ELLIS ISLAND

The Immigrant Experience

The New Immigration

• Immigration continued at a high rate. – From 1850s-1870s, more

than 2 million per decade

– 1880s - Five million.

– 1882 alone, nearly 800 thousand

• Until the 1880s most immigrants integrated into American society relatively easily Why?

New Immigrants

• Integrated differently. Why?– Were swarthier, more Jewish, more Orthodox

Christians– Poorer and not used to democratic governments – More illiterate – Did not come looking for farming opportunities

Came looking for work, and were comfortable living in cities working industrial jobs.

New Immigrants

• Lived together in mini-cities within cities. – Consequences?

• Americans began to fear that US a dumping ground for Europe’s refuse.

Annual Immigration, 1860–1997

Southern Europe Uprooted

• Southern and Eastern Europeans left for a number of reasons:– Europe crowded – Also, persecutions in Europe drove some out.

Pogroms in 1880s in eastern Europe.

• 60 Million Europeans abandoned the old continent in the 19th century Half to US.

• “America Fever” developed in Europe

Southern Europe Uprooted

• Railroads, industries and states actively recruited immigrants

• Eastern European Jews • “Birds of passage”• Tensions between immigrants

and children.

Jewish Bagel Peddler

Immigrants

• In 1860 the resident population of the U.S. was 31.5 million people. Between 1865 and 1920, close to 30 million additional people entered the country.

• These people were fleeing crop failures, land and job shortages, rising taxes and famine. Some were also escaping religious or political persecution.

Characteristics of the “New Immigrant”

• From Southern and Eastern Europe• Many young males• Many Catholics and Jews• Mostly unskilled agricultural laborers• Little money or education

“I once thought to write a history of the immigrants in America. Then I discovered that immigrants WERE American history.”

--Oscar Handlin

Push and Pull Factors

Push Factors (Get OUT!)

• Economic decline in Europe1. Effect of Industrial Revolution2. Rising populations, decreasing death rate3. More people + fewer resources = TROUBLE!!

• Political and Religious Persecution in Eastern Europe

1. Legal restrictions on Jews 2. Pogroms=violent mob attacks3. Other ethnic minorities

Pull Factors• The Lure of Life in America (Work, land, and

LIES!!)– “That was the time, you see, when America was known to

foreigners as the land where you’d get rich. There’s gold on the sidewalk– all you have to do is pick it up!”-Lithuanian immigrant

Journey Across the Atlantic

                                   

Steerage on the SS Pennland 1893

Steerage Conditions

•Crowded, unsanitary, little food, enclosed! –Journal 3

The Island

• Ellis Island served as the portal for a majority of new immigrants from 1892 till it closed in 1954.

• More than 12 million immigrants were processed here.

Unloading and Baggage

Stairs of Separation

• As the immigrants walked up the staircase, U.S. Public Health Officials watched them for signs of a number of illnesses.

The Great Hall

Time For Inspections

                                                                                         

Medical Inspections

                             

Medical Exams

• The Inspector would take about 7 seconds to determine if the immigrant had any infectious diseases.

• Some would be sent back and some detained in quarantine.

• Only two percent of the arriving immigrants were excluded from entry.

Legal Inspections– Registry Hall

The Final Inspection

Journal Entry 4

Cafeteria

• Here immigrants were served their first “taste of America”.

• They were often introduced to new dishes—such as ice cream.

Dormitories

• Immigrants that were detained for medical or other reasons stayed in these rooms, tightly packed with rows of bunk beds.

The Kissing Post

• After immigrants were approved for admission, they would walk down the stairs to meet their loved ones.

• This area became known as the kissing post.

Final Destination

• Only one third of the immigrants who came to the United States through Ellis Island stayed in New York City. Most scattered across the country.

• Immigrants were given tags to pin to their hats or coats. The tags showed railroad conductors what lines the immigrants were traveling and what connections to make to reach their destinations.

Ethnic Enclaves

• 2/3 settle in urban centers (community, familiarity)

• Newspapers, customs, food, churches, clothing

“Here no one goes to bed on an empty stomach because one Pole will save another, if he can.” –Polish immigrant

Urban Living Conditions

• Immigrants often lived in buildings abandoned by middle-class residents and converted into multifamily units.

• These tenements soon became identified as “slums”.• Many families would cram into spaces only meant

for a few.• Many immigrants tended to settle with others from

the same country creating the ethnic neighborhoods and sections that can still be found in many big cities today.

Urban Living Conditions

• Outside the tenements, raw sewage and garbage littered the streets.

• Contagious diseases raged in such conditions.

• Babies were especially susceptible.

• In NYC, in one district of tenements, six out of ten babies died before their first birthday.

Living Conditions

5 cents a spot

Tenement Living

60% die before 1st birthday120 rooms for 1231 people

Journal Entry 5

Working Conditions

Immigrants Seek Industrial Jobs

1. High supply/high demand

2. Prefer to agricultural work

3. 80% unskilled workforce

Struggling Families

Child Labor

Journal Entry 6

Immigration From Asia

Immigration from the East

1. Gold Rush and Railroad Work pulled

Chinese to America.

2. Worked for less pay which created

conflicts.

Exclusion Act: Shutting the Doors on the Chinese

• Depression A. Blamed Chinese for 1870s

Depression.B. Mob Violence C. Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

1. Prohibited immigration for 10 years

Angel Island: The Ellis Island of the West

• Angel Island 1. Angel Island Immigration Station

(1910) 2. Harder to get into America 3. Detained

Other Asian Groups Immigrate to the United States

• Chinese Exclusions Act created shortages.

1. Korea, Philippines and Japan

2. Gentlemen's Agreement

Immigration from North and South

• Immigrants From Mexico

1. Cheap Labor

2. Faced Discrimination

• French Canadians

1. Faced Discrimination

Americans’ Treatment of Immigrants/Nativism

Motivation For Nativism

• Fear, hostility, and suspicion• Prejudices based on race,

ethnicity, religion• Old Immigrants vs. New Immigrants

“The immigrants are an invasion of venomous reptiles…long-haired, wild-eyed bad-smelling, atheistic, reckless foreign wretches, who never did a day’s work in their lives.” –from a newspaper editorial

• Some similarities to today (i.e. jobs)

The ‘Golden Door’ Slams Shut

• Literacy tests to prevent

‘inferior races’• Call for laws restricting immigration

– 1921 Dillingham Bill sets quotas

Journal Entry 7