614 CHAPTER 21

ONE AMERICAN’S STORYIn 1907, 10-year-old Edward Corsi left Italy to

come to America. After two weeks at sea, he

caught sight of the Statue of Liberty.

A VOICE FROM THE PAST

This symbol of America . . . inspired awe in the hopefulimmigrants. Many older persons among us, burdenedwith a thousand memories of what they were leavingbehind, had been openly weeping. . . . Now somehowsteadied, I suppose, by the concreteness of the symbolof America’s freedom, they dried their tears.

Edward Corsi, In the Shadow of Liberty

In this section, you will learn about the

immigrants who came to the United States around

1900 and their effect on the nation.

The New ImmigrantsUntil the 1890s, most immigrants to the United States had come fromnorthern and western Europe. But after 1900, fewer northern Europeansimmigrated, and more southern and eastern Europeans did. This latergroup of immigrants came to be known as the new immigrants. SouthernItaly sent large numbers of immigrants. Many Jews from eastern Europeand Slavic peoples, such as Poles and Russians, also immigrated.

Ellis Island was the first stop for most immigrants from Europe.There, they were processed before they could enter the United States.First, they had to pass a physical examination. Those with serious healthproblems or diseases were sent home. Next, they were asked a series ofquestions: Name? Occupation? How much money do you have?

Slovenian immigrant Louis Adamic described the night he spent onEllis Island. He and many other immigrants slept in a huge hall. Lackinga warm blanket, the young man “shivered, sleepless, all night, listening tosnores” and dreams “in perhaps a dozen different languages.”

The Statue of Libertyand Ellis Island weretwo of the first thingsmany immigrants sawof the United States.

MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW TERMS & NAMES

22

The New Immigrants

Changes in American Life

Millions of immigrants—mostly

from southern and eastern Europe—

moved to the United States.

The new immigrants had an impor-

tant role in shaping American culture

in the 20th century.

new immigrants

Ellis Island

Angel Island

melting pot

assimilation

Chinese ExclusionAct

Taking Notes

Use your chart totake notes about changes in immigration.

CALIFORNIA STANDARDS

8.12.5 Examine the location andeffects of urbanization, renewedimmigration, and industrialization(e.g., the effects on social fabric of cities, wealth and economicopportunity, the conservationmovement).

8.12.7 Identify the new sources oflarge-scale immigration and thecontributions of immigrants to thebuilding of cities and the economy;explain the ways in which newsocial and economic patternsencouraged assimilation of new-comers into the mainstream amidstgrowing cultural diversity; and dis-cuss the new wave of nativism.

REP4 Students assess the credibilityof primary and secondary sourcesand draw sound conclusions fromthem.

While European immigrants passed through Ellis Island on the EastCoast, Asians landed at Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. In AngelIsland’s filthy buildings, most Chinese immigrants were held for severalweeks. One unhappy prisoner carved in the wall, “For what reason mustI sit in jail? It is only because my country is weak and my family poor.”

Many Mexican immigrants entered the United States through Texas.Jesús [heh•SOOS] Garza recalled how simple his journey was. “I paidmy $8, passed my examination, then changed my Mexican coins forAmerican money and went to San Antonio, Texas.”

Settling in AmericaImmigrants settled where they could find jobs. Many found work inAmerican factories. The immigrants contributed to the growth of citiessuch as New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.About half of the new immigrants settled in four industrial states:Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.

Once in America, newer immigrants looked for people from the samevillage in the old country to help them find jobs and housing. People withsimilar ethnic backgrounds often moved to the same neighbor-hoods. As a result, ethnic neighborhoods with names like “LittleItaly” and “Chinatown” became common in American cities.

The immigrants living in these communities pooled money tobuild places of worship for their neighborhoods. They publishednewspapers in their native languages. They commonly supportedpolitical machines, often led by politicians who had also come fromtheir country of origin. Such politicians could speak the native lan-guage and help new arrivals feel comfortable. Most importantly,politicians could help immigrants find jobs.

Changes in American Life 615

SKILLBUILDER Interpreting Graphs1. About how many immigrants came to the United States from 1841 to 1860?2. About how many southern and eastern European immigrants came to the United

States from 1881 to 1900?

Northern and westernEurope

1841–1860 1881–1900

Southern and easternEurope

Americas Asia All others

Source: Historical Statistics of the United States

1841–1900

“I paid my $8,passed myexamination,. . . and wentto SanAntonio.”

Jesús Garza

A. Answer Theypooled resourcesto build places ofworship in theirneighborhoods,published newspa-pers in theirnative languages,and joined politi-cal machines.

A. IdentifyingProblems Howdid immigrantsshow creativity insolving problems?

0.7%0.5%1%

1.5%2%3.3% 6%

31%

93% 61%

1841–1850 1851–1860 1881–1890 1891–1900

Years

Imm

igra

nts

(in

mil

lio

ns)

2

1

0

6

5

4

3

SkillbuilderAnswers1. about 4.3 million2. about 2.8 million

CONNECTIONS TO MATH

U.S. Immigration, 1841–1900

Immigrants Take Tough JobsImmigrants took whatever jobs they could get. Many immigrantsworked in Northern factories. As you read in Chapter 20, most factoriesoffered low wages, long hours, and unsafe conditions. Many Europeanimmigrants who had settled in the East found jobs in sweatshops forabout $10 a week. One observer of textile sweatshops noted, “The faces,hands, and arms to the elbows of everyone in the room are black withthe color of the cloth on which they are working.”

While European immigrants settled mostly in the East and Midwest,Asian immigrants settled mostly in the West. Many Chinese immi-grants worked on the railroad. Others settled in Western cities wherethey set up businesses such as restaurants and stores. Large numbers ofJapanese immigrants first came to Hawaii in 1885 to work on sugarplantations. Others settled on the mainland, where they fished, farmed,and worked in mines.

Immigrants from Mexico came to the Southwest. Mexican immigra-tion increased after 1910 when revolution in that country forced peopleto flee. Growers and ranchers in California and Texas used the cheaplabor Mexican immigrants offered. Owners of copper mines in Arizonahired Mexicans as well.

Becoming AmericansSome Americans have described the United States as a melting pot, or aplace where cultures blend. The new immigrants blended into Americansociety as earlier immigrants had. This process of blending into society iscalled assimilation. Most new immigrants were eager to assimilate. Todo so, they studied English and how to be American citizens.

Many workers began to assimilate at work. Employers and laborunions both tried to “Americanize” immigrant workers by offeringclasses in citizenship and English. A Lithuanian worker explained thathis labor union helped him learn to “read and speak and enjoy life likean American.” He then became an interpreter for the union to helpother Lithuanians become Americans.

616 CHAPTER 21

B. MakingInferencesWhat did all the immigrantsseem to have in common?B. Answer Theysettled nearwhere they firstentered theUnited States, andthey took what-ever kind of workneeded cheaplaborers.

Labor unionshelped immigrantsfit into Americanlife. The variouslanguages on thesigns at this rallyshow the ethnicdiversity in thelabor movement.

2. Using GraphicsUse a chart to take notes onimmigrant experiences in theUnited States.

Which part of the immigrantexperience was the most difficult? (8.12.7)

3. Main Ideasa. How were the new immigrants different fromearlier immigrants? (8.12.7)

b. How did immigrants support one another? (8.12.7)

c. Why did nonwhite immi-grants have a harder timeassimilating than Europeanimmigrants did? (8.12.7)

4. Critical ThinkingMaking GeneralizationsHow well does the idea ofthe melting pot reflect U.S.immigration around 1900?(8.12.7)

THINK ABOUT• assimilation• immigrant languages and

cultures• ethnic neighborhoods

1. Terms & NamesExplain the

significance of:• new immigrants• Ellis Island• Angel Island• melting pot• assimilation• Chinese Exclusion

Act

Section

ACTIVITY OPTIONS

MATHGEOGRAPHY

Research immigration to your city or state. Create a spreadsheet of this information or draw a map showing immigration routes. (CST3)

At the same time the immigrants were learning aboutAmerica, they were also changing America. Immigrantsdid not give up their cultures right away. Bits and piecesof immigrant languages, foods, and music worked theirway into the rest of American culture.

Despite their efforts to assimilate, immigrants facedprejudice from native-born Americans. Many Protestantsfeared the arrival of Catholics and Jews. Other native-born Americans thought immigrants would not fit intodemocratic society because they would be controlled bypolitical machines. Such prejudices led some native-bornAmericans to push for restrictions to reduce the numbersof new immigrants coming to America.

Restrictions on Immigration Many native-born Americans also feared they would haveto compete with immigrants for jobs. Immigrants weredesperate for jobs and would often take work for lowerwages in worse conditions than other Americans. SomeAmericans worried that there would not be enough jobsfor everyone. These fears led to an upsurge in nativistopposition to immigration. In 1882, Congress began topass laws to restrict immigration. They placed taxes on new immigrantsand banned specific groups, such as beggars and people with diseases.Nonwhites faced deeper prejudice than European immigrants, andAsians faced some of the worst. In 1882, Congress passed the ChineseExclusion Act. It banned Chinese immigration for ten years.

The Chinese Exclusion Act was not the only example of prejudice inAmerica around 1900. As you will read in the next section, racial dis-crimination was common throughout the United States.

Changes in American Life 617

2

BackgroundThe ChineseExclusion Act wasrenewed in 1892.In 1902, the banwas made perma-nent. It was notrepealed until1943.

Assessment

Work

HousingVoyage

Assimilation

LATE 20TH-CENTURYIMMIGRATION

Historians refer to the peoplewho came to the United Statesaround 1900 as the “new immi-grants.” But an even newerwave of immigrants has beencoming to the United Statessince the 1980s.

From 1981 to 1996, nearly13.5 million people immigratedto the United States. About 6.5million came from other nationsin the Western Hemisphere. In the same period, 4.8 million people came from Asia.