Immigration in the 19th century in the USABased upon On the Trail of the Immigrant by Edward A. Steiner published in 1906 by Fleming H. Revell Company, NY

With tickets fastened to their coats and dresses, the immigrants pass through the gate to enter into their new inheritance, and become our felllow citizens. During the quarter century following 1890, 18 million immigrants arrived in the United States. Prior to the Civil War, most immigrants came from northern and western Europe, particularly from England, Germany, Ireland, and Scandinavia. After 1890, most newcomers were from southern and eastern Europe, especially Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Russia. By 1900, New York City had more Italians than any city in Italy except Rome, more Poles than any city in Poland except Warsaw, as many Irish as Dublin, and more Jews than any other city in the world.

Close of kin to us are the Scandinavians, not only in race, but in thought and in ideals. More than any other element do they blend quickly and thoroughly with our national life. Some immigrants planned to work temporarily in the United States and then return to Europe. Many Italians and Poles and peole from Slavic counries did not emigrate as families, and a high proportion returned to the Old World. Others, including the Irish, Jews, and Czechs fleeing economic and political oppression, came with their families intending to settle permanently. But whether they arrived as individuals or as members of families, immigrants sought out family, friends, and ethnic communities to sustain them in the new society.

The Slovak and the Pole... are among the most industrious and patient people who come to our shores... Even on board ship they are the most patient passengers, for hardships are not new to them. Far from destroying relationships among kin and reducing immigrants to rootless individuals, migration across the Atlantic strengthened family and kinship ties. Families were the basic resource in effecting the immigrants' transition to their new environment. Most immigrants settled in neighborhoods populated by people from the same home village, who provided information about urban life, offered temporary housing, and assisted in finding work.

Where a shovel of earth is to be turned, or a bed of rock is to be blasted, there the Italian, unattached, migratory, contributes his share to the public welfare. There were two main kinds of immigrants--permanent immigrants and migrant workers who never intended to settle permanently in the United States. Known as "birds of passage," these migrant workers, usually young men in their teens and 20s, arrived in the United States in the early Spring and worked until late Fall before returning to their homeland.

In the great examination hall, they wait, some with curiosity, some with anxiety, the decision that shall give them entrance to the new home or consign them again to the Old World strife. In 1886, the State of Liberty was unveiled at the entrance of New York Harbor. A gift from France, the statue stood a half mile from Ellis Island, the reception point for more than 12 million European immigrants from 1892 to 1924. In the examination room, newcomers were questioned by government officials and examined by doctors before being allowed into the country.

It is a serious matter to many a man who has invested his all in a ticket for the New World to face the possibility of rejection. During the late 19th century, the United States imposed its first restrictions on immigration. The earliest immigration restrictions were aimed at Asian immigrants. The United States imposed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. It barred the entry of Chinese laborers and established stringent conditions under which Chinese merchants and their families could enter. Also in 1882, the United States excluded people likely to become public charges. It subseqeuntly barred contract laborers (1885), illiterates (1917), and all Asian immigrants (except for Filipinos, who were U.S. nationals) (1917). Other acts restricted the entry of certain criminals, "dangerous radicals," people who were considered immoral, those suffering certain diseases, and paupers.

The fellowship of the steerage makes good comrades, where no barriers exist and introductions are neither possible nor necessary. The United States was not the only country to lure immigrants from Europe. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, and South Africa also attracted millions of immigrants. But the United States was unique in the diversity of the people it attracted. Whereas most immigrants to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa came from the United Kingdom and most immigrants to South America came from Italy, Portugal, and Spain, immigrants to the United States arrived from all parts of Europe.

East of the Bowery in New York City is the heart of the largest Jewish community in the world. Sidewalks, street signs, language, all indicate the process of development. Many immigrants settled in New York City's Lower East Side. In 1890, the Lower East Side had the highest population density in the world--335,000 people to the square mile. While middle- class New Yorkers led their lives in offices and private homes, on the Lower East side much of the business and recreation took place on the streets.

Not merely the dangerous elements are refused admission, but those who for reasons of ill health of mind or body, or inability to work, are likely to prove a hindrance rather than a help. Following World War I, the United States took steps to close the door to large-scale foreign immigration. In 1921, the United States limited immigration according to a nation'based quota system. No more than 3 percdent of any given nationality in America in 1910 could immigrate annually to the United States. In 1924, the quota was lowered to 2 percent of each nationality residing in America in 1890. This act was clearly designed to restrict eastern and southern Europeans, for there were fewer of the new immigrants in the United States in 1890 than in 1910.

From Romania to the sheep farms of the west is a long journey. Those who make it, form a most useful element in the development of the country. Supporting a family required multiple incomes from several family members. For many immigrants, the kinship network provided day-to-day assistance with housing, childcare, and loans. During critical life situations-illnesses, unemployment, injury, housing shortages, or old age-- individuals often turned to kin for support.