The United States was perceived as an opportunity for a new life for many of the immigrants. Thus, the many reasons for their immigration was to flee from crop failures, lack of land or jobs, increasing taxes, and shortage of food (famine). Furthermore, many people left to the United States with the intention of having personal freedom and being free from being judged of their political or religious beliefs. As a result of the immigration, tension between nativists and immigrants grew. The nativists in America thought that the immigrants would ultimately affect the future generations of American born citizens. The reason being is because the nativist held the immigrants responsible for the many negative actions in American society. Hence, the
2. Americans felt threatened by immigrants, and they did not agree with their cultures. This negative mentality towards immigrants caused discrimination. Economics was a one of the major sources of tension. The Irish arrived when labor unions were on strikes to obtain better wages and working conditions.
Most immigrants who came to the U.S had high expectations that they would find wealth but once they arrived they realized their expectations weren’t what they expected. Although, they were disappointed in not finding wealth the conditions in which the U.S was in by the late 1800s were still a lot better than the places they all had left behind to come. The majority of the immigration population anticipation was to find profitable jobs and opportunities. When the large numbers of immigration were migrating to the U.S, it was during the “Gilded Age”, which was the prime time for the country’s expansion of industrialization. This rapid expansion of new industries led to the need of workers which motivated people from other countries to come to
The United States of America was built from the ground up through the labor of immigrants and slaves, yet has a history of discrimination against both. Moreover, resentment towards the latter escalated during the Industrial Revolution because citizens felt that their jobs were being robbed by immigrants. To restrict them, they first created the Chinese Exclusion Act which banned Chinese immigration for ten years, stemming from “economic and cultural tensions, as well as ethnic discrimination” (History State). Many of these foreigners fled their countries due to religious persecution, poverty, and political persecution. Therefore, citizens and foreigners had the same goals: freedom and the ability to support their families.
Immigration in America is nothing new and it has had an impact on society for many years. People from all over come to America for a fresh start and to get away from any problems. You can’t really blame them for wanting to get away from where ever and wanting to start over. As George Takei talks about his experience as a Japanese-American and his view of the American Dream. Immigrants have many differences while in America.
The Gilded Age alludes to a period in American History where there was gigantic financial development, innovative advances, and improvements in popular culture. Indeed, even such a significant number of Americans felt that these advancements were misrepresented and that underneath this change and riches laid the brutal substances of urban areas, political defilement, and the abuse of workers. Be that as it may, there were endeavors to better those that blocked the glittery part of America. There was a gigantic development inside the urban populace. This was because of the ascent of movement and in addition Americans expecting a superior life in urban regions due to every one of the employments accessible.
Nativism is described as “the political idea that people who were born in a country are more important than immigrants”( "Nativism Definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary"). Nativism was most seen during the 1870’s through the 1920’s. Nativism was a major cause in middle-class disputes since middle-class workers feared that the immigrant workers would drop wage prices and that they “...threatened social stability”(The Many Faces of Immigration). Many Catholic immigrants were blamed for the overflow of immigrants in the poverty sections of cities.
Immigration to America had its benefits and downside. America was the place to go in the 19th century people all around the world immigrated to the US. The US needed rules and regulations on entering the country due to types of things that were happening in Document 2. The positives of immigrating to the US was too good to pass up.
In the early 19th century, millions of immigrants from Europe had traveled to the United States to escape difficulties faced in their native lands such as poverty and religious persecution. Italian, German, Irish, and many other eastern European immigrants sought the prosperous and wealthy lifestyle advertised in the land of opportunity, the United States. However, after settling down they often faced the difficulties they had fled from as well as sentiments of prejudice and mistrust from the American people. Most immigrants were discriminated against due to their religious beliefs as well as their language barriers which fostered the beliefs that they were intellectually inferior to Americans.
This population shared common interests and challenges along their journey. They were all interested in seeking freedom, economic opportunity, religious tolerance and a better quality of life for their children. They all faced the challenges of poverty, over-crowded communities, and discrimination. It seems just as much as America redefined them, the new immigrants reshaped the nation by bringing their customs, traditions, cuisine, religion, languages, and to share with the American people helping to make the United States of America the “great melting pot” it is
How would you feel if you and your family were denied the opportunity to a better life or had to wait years for one? The immigrants goal is to strive for a better future for themselves and their family. Coming here will help them achieve that goal. You may be thinking why cant they have a good future where they live? In some cases, the country they live in could be poor, not have many schools, is not safe, etc.
Immigration and The American Dream Immigrants from the mid 19th century and early 20th century consisted of mainly Southern and Eastern Europe, Asia, and elsewhere. Immigrants motivations, experiences, and impacts shaped what an immigrant had to go through being a different person from another country. Although Americans dislike foreigners who came to the United States, immigrants had a role in political, economic, cultural, and social aspects of immigrants because of their motivations, experiences, and impacts in America. New Immigrants did not have it easy and went through obstacles natives, political figures, bosses and others had thrown at them.
Immigrants can be said to be a person who comes to live in foreign country permanently. Every year, hundreds of thousands of immigrants, legal and illegal, from around the world, have come to the United States seeking a better life for themselves and their family. These immigrants have many different motivations; some enter the U.S hoping to get a chance of a better life; others are refugees, escaping civil wars or persecution in their country. Many of these immigrants believe the United States is the best place to go. There are more freedom, opportunities, protection and benefits which are important issues for immigrants.
The main reason for immigration has remained economic opportunity, the appeal of better land or a better job. Before 1920, about 30 percent of all immigrants to the United States later returned to their native country. Some immigrants intend to stay in a new country temporarily and then go back home. But others go back because they find adjusting to a new society too difficult. (Source: The World Book Encyclopedia, Volume 10, Page 82).
Nativism: the Killer of the American Dream Nativism refers to a policy or belief that protects or favors the interest of the native population of a country over the interests of immigrants. In the United States, the greatest nativist sentiment emerged with the massive influx of 19th-century European immigrants on the East Coast and the arrival of Chinese immigrants on the West Coast. These immigrants suffered the long and exhausting journey to America with only the American Dream as their inspiration. The American Dream is a symbol of hope for millions of people across the world, promising equal opportunity to whoever may pursue it.
It is part of human nature to strive to go further, achieve more and become a better person. Many people nowadays decide to leave their country in search for a better life in order to provide positive changes for their future, and that is the main reason as to why people migrate. Reasons for immigration can include lack of educational opportunities, the standard of living is not being high enough, or the low value of wages. Immigration has become a major part of life in the 20th century, and many people see America as the land of freedom, countless opportunities and thus they choose to migrate to the United States whether as naturalized citizens, legal permanent residents, refugees, international students, or even undocumented immigrants. The