1. A history of immigration in the USA.
The American population is a
multicultural mix of people from over 160
countries in the world.
The United States has always been a land
of immigration.
Since 12,000 years ago,the first
indigenous people crossed the ice bridge
connecting Asia to North America,yet it
wasn’t until the end of the 15° century
that Europeans set their eyes on the New
World.
2. Historic reasons for migration
There are many reasons because the people migrated:
Germans=many Germans left their country between 1815 and 1914 to
escape poverty,religious and political persecution.
Italians=the Italians migrated to escape natural disaster,poverty and
overpopulation.
Chinese people=in California in 1848,the discovery of gold attracted
great numbers of Chinese people.
Irish people=25% of Irish people migrated to the US.
People from Poland,Finland and Lithuania=these people escaped
unfair laws imposed by the Russian government.
3. Immigration Today in the USA
Immigration to the United States of America refers to that phenomenon of international reach that has led
people resident in every continent to settle in the nation since the early years of the pioneering era.
Immigration was the main source of US demographic and political growth and contributed largely to the
cultural enrichment of US history. The sociopolitical and economic aspects that immigration brings today have
created the opening of national debates in such as ethnic and religious diversity, growing foreigners'
employment in the face of indigenous people, settlements, environmental and social impact, national identity,
political affiliation, criminality, moral values, and habits. Today immigration flows that are in line with the
frightening rise in illegal immigration, especially from Latin American countries, have reopened the issue of
imposing new laws on immigration regulation. In 2006, the United States, with a number close to 37.5 ml of
legalized foreigners, was the world's first nation to host immigrants. In 2013 foreigners resident in the United
States are 41,347,945 on a total population of 316,497,531 individuals. In 2016, according to the US Senate
Justice Commission, there is a sharp rise in illegal children to the United States. Again according to the
commission, only in 2016 there are more than 20,000 unaccompanied minors who have been able to enter the
country. Grassley, the chairman of the committee, said he was concerned that, in his view, this trend is
growing because no one actually keeps control of these minors. Recent clandestine immigration to the United
States is a phenomenon that has started since the 1960s, and mainly concerns Central America, the
Caribbean and South East Asia. The vast majority of illegal immigrants come from Mexico, El Salvador,
Guatemala and Honduras (with major destinations in California, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico), Cuba and
Puerto Rico for Latin American countries. The phenomenon has peaked at the end of the 1990s, although a
wall was built in 1994 on the US-Mexico border to contain illegal immigrants. It is estimated that there are
over 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States.
4.
5. ELLIS ISLAND
The Ellis Island Immigration Station was
built in 1891 in New York Harbour. From
then until 1954 it was the main entry point
for immigrants to the USA. All new arrivals
were interviewed on the islands and given
a medical examination.
6. THE ISLE OF HOPE AND TEARS
About 2% were denied admission and sent
back to their own countries because of
disease, a criminal background or insanity.
7. With the term American Dream we refer to the hope and the deep
conviction that every man, whatever his origins, can with hard work, with
the fatigue and with determination to succeed in achieving the welfare
economy and a good social position.
or Americans, the pursuit of happiness is considered one of the inalienable
human rights. The American spirit consists in an inescapable optimism and
he conviction that every goal can be achieved with determination and
ngagement.
America has been in the past for many, and perhaps somehow still is, a
ind of "promised land," a place where dreams could become reality.
Precisely for this reason America has experienced a scary and
ncontrovertible immigration flow.
any imigrants also left Italy with their
rdboard case, convinced that in America
ey would expect a prosperous and happy
ture. But this is not always the case, and
migrants have often been faced with
matched obstacles and difficulties.
8. Origins
The term American Dream was used for the first time by the American
historian James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America published in
1931.
At that time, the United States was suffering for the Great Depression, and
Adams used the term to indicate the search for Americans belonging to every
social class of a better, happier, and happier life.
Several American historians have argued that the American dream is also
linked to the Declaration of Independence of the First European Colonies
precisely because they were also motivated by the basic idea that every man
and every woman must, irrespective of their birth, be placed under the
conditions of to be able to accomplish what they are capable of doing without
discrimination. Martin Luther King is a known character because he expressed
hope that one day the color population would enjoy the same rights as whites
Although with time American dream it has become a widespread term to
describe American lifestyle in general, giving it a proper definition is not so
simple today.
The main reason is the permanent change of the American dream that has
always been a topic of great discussion within American society and among
historians.
In addition, the American dream always has an individual component, anyone
can apply it to his life, his desires, his dreams, and his aspirations.
The forms of happiness are subjective and potentially endless, and for this
reason, the American dream is no longer identified solely in the pursuit of
economic well-being and social affiliation but embraces more spheres of each
man's life.
9. The Statue of Liberty, officially named the Statue of Liberty
Enlightening the World, sits on the 12-acre Liberty Island in
New York Harbor. This national monument, along with
Ellis Island, has represented freedom from tyranny,
financial hardship and suffering for many immigrants since
the late 1800s. The French gave the Statue of Liberty to the
United States as a gift to mark the centennial of the
American Declaration of Independence.
10. When people arrive in New York harbor, one of the first things they
see is the huge statue that stands on Liberty Island. It shows a woman,
46.5 metres high, holding a torch in her righ hand. It became the
symbol of America as a land of hope and opportunity for all. The
physical features of the Statue of Liberty have symbolic meanings. The
Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation website says the broken
shackles at Liberty's feet symbolize breaking away from tyranny and
oppression. The seven rays on her crown represent the seven
continents; each weighs about 150 pounds and is about 9 feet long.
The National Park Service says the 25 windows in her crown signify
gemstones found on the Earth and heaven’s rays shining over the
world. The torch signifies lighting the path to freedom, reflecting the
sun during the day and illuminated by 16 floodlights at night.