Transcript How did immigration affect the U.S. in the industrial age?

• “USA – I hear you knocking , but you can’t
come in.”
Ezra Lazarus
The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Discussion Questions
1. What message does this poem send
about the U.S.?
2. Is this an accurate portrayal of the
U.S.?
The Statue of
Liberty
• What does this statue represent?
– Liberty
– A beacon for immigrants entering New York Harbor
(“where people get their first view of the New World”)
• France gave the statue to the U.S. as a recognition
of the connection of liberty between the two
countries
• Dedicated in 1886 (10/28)
• “The New Colossus” written in 1883, mounted to
statue on 1903
The Allure of the U.S.
What brought European
immigrants to the U.S.?
Reasons for
Immigration
–Overpopulation of
Europe
–Religious
Persecution
–War
–Poverty and squalor
of Europe
Who came from Europe? When?
• 1790s most immigrants from Britain, Ireland,
and Africa
• 80% of immigrants in 1800s from Europe
• Old Immigrants (1840s-1880s)
– Potato Famine (1830s and 1840s) - increased
immigration from Ireland
– Mid-1800s Industrial Revolution swept
through Germany, France and Belgium –
causing people to leave Europe for land and
space in U.S.
– Homestead Law (1862)
• New Immigrants
(1880s-1900s)
– Industrialization
swept through
Southern and
Eastern Europe
causing
immigration of
Italians, Slavs
and Jews
Who came from Asia?
When?
• Chinese Immigrants (1848 – 1880s)
– Need for Laborers
• Mining
• Railroad
• Agricultural workers
– Reasons for immigration
• Political oppression
• Economic opportunity
– Similarities Among Chinese
• Unskilled Workers
• Mainly men
• Obtained passage through middlemen
What is the impact of
increased immigration?
• Increased Population in Cities
– 1870-1900 population in American cities
tripled
– By 1900 40% of Americans are city dwellers
– Poor living conditions
• Resentment
– Immigrants willing to take jobs for less money
– Many immigrants poor – who pays for their
welfare?
• Nativist Movements (Beginning in 1830s)
• Immigration Restrictions
– 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act
– 1882, 1892 laws required physical exams and
barred convicts, prostitutes, poor, diseased
– Literacy Test
• Labor Issues
– Immigrants used as strikebreakers
– Hard to unionize due to language barriers
– Labor leaders argued for protection against
foreign workers