3. What cultures came to the United States and how did it influence America. During the great immigration period 1900-1920, there were many cultures that arrived on the shores of the United States, for example Italians, Portuguese, French, Spanish and Irish to name a few. These new immigrants were grateful to be here and for the opportunity to better their own lives and that of their future generations. In an attempt to assimilate most of these cultures initially practiced their old countries traditions in the privacy of their home. The reasoning behind this is, the current citizens (native) were in great opposition and feared these new immigrants. This fear from long established native born Americans was in part, from having lost …show more content…
Escaping religious, racial, and political persecution, or seeking relief from a lack of economic opportunity or famine still pushed many immigrants out of their homelands. Many were pulled here by contract labor agreements offered by recruiting agents, known as padrones to Italian and Greek laborers. Hungarians, Poles, Slovaks, Bohemians, and Italians flocked to the coal mines or steel mills, Greeks preferred the textile mills, Russian and Polish Jews worked the needle trades or pushcart markets of New York. Railroad companies advertised the availability of free or cheap farmland overseas in pamphlets distributed in many languages, bringing a handful of agricultural workers to western farmlands. But the vast majority of immigrants crowded into the growing cities, searching for their chance to make a better life for themselves. In the middle to late decades of the 19th century, new immigrant arrivals from Germany and Scandinavia were pivotal in establishing and settling the western frontier of the United States. You would find in the large cities that Irish immigrants where considered a major source of labor in the railroads, roads, construction and transportation arenas Those that first chose to come to the shores and their descendants played a vital role important in developing American popular culture. They have created an endearing positive image of immigration in the minds of most
The United States is made up of two different types of immigrants: those who are born on U.S. soil and those who travel to settle here. However, despite whether one is born in the United States or not for most their lineage runs back to other countries. It is evident that a majority of the U.S. first immigration wave was around the late 1800’s to the 1920’s. This was a time in which many immigrants where leaving their countries due to different reasons and finding prosperity in the U.S. In the book 97 Orchards: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement (97 Orchard) by Jane Ziegelman she explores and paints the history of five different immigrant families. The book goes into great detail sharing stories of daily
The United States saw an influx of Irish immigrants due to the Great Famine (potatoes) in Ireland.
With the population and economy struggling, Boston looked for a change. Between the years 1750 and 1850 Europe underwent an Industrial Revolution that shifted its population from rural to urban areas. Landlords no longer found it necessary or profitable to keep migrant workers on their lands which led to only one option for peasants—emigration to America. There were many different groups of Europeans fleeing Europe at this time, but the most significant groups of people that relate to the city of Boston are those of Irish decent. Due to what the Irish went through back in Ireland, they had no choice but to settle in unfavorable Boston. Because Boston lacked many job opportunities, many of the Irish were forced into unemployment and struggled as best they could. Struggling to make a living as a skilled laborer, the Irish turned to jobs that required unskilled labor just to make a pretty penny. As word spread throughout the city of this “Irish help” many Irish men and women were hired to fulfill most of the city’s service jobs due to their reputation as having high spirits, loyalty, and cheap wages. Word had reached far and wide of this so called “Green Hand” and Boston became known as the labor reservoir. People came to the city in chance of recruiting the Irish for such public works as tunnels,
In the early 1800s the German and Irish were suffering from unemployment, famine, civil unrest and many other hardships. Through these hardships, not having food or jobs they decided to congregate in an area that could provide this for them. From 1820 to 1870 hundreds of thousands of German and Irish immigrants ended up emigrating to the United States in search of jobs and opportunities. Burgeoning companies took in anyone that was looking for a job, the immigrants would end up taking almost every labor enduring job in the country. The immigration of the German and Irish immigrants would end up affecting and changing many American lives.
Immigrating to the United States from Belarus at a young age has helped me becoming the person I am today. When my family and I moved , none of us could speak a word of English other then yes , no , hello. We started living with my aunt who had recently moved a year ago, and from there my mother did everything she could to create the better life we moved here for.
Immigration, it started off in America and it was a very common thing that was talked about in that very time period. Immigrants are individuals that move from their country to other ones and this case it was America. There was a lot that arrived in America, there were lots of Irish, also Germans, as well as Asians, also Chinese, or Japanese, Greek, Polish, Slovak, Russians and Croatians too. There were a lot of different cultures, religions and ethnicity that came from all over the world that it made America pretty diverse. They all had their own reason to come to America whether it would be to get a job and send to their families back home or to escape a very horrible event that was taking place in their country and they possibly needed to
Many came from eastern and southern Europe such as the Irish, Germans, Italians and Polish. Immigrants came to America with hopes and dreams of prosperity, freedom of religion, freedom from fascism and dictatorship with the possibility of wealth and security. Many if not all of the immigrants encountered the complete opposite. Hard labor, poor living condition, low wages and illnesses were the problems often faced by the
Although the United States has absorbed and benefitted from the contributions of the undocumented, their presence has imposed harm to the country’s economy and political stability. Immigrants have taken over American jobs by retrieving several advantages that come along with the country’s policies, as well as harming the country by not assimilating to the culture and sustaining their identities. The influx of immigrants from other parts of the world has prompted an overwhelming change in society and the immigrants themselves due to more opportunities available in the United States. These immigrants have different motives for entering the country, hoping to obtain a better life in the land of opportunities. There is a greater chance of freedom, protection, and benefits, which are a priority to the migrants to achieve the American dream. Although the immigrants are advancing to achieve their goals, the government is advancing towards stabilizing the overcrowding population due to the hazards caused to the environment and the country. Many of these aliens have aspirations and hopes for a better future in this country, and they do not plan to harm it. On the other hand, some are a threat, but they come to reach that goal of self- independence and a new opening of opportunities. The only way to know that their goal has been achieved, is when they first arrive at Ellis Island and they see that symbolic figure of freedom which is The Statue of Liberty. Illegal immigration has been
mmigration occurred when people were forced to move to the United States for jobs, an example being the Irish. They came because their potato crop died which caused thousands of people to starve to death. However, they were not skilled and had to fill the low-wage jobs that none of the Americans wanted to work. The Irish were still thankful because they go to work and eat. The Irish were not the only ones to come. The Germans came additionally. They were opposite however, because they were skilled, so they got the jobs as craftsmen, farmers, and shoe keepers. But, the Americans hated them with a passion, because they told them that they were taking their jobs away, and for all the multiple crimes that kept happening in America. Americans also
The United States of America is founded upon an influx of immigrants throughout many decades. They have shaped our country by bringing a variety of skills and knowledge to strengthen our country more than it was before. These adjustments are notable and should be recognized for the sake of millions of immigrants living in the U.S. However, not all immigrants receive any recognition. Instead, they are put in a position where they are handled very harsh. For example, immigrants living on the streets in Los Angeles, California are beaten by the police for loitering on public property. Out of these immigrants, people assume that they are illegal immigrants, in which it may not be true. Several states also have legislation where every immigrant must pull out papers showing their current status as an immigrant: legal or illegal. With all these judgments and issues upon immigration, the major issue is the way immigrants are treated isn’t fair.
INTRODUCTION The history of Ireland "that most distressful nation" is full of drama and tragedy, but one of the most interesting stories is about what happened to the Irish during the mid-nineteenth century and how millions of Irish came to live in America (Purcell 31). Although the high point of the story was the years of the devastating potato famine from 1845 to 1848, historians have pointed out that immigrating from Ireland was becoming more popular before the famine and continued until the turn of the twentieth century. In the one hundred years between the first recording of immigrants in
The Irish were different in the sense that more than 2 million immigrants came to the United States; they had the biggest wave of immigrants. In 1798 Irish men started to immigrate to the U.S for job opportunities, and then in the 1840’s whole families started to move here because of The Potato Famine. The potato was the main dietary staple for most Irish and when the famine struck a number of successive harvests social and economic problems ensued. As many as 1.5 million individuals died of starvation and the
Immigrants helped make America what it is today. The people who came to America from different countries brought their traditions, their families, and their culture. These three things stuck with them through thick and thin and are still thriving parts of what America is today. Many immigrants came with literally nothing in their pockets and had to work their way to success. Their experiences in America helped shaped the country.
Why did so many immigrants leave home? What were their expectations? From where? Many Europeans decided to come to America for many reasons. All of them, immigrated because the European continent was living in a bad economic and religious situation. America experienced a massive immigration that occurred from around 1800s to 1900s. Most of these newcomers came from Northern and Western Europe. Many came from Ireland and Germany, which experienced a massive potato famine in the mid-19th century. Some Escaped religious persecution and came to search for freedom to practice their faith (Catholics and Jews) looking for refuge and renewal. Also, a huge number of immigrants came to America for wealth, seeking economic opportunities (economic betterment and the desire for cash).
Immigration and the laws that surround it have been a controversial topic in the United States of America for many centuries. The United States was founded by immigrants and slaves from all over the world who were either in pursuit of better opportunities or who were brought to America against their will to work the lands. The first wave of immigrants to enter the U.S came from northern and western European heritage. The majority of these early immigrants arrived in America for religious freedom. In the first quarter of the 1900’s the United States experienced one of the largest waves of immigrants, over 20,000,000 Europeans (70% from southern and eastern Europe) arrived in America (History.com). The migration of so many people with different religious and political ideas than those already established in America along with other factors created discourse and unwarranted fear of immigrants (Young, 218). During this transformation period, immigration laws which were typically handled at state level were being created and enacted at the federal level. Unfortunately, American Nativism, race, religion and culture were many of the key factors as to why the Immigration Act of 1924 was passed by the American government with overwhelming support by its constituents (Kalaitzids et al., 59).