The document provides information on the history of immigration to the United States through several periods from the 1800s to early 1900s. It describes the large waves of immigration from Northern and Western Europe in the first half of the 1800s due to famine and economic hardship. Later waves brought immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe from 1890-1914 seeking greater economic opportunity. The document also outlines some of the key push and pull factors that motivated immigration and lists immigration laws over time that established requirements and quotas.

1. HISTORY OF IMMIGRATION

2. The Population of The U.S
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to
breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your
teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless,
tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden
door!

3. FACTS
Due to potato rot which began in 1845, the
potato crop in Ireland began to fail.
From 1845 to 1850 there were famine conditions
in Ireland.
More than one million people died of starvation.
One-fourth of the Irish population moved to the
United States.

4. FACTS
Because of improved farming methods such as
crop rotation-and therefore greater abundance of
food-the population of Europe doubled between
1750 and 1850.
These improvements reduced the need for farm
workers → many peasants were forced off land
that they had lived on for generations

5. FACTS
The passage to the United States in sailing
vessels took three months, on the average, at
the beginning of the 1800s.
The passage in steamships (which began to be
used in the mid-nineteenth century) took ten
days.

6. FACTS
The Russian government began to carry out
pogroms (organized attacks) against the Jews of
eastern Europe.
A Norwegian worker could earn up to 4-5 dollars
a day in the United States.
This was more than triple the wage that the
same person could have earned in Norway at
that time

7. FACTS
The U.S. Congress passed the Contract Labour
Law in 1864
Employers could make contracts with workers in
other countries and many employers lent money
to foreign workers to pay for their transportation
to the United States.
After the workers arrived, they were required to
pay the money back out of their wages.

8. Native American
Different views; time,
land, possesions etc.
Diseases
Removing Native
Americans from their
Land
The Trail of Tears
Disaster at Wounded
Knee
The Future for Native
Americans?

9. Three great waves of immigration
1815-1860
5 million immigrants - mainly
English, Irish, Germanic, Scandi
navian, and others from
northwestern Europe
1865-1890
10 million immigrants - again
mainly from northwestern
Europe
1890-1914
15 million immigrants – mainly
from Eastern Europe

10. Reasons for immigration
There are two types of motivation for immigration
Push factors (reasons to leave home country)
Pull factors (reasons for settling in USA)

11. Reasons for immigration - 1607-1830
Political Freedom
Religious Tolerance
Economic Opportunity -
People want a better life -
better job - more money
Political Refugees fear for
their lives
Some want free atmosphere
Forced Immigration (Slavery)
Family Reunification

12. Reasons for immigration – 1830- 1890
Land plentiful, and fairly
cheap.
Jobs were abundant, wages
high.
Birthrate → decline
Industry and urbanization →
increase
Notion that in America, the
streets were, "paved with
gold,"
Religious and political
freedom.

13. Reasons for immigration 1890-1914
Jews came for religious
freedom
Italians and Asians came for
Work
Russians came to escape
persecution
America had jobs
America had religious
freedom
America was hyped up in
many countries as "Land of
Opportunity"

14. Who were the immigrants? 1830-1890
Nationality → Mainly Irish, English and Scandinavians
Circumstances
The Irish → potato famine
• They resented the British rule of their country.
The British → look for better opportunities of work
• British landlords
• The British Protestantism
• British taxes

15. The Irish
Settled in New York (too poor
to travel)
Discriminated against
Poor living conditions (80%
of Irish infants died in New
York)
Took the jobs no one wanted
"Let Negroes be
servants, and if not
Negroes, let Irishmen fill their
place..."

16. Who were the immigrants? 1890 - 1914
Italians
Voluntary
White
Catholics and Roman Catholics
Russians
Voluntary
White
Jewish
Greeks
Voluntary
White
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Europeans
Voluntary
White
Jewish & Christian

17. Eastern/Southern Europe Immigrants
Immigrants from Southeastern
Europe blamed for increasing
problems
1880 – 1920 →New York grew by
300%, Chicago → 400%,
L.A→1000%
These newcomers were often
described by what they were not:
Not Protestant
Not English-speaking
Not skilled
Not educated
Not liked.
Anglo-Saxon Myth created
Restrictions on immigration
gradually imposed
Anti-Catholic feelings
Anti-eastern European feelings
Polish immigrant assassinated the
American president (McKinley)

18. Norwegian settlers
Nearly 1 million between
1820-1920
Why?
Land
Social and political
reasons
Higher wages
Increase in poulation
Cleng Peerson
”Sloopers”
Where?
Most settled in the Mid
West
1851 - Treaty of Traverse
des Sioux
1862 – Homestead Act

19. Views on Immigrants
” The ones who come here are usually the most stupid of their nation. Few understand
our language, so we cannot communicate with them.. It has been reported that young
men do not believe they are true men until they have shown their manhood by beating
their mothers. They do not believe they are truly free unless they also abuse and insult
their teachers.
And now they are coming to our country in great numbers. Few of their children know
English. They bring in much of their own reading from their homeland and print
newspapers in their own language. In some parts of our state, ads, street signs, and
even some legal documents are in their own language and allowed in courts.
Unless the stream of these people can be turned away, they will soon outnumber us so
that we will not be able to save our language or our government. However, I am not in
favour of keeping them out entirely. All that seems necessary is to distribute them more
evenly among us and set up more schools that teach English. In this way, we will
preserve the true heritage of our country.”
Benjamin Franklin about German immigrants in 1751

20. Immigration Laws
1790 → Naturalization rule establishes →a two-year residency requirement
for immigrants wanting to become U.S. citizens.
1875 → No convicts or prostitutes.
1882 → Immigration from China is curtailed; ex-convicts, lunatics, idiots, and
those unable to take care of themselves are excluded. A tax (50 cents) must
be paid by immigrants.
1892→ Ellis Island opens.
1903 → No political radicals, epileptics, professional beggars.
1907 → No feeble-minded, tuberculars, persons with physical or mental
defects, and persons under age 16 without parents. Tax on new immigrants is
increased ($8).
1910 → No criminals, paupers, diseased.
1917 → Immigrants over 16 years old must pass literacy exam.

21. Immigration Laws
1790 → Naturalization rule establishes →a two-year residency requirement for immigrants wanting to
become U.S. citizens.
1875 → No convicts or prostitutes.
1882 → Immigration from China is stopped; ex-convicts, lunatics, idiots, and those unable to take care
of themselves are excluded. A tax (50 cents) must be paid by immigrants
1892→ Ellis Island opens.
1903 → No political radicals, epileptics, professional beggars.
1907 → No feeble-minded, tuberculars, persons with physical or mental defects, and persons under
age 16 without parents. Tax on new immigrants is increased ($8).
1910 → No criminals, paupers, diseased.
1917 → Immigrants over 16 years old must pass literacy exam.
1921 → Annual immigration limited to 350 000. Quotas for each nationality are introduced.
1924 → immigration limited to 165 000 annually.
The nationality quota is revised to 2% of each nationality's representation

22. More Recent Immigration
Cuba → 1950’s – settled
mainly in Florida
South America →
Legal/Illegal immigrants
→ California
Asia

23. Melting Pot vs Salad Bowl
Melting Pot→All immigrants mixed together form
the ”American”
Salad Bowl →All immigrants are American, yet
keep their cultural heritage from their ”home”