growing immigration. where did they come from? the americas asia northern europe (before the civil...
TRANSCRIPT
GROWING IMMIGRATION
Where did they come from?
• The Americas• Asia• Northern Europe (before the Civil War)
– English, Scots, Irish, Germans, Scandinavians
• Southern Europe, Eastern Europe (After the Civil War)
• E. European Jews/Southern Italians/Greeks Slavic peoples (Poles, Slovaks, Czechs, Croats, Serbs, Ukrainians, Russians, Armenians)
To clarify…• Before 1890, most
European immigrants came from northwest Europe
• After 1890, most European immigrants came from southwest Europe
Why did they leave?
Push and Pull Reasons Push and Pull Reasons of Course!of Course!
Over-PopulationOver-Population
Lack of Jobs
Government Tyranny
Crop Failures!
Land Shortages!
Famine
High High Taxes/ Taxes/ Cost of Cost of LivingLiving
Political or Religious Persecution
How did they get here?• Steamships made of iron and
steel
• 2-3 weeks to 1 week by 1900
• Created “birds of passage”-single male worker who came for a short time, earn money, and return home
Steamships cont.• Most immigrants traveled in
Steerage (large open area beneath ship’s deck)
• Cheap fares
• Limited toilet facilities,
• no privacy, poor food
Castle Garden (1855 - 1892)
• In 1886 greeted by Statue of Liberty in NY harbor
ELLIS ISLAND“Gate to America” or “Golden Door”
• 70% of European immigrants arrived in NYC
• In 1892 an immigration center opened at Ellis Island in NY harbor
• Immigrants were given medical check-up and a series of questions
Vito’s Story
• Sometimes immigrants were “quarantined” (isolated to prevent the spread of disease): tuberculosis, small pox, measles
• Some were even deported due to serious diseases: trachoma or other reasons
The caption reads . . .
Held at Ellis Island – Undesirable emigrants to be taken back by
steamship company that brought them
• Name?
• Occupation?
• Who paid your fare?
• Can you read or write?
• How much money do you have?
• Have you been to prison or in a poorhouse?
• Where are you going?
• Do you have a job already?
• Many immigrants received new names
• Buchenroth=Roth
• Stefanopoulous= Stevens
The Ellis Island of the West Coast
Angel Island• San Francisco
• Horrible conditions
• On Ellis Island, immigrants were processed through within hours or days;
on Angel Island, they spent weeks or months.
Where did immigrants settle?
• Most lived with friends and relatives in established communities
• Communities formed in ports of entry (NY/Boston) and inland cities (Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, Chicago)
• Only 2% went to the south
• In other cases, a Padrone (labor boss) found jobs, provided food and shelter in exchange for large percentage of immigrant wages
•Mines, mills, and factories
•Friends and relatives helped each other
Jobs for immigrants