USA - Historical roots of Immigration I

Why is the US called "nation of immigrants?
1. great ethnic diversity
2. fact: less than 1 per cent of total population = descendants of native Americans
  1. total population = about 310 million
  2. all others = immigrants / descendants of immigrants
The three periods of immigration to North America
1. Early immigration
  1. Arrival of the Pilgrim Fathers
    1. 1620
    2. beginning of colonisation
    3. ship "Mayflower"
2. European immigration
  1. first wave
    1. 1820 - 1860
      1. people from Great Britain, Ireland, Western Germany
  2. second wave
    1. 1860 - 1890
      1. people from scandinavian countries
  3. third wave
    1. 1890 - 1915
      1. people from southern / eastern Europe (Greece, Italy, Austria, Poland..)
3. Immigration today (major reasons)
  1. search a life in peace and freedom
    1. religious persecution
  2. Hope for economic improvement
    1. increasing use of machinery in agriculture + mechanization of the production process in factories made thousands of craftsmen + workers unemployed
  3. Civil War
    1. industrialization
      1. American industry grew rapidly
        Manufacturers needed more workers
        people from all over Europe came
  4. potato famine
  5. American letters
    1. written by immigrants
      1. wrote about about their new life
    2. published in Europe
      1. attracted more immigrants
  6. looking for adventures
"huddled masses"
1. term for millions of poor people who found asylum in the USA
2. taken from famous poem by Emma Lazarus "The New Colossus"
  1. inscribed in the pedestral of the statue of liberty
    1. statue was a gift; symbolizes the love of democracy in USA and France
Description of the immigrants' arrival in the US and their life
1. arrival in New York (main entry point)
  1. many stayed in New York, making it the "City of the World"
2. Life in a society of immigrants
  1. no racial tensions; all had the aim to improve their living conditions
  2. difficult start because of bad accomodations, bad working conditions
The role of Ellis Island
1. first official Federal immigration center
2. established as a response to the older immigrants' call for a restriction of immigration
  1. new immigrants had to go to "Ellis Island" to be checked before they could enter America
    1. medical inspection
    2. psychological examination
3. Isle of Hope
  1. for more than 17 million immigrants who were allowed to enter America
4. Isle of Tears
  1. for those who showed any signs of illness / diseases
  2. for people with politically doubtful characters or convicts
  3. about 2 per cent of the immigrants were sent back to their homelands

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USA - Historical roots of Immigration I

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