What do we call people who come to a place from a

different country?

immigrant

Push factors are things which drive people from their country to another country. What push

factors caused people to immigrate to the Untied

States?

Religious and political persecution caused many people to come to

the Untied States. They looked for someplace where they could live free. Some people came because they faced economic hardships. For example, many Irish people

came over during the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840’s. People also left their homelands because they

were unable to get land there.

Pull factors are things in the United States which drew

immigration to the country. What pull factors brought immigration to the United

States.

The United States was known as the land of the free. This applied to both politics and religion. This brought many

immigrants to the United States. There was also cheap or free land, especially in the

west. The Industrial Revolution also brought the promise of

jobs for the immigrants. Family also told the immigrants how

great America was.

What were ethnic groups?

Ethnic groups were people from the same country. They

made life better for immigrants because they explained how

America worked. They provided safe places for the immigrants to stay in. Areas with same ethnic groups were called ghettoes. They often provided shelter and money

until the immigrant was able to get a job.

What symbol of freedom awaited immigrants in New

York harbor?

Statue of Liberty

What was Ellis Island?

Ellis Island was the first place many European immigrants

came to in the United States. They faced a medical

examination here. Often their name became changed or

Americanized because it was too difficult to say.

What was Angel Island?

Angel Island was the equivalent of Ellis Island for the West

Coast of the United States. It was located in San Francisco.

Many Asian (Chinese, Japanese) immigrants came through here.

Because of the dislike for these groups of people, many waited on Angel Island for long

periods of time.

What were the waves of Immigration?

The first wave of immigrants came during colonial times. They were mostly seeking

religious freedom and economic freedom. Most came from Western Europe (England,

Germany, France).

The second wave of immigration came for economic opportunities and cheap land. They came form 1820-1870.

Most came from Western Europe, especially Ireland after the potato famine. Germans

came to escape political problems. The discovery of

gold and the transcontinental railroad brought many Chinese

immigrants.

The third wave of immigration lasted form 1880-1921. People came from around the world, especially from Southern and Eastern Europe. This was the greatest period of European

immigration.

The fourth wave lasted from 1945 until today. Cubans fled

Fidel Castro. The largest immigrant group has been Mexicans, legal and illegal,

who came looking for economic opportunities, especially on

farms. Southeast Asians have fled political problems.

Where did most immigrants settle?

Most settled in cities, especially in ethnic ghettoes.

What is assimilation?

Assimilation was the goal of many immigrants. This was the process of adopting the

American culture. This included the customs, the

language and the total way of life.

What is xenophobia?

Xenophobia is the fear of foreigners.

What was the Know-Nothing party?

The Know-Nothing party was a political party that didn’t like immigrants. They specifically

didn’t like Catholics

Who were nativists?

People who wanted to restrict immigration and keep America

for native born citizens.

How was immigration restricted?

The Chinese faced the most discrimination regarding

immigration. The Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) shut down

Chinese immigration. The Quota Act limited immigration to 350,000 people a year. A countries immigration was

limited based upon the percentage of people from the country already in the United

States.

Why was immigration encouraged up to 1880?

There was plenty of land for immigrants. There were more

than enough jobs. In fact, many companies recruited

people form other countries to fill the need for jobs during the early stages of the Industrial

Revolution.

Why were people against immigration after 1880?

There were fewer jobs and the immigrants competed to take the jobs that were available.

Land was no longer available in the west so people settled in

the cities. The cities were overcrowded and the

immigrants made it worse.

Why did people move to cities?

Many farmers moved to the cities to enjoy the attraction offered there. It was much

more exciting than life on the farm. There were also jobs to

be found in the cities.

What was life like in the cities?

Life was lousy in the cities. People lived in tenements

without plumbing. Tenements were small apartments without heat, plumbing and windows.

There was no sewer systems in many areas. Disease was spread due to unsanitary

conditions and overcrowding.

There were also many cool things happening in the cities.

Sports such as baseball, football and basketball,

developed by James Naismith were popular. Vaudeville, a song-and-dance show was popular. Ragtime was a

popular musical style. Circuses came to the cities.

Skyscrapers started to do the horizon. Shopping at

department stores such as Macy’s became popular.

How was technology affecting the cities?

Public transportation such as the el train and subways made

getting to places easier. Skyscrapers, built with light-weight steel frames allowed

more people to live in smaller places. Elevators allowed people to live in the upper

floors of these skyscrapers.

How did people try to help the poor in cities?

Settlement houses were established to help the poor.

These were community centers providing help for the poor. The most famous settlement house was Hull House which

was run by Jane Addams. The Salvation Army offered food

and shelter to the poor. Young Men’s Christian Associations

(YMCA) held dances and organized team sports.

What was school like in the early 1900’s?

Public schooling to 6th grade was mandated in many states.

Many children still did not attend school so they could work to support their family.

Why did newspapers become more popular in the early

1900’s.

Many newspapers started to practice yellow journalism or sensationalizing the news.

They used scandal, cartoons and gossip to increase their circulation at a tremendous pace. The New York World published by Joseph Pulitzer

and the New York Journal published by William Randolph

Hearst were the leading newspapers of the day.

What were dime novels?

These were the new paperback books that became very

popular. Most were thrilling adventure stories that were cheap to buy. They were

especially popular with young readers.

Who were realists?

Realists were artists and writers who wanted to portray

life as it really was.

What book was realist write Stephen Crane most famous for

writing?

The Red Badge of Courage.

What was realist author Jack London most famous for?

He wrote The Call of the Wild as well as many stories about the hardships faced by miners

on the West Coast.

Who was the most famous author of this time period?

Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain. He wrote many books, the most famous being The Adventures of Huckleberry

Finn and Tom Sawyer.

Who was Winslow Homer?

He was a realist artist who painted gory scenes of Civil

War battlefields. He was also known for his realistic pictures

of New England.

What was the process of becoming a citizen called?

naturalization

What was the difference between the Salad Bowl and the Melting Pot theories of

Americanization?

The Melting Pot theory was that all immigrants brought their

culture from their own country and the best of all cultures was mixed into a single American

culture. The Salad Bowl theory was that there was some shared culture, such as democracy, but each

immigrant maintained much of the culture from the country

they came from.