
places such as Ellis Island or Angel Island. It explains the procedures and the practices of
the immigration officials.
Mines, Linda. “Italy and the Rise of Mussolini.” Web. 27 October 2010.
<http://staff.gps.edu/mines/Age%20of%20Anxiety%20%20Rise%20of%20Mussolini.ht
m>.
This site shows what the Italians faced at home and helps me see the big the big picture
why they left. This article also shows how Mussolini rule Italy with fist. It also shows
where they went.
Pelo, June. “Immigrant’s Journey.” Web. 29 September 2010.
<http://sydaby.eget.net/swe/journey.htm>.
This online article lets me see the statics for the 1910 US census. The census shows how
many immigrants were in a particular state and where they were originally from. This
also shows what everyday life immigrants in America during the time around 1910.
“The Seeds of Evil: the Rise of Hitler.” Schools History. Web. 19 October 2010.
This article shows me how the German economy was during and after WWI. It also
shows what happened after the economy fell.
Strachan, Dr. Richard. Swedish Immigration. Web. 19 October 2010.
<http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/history/mnstatehistory/swedish_migration.html >.
This article allows me to go in to detail where they went and how they got there. It also
shows some ordeals they went through in the Midwest.
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---. Norwegian Immigration. Web. 19 October 2010.
<http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/history/mnstatehistory/german_migration.html >.
This allows incite into how Norwegian American lived and where they live. This also
allows me to see into the lives of certain individuals who went through these troubles.
---. German Immigration. Web. 19 October 2010.
<http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/history/mnstatehistory/norwegian_migration.html >.
This website allows me to see into more detail about where the Germans went and their
practices after they came to America. It also shows me how they traveled to America.
This article was a good source
“Swedish Immigration to North America.” Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center:
Augustana College, Rock Island Illinois. Web. 19 October 2010.
This shows me how and when the people came to America. It also allows me to view
their side of the story versus textbooks.