OBJECTIVE:I CAN EXPLAIN WHY IMMIGRATION FROM

EUROPE, ASIA, MEXICO, AND THE CARIBBEAN FORCED CITIES TO

CONFRONT OVERCROWDING.

Immigration and Urbanization, 1877-1914

Millions of Immigrants

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, millions of immigrants entered the United States in search of a better life. Some of these immigrants sought to escape difficult conditions?

Some of these immigrants were only in the United States temporarily. Why?

Immigrants in the late 1800s

Europeans

From 1870 to 1920 twenty million European immigrants came to America. From where?

Many of these Europeans left their homeland to escape religious persecution. Example?

Population in Europe between 1800 and 1900 doubled leading to scarcity of land for farming. Farmers were forced to compete with laborers for the few industrial jobs.

This led Europeans to look for jobs, freedom and independent lives in the U.S. Why?

Chinese and Japanese?

Between 1851 and 1883, about 300,000 Chinese arrived on the West Coast. Why?

Chinese helped build the nation’s railroads, including the first transcontinental line. When the railroads were completed they turned to farming, mining, and domestic services.

In 1884, the Japanese government allowed Hawaiian planters to recruit Japanese workers, starting a Japanese emigration boom. They then head to West Coast and by 1920, more than 200,000 are living there. Why West Coast?

The West Indies and Mexico

Between 1880 and 1920, about 260,000 immigrants arrived in the eastern and southeastern United States from the West Indies. Why?

Mexicans, too, immigrated to the United States to find work, as well as to flee political turmoil. After 1910, 700,000 had arrived (7% of the population of Mexico at the time).

The National Reclamation Act? created farmland and drew Mexican farmers.

Mexican Immigrants

A Difficult Journey

No matter what parts of the globe immigrants came from, they faced many adjustments to an alien and often unfriendly culture.

Almost all immigrants traveled by steamship. The trip across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe took approximately one week (7 to 10 days), while the Pacific crossing from Asia took nearly three weeks.

Many immigrants traveled in steerage, the cheapest accommodations in a ship’s cargo holds. Conditions?

Ellis Island

From 1892 to 1924, Ellis Island was the Chief immigration processing station in New York Harbor. Approximately 17 million immigrants passed through this station?

The processing of immigrants on Ellis Island was an ordeal that might take five hours or more. It consisted of?

Twenty percent of immigrants were detained for a day or more before being inspected. However, only about 2 percent of those where denied.

Immigrants arriving at Ellis Island

Immigrants waiting to be passed for entry in the U.S.

Angel Island

Asians-primarily Chinese- arriving on the West Coast gained admission at Angel Island’s immigration processing station in San Francisco Bay.

Between 1910 and 1940, about 50,000 Chinese immigrants entered the United States through Angel Island.

Processing at Angel Island was quite different than the procedure at Ellis Island. How?

Angel Island Immigration Station

Cooperation for Survival

Once admitted to the country, immigrants faced the challenges of finding a place to live, getting a job, and getting along in daily life while trying to understand an unfamiliar language and culture.

To better adjust to their new surroundings, many immigrants sought out people who shared cultural values, religion, and language. Ethnic communities form?

Friction began to develop between “hyphenated” Americans? and the native born. Why?

The Rise of Nativism

Many native-born Americans thought of their country as a melting pot? Many new immigrants, however, did not wish to give up their cultural identity.

Favoritism toward Native-born Americans was referred to as Nativism.

Nativists believed that Anglo-Saxons? were superior and did not object to immigrants from Britain, Germany, German countries and Scandinavian countries. Why?

Many Protestant Americans object to immigrants’ religion because many were Catholic and Jews. Why?

In 1897, Congress passes literacy Bill? for immigrants, but Cleveland Vetoes it. However, in 1917, a similar bill passed over Wilson’s veto.

Anti-Asian Sentiment

Nativism also played a part in the labor movement, particularly in the west. How?

Labor groups exert political pressure to restrict Asian immigration

In 1882, Chinese Exclusion Act was passed. It banned entry to all Chinese except students, teachers, merchants, tourists and government officials. This Act lasted until it was repealed 1943.

The Gentlemen’s Agreement

Nativist fears began to extend to Japanese, and most Asians in the early 1900s. San Francisco segregates Japanese schoolchildren.

When Japan raised an angry protest at this treatment of its emigrants, President Theodore Roosevelt worked out a deal.

The Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1907-1908 limited immigration of unskilled workers to U.S. in exchange for repeal of San Francisco segregation order. Result?