7.1 Immigration

Immigration• Biggest group from 1890 to 1920: Southern

and Eastern Europeans– Escaping poverty and persecution (esp. for Jews)

• Chinese West Coast, Japanese Hawaii– Hawaii became a U.S territory in 1898

• Caribbean islands and Mexico the South– 1902 Reclamation Act turned much of the desert

into farmable land (jobs for Mexican immigrants)

Immigration• Most immigrants on East Coast came through

Ellis Island in NY City– Small % who had diseases or were considered

dangerous would be detained, possibly sent back

• Angel Island in San Francisco was much harsher to Chinese immigrants

Immigration

Fitting In/Standing Out

• New immigrants often moved into neighborhoods that spoke their language– Little Italy and Slavic Village in Cleveland

• Many “native-born” Americans wanted immigrants to give up their culture– Assimilate into America’s “melting pot”

Fitting In/Standing Out

• Some believed new immigrants were genetically inferior ________________________

• Nativists especially hated Catholics, Jews, and Chinese– Some tried to pass literacy test requirements for

immigrants

• Fearing losing their jobs to the Chinese, workers in the West convinced Congress to pass the Chinese-Exclusion Act