Chapter 15 New Immigrants The Main Idea A

Chapter 15 New Immigrants The Main Idea A new wave of immigrants came to the United States in the late 1800 s, settling in cities and troubling some nativeborn Americans. Reading Focus • How did patterns of immigration change at the turn of the century? • Why did immigrants come to America in the late 1800 s, and where did they settle? • How did nativists respond to the new wave of immigration?

Student Performance Indicators What will I Learn by the end of this lesson? 6. 3 -I CAN- Identify major urban areas of the United States on a map 6. 4 -I CAN- Identify patterns of immigration and the causal factors that led to immigration to the United States of America 6. 5 -I CAN- Distinguish the differences in assimilation of "old" vs. "new" immigration. 6. 10 -I CAN Interpret a political cartoon which portrays the controversial aspects of the Gilded Age

Changing Patterns of Immigration The old immigrants The new immigrants • 10 million immigrants came between 1800 and 1900. Known as the old immigrants, they came from Northern and Western Europe. • From 1880 to 1910, a new wave brought 18 million people to America. • Most were Protestant Christians, and their cultures were similar to the original settlers. • Chinese immigrants had been lured by the gold rush and jobs building railroads. • Unlike the immigrants in earlier times, most of the immigrants coming to the US between 1880 -1910 came from Southern and Eastern Europe. • They were Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Jews. Arabs, Armenians, and French Canadians came as well. • A typical immigrant to the US between 1880 -1910 would be a Russian Jew seeking freedom from religious persecution

Coming to America • Desire for a better life – Most immigrants were seeking a new life, but they left their homelands for many reasons, including religious persecution, poverty, and little economic opportunity. If you were willing to work hard in America, prosperity was possible. • The journey to America – Most traveled cheaply, in steerage, and they still had to make it through the immigration station. – Steerage was cramped, unsanitary, and completely disgusting. • Ellis Island – Opening in 1892 as an immigration station, 112 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island. One hurdle faced by immigrants at Ellis Island was a medical examination.

Coming to America Angel Island West Coast immigrants were processed in San Francisco at Angel Island. Many Chinese immigrants were detained in prison-like conditions while awaiting a ruling. Building urban communities Many new immigrants lived in poor housing in slums near the factories where they found work. In the Northeast and Midwest, immigrants settled near others from their homeland. Cities became a patchwork of ethnic clusters. They formed benevolent societies, aid organizations to help new immigrants obtain jobs, health care, and education.

Nativists Respond Threat to society Limiting Chinese immigration Some native-born Americans saw immigrants as threats to society. Nativists felt that immigrants were taking jobs away from Americans and should be sent home. The Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in 1882, banning Chinese immigration for 10 years. None of the Chinese in the U. S. would be allowed citizenship. The law was renewed in 1892, and Chinese immigration was banned indefinitely in 1902. Immigrants from China declined shapely after congress banned it with this act

Limits to Immigration Japanese • Nativists also resented the Japanese students in San Francisco were segregated from other children. • President Theodore Roosevelt negotiated a Gentlemen’s Agreement to stop the practice of segregating immigrant school children from Japan in 1907 Other immigrants • Nativists opposed immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe. • They claimed these folks were poor, illiterate, and non-Protestant and could not blend into American society. • In return Japan sent no more unskilled workers to Americanization occurred in many places. Newcomers were taught American ways to help them assimilate. They learned English literacy skills and American history and government.

Group Work: Nativists Object to Immigration Work with the students in your row to complete the table listing reasons why Nativists did not want the new immigrants coming to America. Come up with as many reasons as possible. Too different to fit in