CH. 15-1 NEW IMMIGRANTS
AMERICAN HISTORY
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The USA is a nation of immigrants
Native Americans are the only people that did
not come from somewhere else
THE OLD IMMIGRANTS
1800-1880-- >10,000,000 immigrants
These people were known as the old
immigrants
Most came from Northern & Western Europe
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United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany,
Sweden, Norway, China
Reasons: political turmoil, economic
opportunity, religious freedom
THE NEW IMMIGRANTS
1880-1910—18,000,000 new immigrants
Southern and Eastern Europe
Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Polish,
Russian, Slovak
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These immigrants were not Protestant Christians
Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, Jew
Also Arabs, Armenian, and French Canadians
Smaller numbers from East Asia
Japanese immigrants were beginning to appear
1885—Japanese work on sugar plantations in
Hawaii
1904—10,000 Japanese lived in the USA
1910—1 in 12 Americans had been born in a
foreign country
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DESIRE FOR A BETTER LIFE
John F. Kennedy—Irish American—elected in
1961 –wrote a book “A Nation of Immigrants”
“There were probably as many reasons for
coming to America as there were people who
came.”
THE JOURNEY TO AMERICA
The decision to come involved the entire family
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The father or eldest son would usually come first
The family would pool their resources to buy his
passage on a ship
After arriving, the person would work, save his
money, buy prepaid tickets and send them back
for other family members
Getting to the departure point was an adventure
Train, wagon, or foot
Might have to wait weeks for a ship to leave
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US Immigration Law 1893
Get approval from steamship company
Provide identifying information
Have at least $30 in cash
Indicate if they had been to prison, a
poorhouse, or mental institution
Immigrants needed to pass a medical exam
Immigrants were then vaccinated, disinfected
and then allowed on board
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ELLIS ISLAND
US Government opened an immigration station in
1892 @ Ellis Island in New York harbor
Open until 1954 (62 years)—112 million
immigrants passed through this station
Immigrants had to pass inspection before being
allowed to enter the USA
Inspectors examined 1st or 2nd class passengers
aboard ship
All others had to pass through Ellis Island
Inspection process took about 5 hours
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ANGEL ISLAND
1910—newcomers in the west processed at an
island in San Francisco bay
Mainly Chinese—were detained for weeks or
months waiting for decision about whether
they could stay
BUILDING URBAN COMMUNITIES
Most immigrants settled in crowded cities
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Cities became a patchwork of ethnic clusters (p.
492)
Churches and synagogues created to practice
religious faith
BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES—aid organizations
to help immigrants
Members would contribute money each month
and then could receive financial help if they
were too sick to work
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Immigrant labor kept factories running and
helped build cities
Native-born Americans saw immigrants as a
threat to society
Some thought newcomers were too different to
fit in
Others blamed immigrants for crime, poverty,
violence
Immigrants accepted lower wages for their
work
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LIMITING CHINESE IMMIGRATION
Many people tolerated Chinese workers but
did not welcome them
1873-the economy worsens
Americans blame Chinese immigrants for
taking away jobs
Late 1870s-a group of unemployed workers
organized the Workingmen’s Party of
California
Oppose Chinese immigration
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Leader was Denis Kearney (Irish immigrant)
1879—California adopted a new state constitution
that prohibited Chinese workers from holding
state jobs
Local communities could ban Chinese from their
cities or restrict them to certain districts
CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT OF 1882—banned
Chinese immigration for 10 years
1892—law was renewed
1902—Chinese immigration banned indefinitely
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LIMITING JAPANESE IMMIGRATION
1906—San Francisco school board segregated its
schools
Japanese and white students would attend
separate schools
Japanese government complained to President
Theodore Roosevelt
GENTLEMEN’S AGREEMENT
USA & Japan
Japan agreed not to sent unskilled workers to the
USA and America would not segregate schools
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DETERRING OTHER IMMIGRANTS
Many nativists called for immigrants to pass a
literacy test
The test would be used to keep as many
immigrants out as possible
1917—Congress pass THE LITERACY TEST ACT
over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto
AMERICANIZATION
Some Americans wanted immigrants to assimilate
into society
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Schools and voluntary organizations taught
immigrants English literacy skills and subjects
needed for citizenship such as American
History and Government
THE END