DBQ Main Idea: Immigrants in America
Thesis: Immigrants from across the world flocked to the United States and faced many new hardships.
Chapter 15 Section 1 Part 1
I.
II.
Europeans Flood to the US
A. By the 1800s, more than half of the immigrants in the US were from eastern and southern
Europe.
1. Most were Italian, Greek, Russian, and Slavik.
2. Many immigrants came to the US due to the number of jobs available and few immigration
restrictions.
3. Many immigrants moved due to forced military service in their home countries and from
religious persecution, mostly faced by Jews in Russia and Poland.
B. Getting to America was a difficult voyage for many immigrants.
1. Most had to book their way through steerage, a basic and cheap steamboat ride across the
Atlantic.
2. After a 14-day voyage, European immigrants would reach Ellis Island ford processing into
their new home.
3. One in five immigrants would be marked as having a physical condition and set back to
Europe.
4. Jacob Riis, a Danish-born journalist, created a map detailing where people of certain
nationalities lived in New York City.
Asian Immigration to America
A. During the mid 1800s, Chinese immigration into the United States peaked.
1. At this time, China was suffering from severe unemployment, poverty, and famine.
2. In 1850, the Taiping Rebellion in China took the lives of nearly 20 million which increased
Chinese immigration in the US.
B. Japanese immigration was also increasing throughout the 1800s.
1. Much of the emigration was caused by economic hardships faced by Japan during this time.
C. Most Asian immigrants to America were accommodated at Angel Island in California.
QARS—
Where were immigrants processed when they came to New York? Ellis Island
What ratio of immigrants was sent back to Europe due to physical conditions? One in five
What event in China led to Chinese immigrating to America? The Taiping Rebellion
Chapter 15 Section 1 Part 2
III.
A Resurgence of Nativism
A. Many Americans had feelings of nativism about the increased number of immigrants into the
country.
1. Nativism is an extreme dislike for immigrants by American-born people.
2. Anti-immigrant feelings focused on Asians, Jews, and eastern Europeans.
B. Some Americans even created groups against immigration.
1. One group, the American Protective Association, had 500,000 members in 1887.
2. In the west, an Irish immigrant Denis Kearney, created the Workingman’s Party of
California which was against Chinese immigration.
C. While many presidents stopped short of banning immigration, eventually some legislation was
passed to limit immigration.
1. In 1882, the United States banned convicts, paupers, and the mentally challenged from
entering the US.
2. Congress also passed the Chinese Exclusion Act which banned Chinese immigration to the
US for 10 years and prevented Chinese immigrants from becoming citizens.
QARS—
What groups of people were banning from immigrating to the US? Convicts, paupers, and the mentally
challenged.
What did Congress pass which banned Chinese immigration? Chinese Exclusion Act
What groups did most Americans have anti-immigrant feelings about? Jews, Asians, and eastern Europeans
Key terms:
 Steerage
 Ellis Island
 Jacob Riis
 Angel Island
 Nativism
 American Protective Association
 Chinese Exclusion Act