US at the Turn
of the Century
Mexican-Americans
From Rural
Mexico
US Census figures indicate a surge
in the total Mexican American
population from approximately
75,000 in 1890 to an estimated
562,000 in 1900.
Between 1900 and 1910, almost one
million immigrants entered the US
annually.
Between 1900 and 1920, about 1
million Mexicans migrated to the
US.
Mexican Migration

The largest barrio was in Los Angeles. It had a population of 30,000 Mexican born
Americans in 1920, almost three times more than had been there in 1910. Other
popular cities of Mexican migration were San Francisco, El Paso, Chicago, Detroit,
and Philadelphia, and New York.

In the Southwest, many of them came to work in agriculture, the mines and the
railroad. The railroads were recruiting more than a thousand Mexican workers a
month. A farm worker earned between $1 and $1.50 a day. The highest pay was in the
mines were a worker could earn up to $5 a day!
Immigration Numbers
Nativism
 One response to the
growth in immigration
was nativism, or overt
favoritism toward nativeborn Americans. Nativism
gave rise to antiimmigrant groups and led
to a demand for
immigration restrictions.
 Violence and prejudice
against Mexicans and
Mexican Americans were
prevalent in major US
cities in California and
Texas.
History of Nativism
Nativism Today
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit
of Happiness

“Give me your tired, your
poor, your huddled masses
yearning to be free, the
wretched refuse of your
teeming shore. Send these,
the homeless, tempest-tossed
to me, I lift my lamp beside
the golden door!”
Immigration Policies
 The passage of the
Chinese Exclusion Acts
of 1882,1892, and 1902
together with the
Gentlemen’s Agreement
with Japan of 1900 and
1907 reduced and then
eliminated the number of
Chinese and Japanese
immigrating to the US,
increasing the pull of
Mexican workers.

Immigration Act of 1917
placed a literacy test on
immigrants over 16 and
prohibited criminals,
alcoholics, anarchists, and
“idiots” among others from
entering the US.

The Emergency Quota Act
of 1921 also set a limit on
European immigration. In
1924, the National Origins
Act further lower the
number allowed to enter the
US and and prohibit legal
entry to any one of Asian
descent.
Melting Pot vs. Salad Bowl
Melting Pot

According to the Melting
Pot Theory peoples from
various cultures come to
America and contribute
aspects of their culture to
create a new, unique
American culture. The result
is that contributions from
many cultures are
indistinguishable from one
another and are effectively
"melted" together.
Melting Pot vs. Salad Bowl
Salad Bowl

According to the Salad Bowl
Theory there are times when
newly arrived immigrants do
not lose the unique aspects
of their cultures like in the
melting pot model, instead
they retain them. The unique
characteristics of each
culture are still identifiable
within the larger American
society.
Assimilation
 Assimilation is the concept that eventually
immigrants or their decedents adopt enough of the
American culture that while they may retain aspects or
traditions of their cultural heritage, they are
identifiable as uniquely "American". Most if all of
these cultural traditions (language, foods, etc..) have
been replaced with "Americanized”
traditions. Assimilation has proven difficult, even over
multiple generations for some physically unique
cultural group.