Immigration to the USA (1820-1970)

1) Immigration and slavery:

• before 1808 it was legal to import slaves
• time after 1808, the tables do not show slaves, because the first efforts against slavery began
• from 1865 on slavery became illegal

2) Passengers lists:

Ø in 1819 the U.S. passed a law that said that every ship carrying immigrants had to file all passengers on a list
Ø basis for all information:

• each person´s name with
• age
• gender
• occupation
• country of origin and destination
• whether or not the person died during the voyage

3) Trends over time:

As you can see the largest influx took place between 1895 and the beginning of World War I. The influence of wars such as the American Civil War (1860-65) and the two World Wars 1914-18 and 1938-45 can also be seen. Some other "lows" are due to immigration restrictions in the USA.

4) Influences of different immigrants:

In the late 19th century the nature of American society changed with the arrival of large numbers of Irish, southern and eastern Europeans:

1. the "Anglo-Saxon Protestant" nation was faced with Catholic and Jewish newcomers
2. the Europeans followed: - the American Dream despite distrust / discrimination - they work hard for success and a better life

	The charts show a shift from Central and Western Europeans in 1854 to Southern and Eastern Europans in 1907

Latin Americans, Hispanics and Asians came in large number with the Immigration Act after 1965:

Ø they had a profound influence on the political landscape and cultural identity of the USA
Ø they emphasize their own heritage

The USA was no longer seen as a homogeneous Anglo-Saxon nation

5) Where did they arrive? / How did they arrive?

6) Why did they immigrate?

a) the difference in real wages between their home country and the United States
b) economic and political conditions in the U.S.
c) because of religious persecution
d) because of the potato famine during the 1840s, which affected not only Ireland but also much of Northwest Europe
e) they believed in the "melting-pot"-theory
f) American Dream
g) they all wished to benefit from the "unlimited opportunities"
h) many individuals came to the United States not planning to stay permanently but instead planning to work for a period of time before returning home

7) Few restrictions before 1882

ØMost of the arrivals were Catholic and unskilled
Ø the first restrictive immigration laws were directed against Asian countries
ð first law: Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
ð it prohibited the immigration of Chinese citizens and it stayed in effect until it was removed during the Second World War
ðit also prohibited the immigration of " convicts, lunatics, idiots"
Øimmigration fell anyway because of the lack of jobs
Ø for the Jews, Irish Catholics, Greeks, Russians was it not as easy as for those new immigrants to blend with the resident population.

words:

Julia Scheufler, Daniela Schweda, JgSt. 12

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