Transcript The Rising Tide of Immigrants

The American Dream
Define the American Dream in
your own words. What is your
“American Dream”
"Give me your
tired, your
poor, your
huddled
masses
yearning to
breathe free,
the wretched
refuse of your
teeming
shore.”
Important Terms
 PUSH:
reasons why an individual leaves
their country
 PULL: reasons why an individual enters a
certain country
 IMMIGRANT: the individual moving
 IMMIGRATE: entering another country
w/intent to settle
 EMIGRATE: leaving one’s country for
another country
First Wave vs. Second Wave
 First
Wave
 1850-1870
 5 million
 North Western
Europe nations
 Anglo Saxon race
 “old immigrants”
 Farms & villages
First Wave vs. Second Wave

Second Wave
 1880-1910
 23 mill – largest
in US history
 All over the
world
 “new
immigrants”
 Cities
Possible Notes Format
“PUSH”
“PULL”
Notes
Notes
Notes
Notes
Notes
Notes
“Push” Factors

Reflection Question: What
conditions or reasons would you
have for leaving the US?
Economic?
Political?
Cultural?
Economic Reasons
 Europe
experiencing Industrial
Revolution
Agricultural based economy
Machines putting farmers out of
work
Craftspeople vs. Factory
Wealthy Landowners charge
rent
Economic Reasons
 Natural
Disasters
Italy – volcanic eruptions, diseases,
earthquakes
destroyed homes & crops
 Over population
 Competing
for Land, food, & jobs
Mount Vesuvius
Conflicts/Wars Reasons
 Political/Religious
persecution
 Jews in Russia – lived in restricted
settlements, legal rights taken
 Beaten, murdered, raped, homes
destroyed
1/3 of Jews migrated to US
A Child’s Story
“Alfred Levitt was a Jew. During this time, Jews
were hated in Russia. Organized attacks called
pogroms, sometimes assisted by the
government, were carried out against Russian
Jews. Many thousands were killed. In 1905,
every Jewish-owned business in Alfred’s town
was ransacked and looted. His mother hid him
from the attackers. As the family huddled in
fear, they longed for a better life.”
Side Note: Example of Russian Jews political persecution.
Conflicts/Wars Reasons
• Mexicans
• victimized by the Revolution
• Armenians
• massacres in Turkey
“Pull” Factors

Reflection Question: What
conditions or reasons would you
come to the US?


Economic
Prosperity
Better Living
Conditions
A Child’s Story
“In Russia everyone thought that
America was such a rich country
that you could literally find gold in
the streets.”
Alfred
Levitt
Side Note: Example of Russian Jews view of US.
“Pull” Factors
 American
Representatives
 Factories sent reps to find workers
 Better Living conditions
 Food plentiful
 Land easier to buy

wages – Europe $.12 farming
US $1.00 a day
“Pull” Factors
 California
Gold Rush
 Promises of fortune
 1851-1883 300,000 Chinese came
seeking gold
 National Reclamation Act 1902
 Created new farmland in Western
states, government irrigation projects
 “pulled” or attracted Mexicans
“Pull” Factors

Homestead Act of 1862
 “any adult citizen (or person intending to
become a citizen) who headed a family could
qualify for a grant of 160 acres of public land
by paying a small registration fee and living
on the land continuously for 5 years.“
 Land
grants for farmers
Other Factors
 1880s
Transportation
 shortened the journey to US
dramatically
The Rising Tide of
Immigrants
I. German immigrants on
Hamburg Steamer headed on NY
 Crowded
ships bound for US.
 Often repeated scene
 left due to war, famine, religious
persecution, political conflict, & over
population
I. German immigrants on
Hamburg Steamer headed on NY

Leaving Homeland
 Families used all savings for trip ($65-$100
per ticket)
 many travel far to reach transportation
 “Me and my brother-in-law, we start. We
star walking-from Hungarian country to
Hamburg, Germany-one month. We walk till
we got tired, sit down a little bit, and walk
again. It’s a long way
 Left families behind – uncertain if they
would meet again
II. Journey Across Atlantic
 Steamship
Accommodations
 USS Permland – steerage class:
cheapest & least comfortable
Located under deck in front/back of
boat
No window, no ventilation
Limited bathrooms
 Crowded w/diverse group of people –
mostly men
1,200 – 2,000 on boats
8-14 days
II. Journey Across Atlantic
“During
the 12 days in the steerage
I lived in…surroundings that
offended every sense. Only the
fresh breeze from the sea overcame
the sickening odors. Everything was
dirty, sticky and disagreeable to the
touch.”
Conditions led to disease and death
III. Ellis Island, NY
 Ellis Island
 Main processing point for new
immigrants
 Established 1890
 Processed around 6 mill immigrants
 Lady Liberty
 First glimpse of promise land
 “looked with wonder on this
miraculous land of our dreams”
IV. Medical Inspection
 Ellis
Island
 1st & 2nd class immigrants didn’t endure
long inspection
 Steerage endured long inspections
 Step 1 – inspector goes on board to
check for highly contagious disease
 Step 2
 upper passengers go first, quick
process
 Lower passengers go to Ellis Island
V. Legal Inspection
 Registry
Hall
 Immigrants tagged & waited for legal
inspection
 2-3 hours wait, sometimes 1 day
 Iron gates keep immigrants in order
 Inspector asked questions:
 What’s
your name?
 Married? Single?
 Do you have $$$? More than $30?
 Have you ever been in prison
V. Leaving Ellis Island
 City
 Majority
settled in cities due to job
availability
 75% US immigrants lived in cities
 Ethnic
Enclaves
Little
Italy
Polish Hill
China Town
VIII. Immigrants Cartoon

Anti-foreign attitude
 Some native-born Americans feared
immigrants
 Strange language & customs
 Competition for jobs
Some used as strike breakers
 “Immigrants are an invasion of venomous
reptiles…long haired, wild-eyed, badsmelling, atheistic, reckless foreign
wretches, who never did a day’s work in
their lives.”
Homework
Read and take notes on section 1
Page 443,
numbers 2 and 3
#4
a) Summarize the reasons for antiimmigrant feelings.
b) Compare to what you know about
current debates concerning immigration.
What is different?
What is the same?
VI. Living Conditions
 “Five-cents-a-spot”
 Illegal
because of safety conditions
 Used by many w/no families
 Small rooms & very cramped
120 rooms – 1,231 immigrants
 Hazards
 Fires
 Disease
 Many newborns didn’t survive
VII. Working Conditions
 Photo
Little
girl in textile factory
Nimble fingers ideal for threading
 Available Jobs
Textile, coal mines, steel mills
No skill required
Immigrant wage as low as $.10 per
hr