Unit 7: The Progressive Era & Roaring 20s (1890 – 1929)

Lesson 1-The Immigrant Experience

United States History

Bell RingerFamous Immigrants to the U.S.• Charles Atlas (Italy)

• Irving Berlin (Belarus)

• Max Factor (Poland)

• Frank Capra (Italy)

• Bela Lugosi (Hungary)

• Bob Hope (England)

• Lucky Luciano (Italy)

• Lou Gehrig (son of German Immigrants)

• Knute Rockne (Norway)• Rudolph Valentino (Italy)• Mike Strank

(Czechoslovakia) • Ettore Boiardi (Italy)• Hyman Rickover (Russia)• Yogi Berra (son of Italian

Immigrants)• 22 Presidents of the U.S.

are descended from ?

Old Immigrants vs. New Immigrants

• 1865 –U.S. Population = 31.5 Million• 1865–1920 – 30 Million Immigrants entered

the U.S. Most from Europe.• 1840–1880 – Most from N & W Europe.

These were the Old Immigrants.• 1880-1920 – New Immigrants from E & S

Europe (Slavs, Italians, Russians, and many Jews; Culturally different from Old Immigrants & many didn’t assimilate well ).

Why did they come?

Push Factors• Factors that caused

them to leave home• Wars• Famines• Lack of Freedom• Lack of Opportunity• No Jobs or Land

Pull Factors• Factors that drew

them to America• Freedom• Desire to Own Land• Mostly the

availability of Jobs

Identifying Pushes and PullsHandout 3-33

• Examine the 12 Facts.

• Complete T-Chart for Pushes/ Pulls

• List the reasons people came to America and classify them as Pushes/ Pulls

Push or Pull?1. In 1800 there were no railroads in America; by 1900 railroads

connect virtually every city in the U.S.

2. Ireland was devastated by a potato famine between 1845 and 1850. One million died; ¼ of Irish population moved to U.S.

3. “My dear brother, in America, we eat everyday.” – letter from Polish boy to younger brother in Poland.

4. During the 1880s, due to improved farming technology, peasant farmers in southern Italy are forced off lands they had lived on for generations.

5. President Lincoln signs the Homestead of Act of 1862 which allots 160 acres of free western land to any married male, 21 years of age, who agrees to farm the land for five consecutive years.

Ellis Island, NYC (1892-1954)

• By 1900, crossing took 7 days

• Most traveled in the steerage b/c it was cheaper

• 12 Million came (2% failed physicals)

• Most lived in ghettoes• Discrimination/

Nativism were common

Immigrants from Asia

• Angel Island, SF (1910) – Most Asians came into here

• Chinese Exclusion Act (1882), 92, & 02

• Gentlemen’s Agreement with Japan (1907)

• Webb-Alien Land Law (CA) – prevented land ownership by aliens

Immigrants from Latin America

• 1900-1920 more than 10% of Mexico’s population came to the U.S.

• Settled in CA and S.W. U.S.

• WW I created labor shortage in mines and on farms

Shutting the Golden Door• Xenophobia – the fear of

immigrants• Nativism – the belief that

native-born white Americans were superior to newcomers

• Emergency Quota Act of 1921 (3% or 1910 Census)

• Immigration Act of 1924 (2% of 1890 Census)

• End of WW I in 1918 saw a revival of the KKK

Exit Slip – Immigration1. The major port of entry after 1892 for European

immigrants to America?a. Long Island b. Ellis Island

2. Immigrants who came mostly from countries of Eastern and Southern Europe?a. New Immigrants b. Old Immigrants

3. Most of the 12 million who came to the U.S. in NYC were turned away.a. True b. False

4. Most immigrants from Asia arrived here? a. San Diego, CA b. San Francisco, CA

The Immigrant Experience: The Long, Long Journey

• As you watch the DVD, list 8 difficulties or hardships Janek and his family faced as they struggled to assimilate into American society upon emigrating here from Poland in 1907.