Regents Review

ImmigrationHW: Review Book Page 174-177

Define the following terms

• Americanized – learn to act, speak and be like other “Americans”

• Acculturated – learn the language and the culture of their adopted land.

• Assimilated – Made similar to other Americans.• Nativism – Believing that native born Americans

were superior to foreigners and the immigration should be restricted (ethnocentric).

Old Immigration

• Where – (1607-1880) – Northern and Western Europe (Britain, Ireland, Germany). Mostly Protestants.

• Why – Religious persecution. No laws on immigration. Free land out West.

New Immigration

• Where – (1880 -1920) – Southern and Eastern Europe (Poland, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Greece and Russia). Some Asian. Many Catholics

• Why – Industrialization created need for workers. “Streets were paved with gold.”

• Faced discrimination from old immigrants – no English, Catholics, dressed differently etc.

Recent Immigration

• Where – (1960 – present) – Vietnam, Cambodia, Former USSR, mostly Latin America – Cuba, Haiti, Mexico.

• Why – to escape Communist persecution

• To escape religious discrimination (Jews)

• Escape poverty, persecution and unstable governments.

• Better jobs, higher pay

Chinese Exclusion Act - 1882

• Anti-Chinese feelings in California against the Chinese workers.

• Chinese immigration banned for ten years. Then extended another ten. Then indefinitely until after WWII.

Gentlemen’s Agreement - 1907

• Japanese government agreed to limit Japanese emigration to the U.S. to those who already had relatives living in America.

Immigration Acts of 1921, 1924, 1929

• Established a quota system aimed at preserving America’s existing ethnic composition.

• Great Britain, Ireland and Germany were allowed the largest number of immigrants

• Limit “new immigrants”

• Asians banned.

Immigration Act of 1965

• Designed to be less biased.

• Every country identical quota of 20,000

• Preference to those with U.S. relatives or occupational skills.