U.S. Immigration: 1840-1920 Final Draft

WHY DID IMMIGRANTS COME TO THE U.S.?
1. Africans
  1. forced to come as slaves
2. Chinese
  1. 1840's- war and poverty in China; heard about gold in California; came to work in the mines
  2. came to build the transcontinental railroad; they were recruited by Charles Crocker
3. Italians
  1. Southern Italian peasants some of the poorest in Europe; exploited through taxes and corrupt laws
  2. Experienced many natural disasters; malaria epidemic in 1800's, 1905 earthquakes, eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, 1908 tsunami that killed 1000,000 people
4. Russian Jews
  1. fled poverty but mostly religious hatred;
  2. segregated in shtetls; anti-Semitism was official governemnt policy; couldn't own land, be army officers, judges, professors;
  3. "pogroms"- raids of terror through Jewish shtetls; massacres; 1905- 600 pogroms
5. Multiple groups
  1. Refugees fled countries torn apart by war or destroyed by natural disasters; 1.5 million Vietnamese refugees came to the US and Canada to escape war and " a controlling gov't"
  2. Immigrants came for more economic prosperity and a better life
6. Mexicans
  1. Many Mexican immigrants came because of great poverty in Mexico, demand for low-wage labor in US
  2. Thousands of Mexicans became part of the US when Mexico ceded half its territory to the US at the end of the US-Mexico War; they didn't cross the border- the border crossed them!
WHAT WERE THE BENEFITS OF IMMIGRATION?
1. Immigrants' perspectives
  1. Chinese
    1. Chinese immigrants were able to send money home to their families
    2. Started lucrative businesses- restaurants, laundries, and shops; developed fishing industries
  2. Italians
    1. Escape from the cruel treatment of landlords, taxation by the government, and natural disasters like malaria, floods and volcanic eruptions
    2. Able to maintain much of their culture, live among their own people, speak their own language, own newspapers, maintain a rich cultural life, and go to restaurants, clubs and theaters
  3. Russian Jews
    1. Escape from the Czar and have the relgious freedom guaranteed in the US Constitution (from indep. reading)
  4. Multiple groups
    1. People found jobs in sweatshops; it was hard work, but they were able to survive, stay in the US, and earn money to bring their families to this country
    2. Immigrants support the economy by taking jobs that citizens don't want
    3. Could find work to support families
    4. Could go to school
2. Perspectives of Others in U.S.
  1. Chinese immigrants develolped the shrimp and abalone industries in Calif.
  2. Chinese immigrants used knowledge of farming to build levees and contributre to agricultural development.
  3. Chinese immigrants took jobs no one else wanted; worked long hours for little pay
  4. Got workers for the growing economy
  5. Workers were willing to work for low wages and under difficult conditions; bosses made a lot of money and created goods
  6. Trangle fire galvanized public sentiment, and NY legislature passed many reform measures for better working conditions
  7. Immigrants became leading citizens and excellent workers, adding to the richness of US culture
  8. Immigrants fought and died for the US in WW I (and later wars)
  9. Senator Clancy argued to keep immigration open; cited how immigrants, despite being treated as inferior, helped build the country; saw as a "fearful fallacy: the idea that one race was meant to be dominant over others
  10. Migrant workers did hard, low-wage argicultural jobs in harsh conditions that many "Americans" did not want
  11. President Johnson described the important contributions of immigrants in his 1965 speech; "the land flourished because it was ... nourished by so many cultures and traditions and peoples"
WHAT WERE THE PROBLEMS OF IMMIGRATION?
1. Perspectives of Others in U.S.
  1. Companies began to hire Chinese laborers for jobs people already here wanted- thought the Chinese immigrants were replacing them
  2. Only wanted immigrants who would be good workers to help the economy; wanted to filter out anyone else
  3. Some people in the US were angry with immigrants for not assimilating and for taking jobs away from "white laborers."
  4. Some people thought Russians, Jews and Italians were anarchists
  5. Some thought immigrants might have contagious diseases
  6. Senator Smith argued that the US was weakened by allowing in people who had no experience with democracy
  7. Some who wanted to limit immigration considered new immigrants to be of inferior genetics and culture; afraid of race mixing and wanted to maintain "pure, unadulterated, Anglo-Saxon stock" (Eugenics)
  8. Proponents of undocumented immigrants say businesses "benefit by paying less" to these workers
  9. Some sources report as many as 12 million undocumented immigrants live in the US
  10. Opponents of immigration argue that new immigrants are a drain on services like healthcare, housing and education
  11. It was difficult for gov't to locate undocumented immigrants
  12. Immigrants were perceived as taking jobs away from exiting workers
  13. "paper families"- earthquake in San Francisco destroyed documents- couldn't prove immigrants were related to someone
  14. Chinese immigrants sold false identities to others in China, so they could immigrate
2. Immigrants' Perspectives
  1. Chinese
    1. Because of discriminatory laws, Chinese immigrants were not allowed to mine in the best places and were subject to higher taxes
    2. Had to leave their families in China and take very little with them on the journey
    3. Other workers persecuted the Chinese immigrants- mobs destroyed their homes and businesses, murdered their families, rioted
    4. Chinese immigrants were held in Angel Island detention center for months/years.
    5. Angel Island was like a prison. Men and women were separated and locked in barracks with poor sanitation and food
  2. Jews/Italians
    1. Difficult voyage on ships, crowded in steerage, everything was dirty and sticky; there was little water and spoiled food (from indep. reading)
    2. rented crowded homes meant for far fewer people; "dumbbell" tenements with little air or light; poor sanitation, few toilets, rats, firetraps
  3. Multiple groups
    1. Greenhorns- everything was new and different, including language
    2. Had to get through inspection at Ellis Island; meant to turn back anyone who "might be a burden"; called it "Island of Fears"; if one family member was rejected, he/she could be sent back alone
    3. In NY, children didn't go to school; they worked at home or in sweatshops; they didn't have enough food
    4. Sweatshop bosses treated workers like animals, forcing them to work nonstop; workers had to keep up monotonous and dangerous work
    5. Factories were dangerous; children worked in "harmful dust and fumes" and "risked injuries from accidents"; 146 people killed in Triangle fire due to lack of safety equipment, fire escapes and locked doors
    6. Manufacturers increased profit by paying as little as possible to contractors, who in turn "sweated " the workers into working every minute
    7. Child labor- in 1880 only 35% of children between the ages of 5 and 21 went to public school; child labor laws were not enforced
    8. People who live in the US exhibited anger and hatred toward immigrants; they said immigrants' different cultures were undesirable.
    9. Laws were passed against Chinese men entering the country in 1882; Chinese immigrants in the US were reclassified as aliens and could not become citizens; exclusion laws were made permanent in 1902
    10. The US limited immigration with literacy tests (had to prove ability to read);, set quotas, and outright excluded Japanese and Chinese immigrants
    11. Some thought immigrants might have contagious diseases
    12. Families are divided by citizenship- some might have green cards, others might have been born in the US and are citizens, and others might be undocumented and living under the threat of deportation
    13. Undocumented immigrants live in fear of being caught and deported

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