Chapter 7, Section 1“The New Immigrants”

Dion Stafford, James Nunn, Martin Pineda, Patrick Layug, Sunshine Dominguez

(The Mystical Dragons)

(write what’s bolded)

Immigration to America

-Millions of immigrants entered the US in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

-Moved to escape difficult living conditions such as famine, land shortages, or religious or political persecution.

-Things such as birds of passage intended to immigrate temporarily to earn money and then return to homeland.

Europeans-Between 1870 and 1920 20 million Europeans arrive in US

-1890, most immigrants came from western and northern Europe beginning of 1890 immigrants came from southern and eastern Europe.

-Many immigrants left to escape religious persecution.

(for example: the jews were driven out of Russia)

-Others left because of rising population (scarcity of land, farmers vs. laborers).

-Jobs were plentiful in US

-They were influenced by political movements at home, young men and women moved to US.

Chinese

-1851-1883 300,000 Chinese immigrants arrived

-Many came to seek their fortunes after the discovery of gold in 1848 (California Gold rush)

-Chinese helped build nation’s railroads including the first transcontinental line.

-Farming, mining, and domestic services

-1884, Japanese government allowed Hawaiian planters to recruit Japanese workers and a Japanese emigration boom began.

-Annexation of Hawaii in 1898 resulted in increased Japanese migration of west coast.

-Immigration continued to increase as word of higher wages spread.

-By 1920 more than 200,000 Japanese lived on west coast

The West Indies and Mexico-1880-1920: about 260,000 immigrants from the West Indies came to Eastern and South Eastern U.S in search of work during the Industrial boom

-Many came from Puerto Rico, Cuba, Jamaica, and other Islands

-Mexicans also come to the U.S in search of jobs and also to flee political turmoil.

-1902: National Reclamation Act (encouraged irrigation of arid land) created new farmland in the Western States which attracted Mexican workers.

-1910: political and social upheavals in Mexico prompt more immigration

-Over the next 20 years, about 700,000 people came to the U.S

A Difficult Journey-1870: almost all immigrants traveled by steamship. The trip from Europe across the Atlantic took one week. Asia to the Pacific took about 3 weeks.

-Immigrants traveled in steerage- cheap accommodations in ships’ cargo holds.

They were rarely allowed on deck and slept in mouse infested bunks.

-Shared toilets with many other passengers.

-Because of these conditions, disease spread quickly and killed some people before they reached their destination.

Ellis Island• Chief immigration station in the US from 1892 – 1924.• Estimated 17 million European immigrants passed through

it.• About 20% of the immigrants were detained for a day or more

before being inspected. Only 2% of those were denied entry.• The processing takes 5 hours or more:– had to pass a physical examination, anyone with serious

health problem or contagious disease was sent home– Inspector checked if they meet the legal requirements

such as:Had never been convicted of a felonyDemonstrating they’re able to workHad some money at least $25

• Interpreters were use to overcome the language problem

Angel Island

• Asians (primarily Chinese) immigrants arriving on the West Coast gained admission at Angel Island in San Francisco Bay.

• Between 1910-1940, about 50,000 Chinese immigrants entered the U.S.

• Immigrants in Angel island endured harsh questioning and long detention compared to the immigrants in Ellis Island.

Cooperation For SurvivalChallenges after admission into the country:

-finding a place to live-getting a job-getting along in daily life and understanding

unfamiliar language & culture.

-Ethnic communities stuck together, pooled their $$ to build churches/synagogues, social clubs and aid societies.

-Native born Americans often disliked the immigrants’ unfamiliar customs and languages and viewed them as a threat to the American way of life.

The Rise of Natavism-Melting Pot- A mixture of different cultures and races who blended together by abandoning their native languages and customs-Immigrants didn’t want to give up cultural identities-As immigration increased, strong anti immigrant feelings increased

-Natavism- overt favoritism toward native born Americans- Believed English were superior to other ethnic groups.

Immigration Restriction League-founded by Prescott F. Hall- “Right” countries- British, German, and

Scandinavians- “Wrong” countries- Slav, Latin, and Asiatic

races

American Protective Association-Natavist group formed in 1887-Anti-Catholic -Many colleges, businesses and social clubs

refused to admit Jews.

1897- IRL passed a bill requiring a literacy test for immigration.

-had to read 40 words in English or their native language for entry.

President Cleveland vetoed the bill. -A similar bill would be passed in 1917 despite

the veto.

Anti-Asian Sentiment

-Native born workers feared that jobs would go to Chinese immigrants who would accept lower wages.

-The founder of the working party, Denis Kearny headed the anti-Chinese movement in California.

-In 1992 Congress slammed the door on Chinese immigration for ten years by passing the Chinese exclusion act.

-Banned entry to all Chinese except students, teachers, merchants, tourists and government officials.

The Gentlemen’s Agreement

-When Japan raised an angry protest at this treatment of emigrants, President Theadore Roosevelt worked out a deal.

- Gentlemen’s Agreement: 1907-1908 Japan’s government agreed to limit emigration of unskilled workers to the US for the repeal of the SF segregation order.