“We’re Coming to America”

What factors pushed emigrants out of their native lands and pulled them to the United

States?

PUSH FactorsWhat “pushed” people out of their native countries?• Population growth – Better food and sanitation

made Europe’s population increase.• Agricultural changes – No more small scale farming.

Big commercial farms to provide for people living in cities.

• Crop Failures – Poor harvests and crop failures put small farmers out of business and many went hungry.

PUSH FactorsWhat “pushed” people out of their native countries?• Industrial Revolution – Things made in factories

were cheaper than handmade items, so many artisans went out of business.

• Religious and Political Persecution – Many people came to the USA to practice their religious freely or to escape war

PULL FactorsWhy did emigrants choose the United States?

• Freedom – Democracy and Religious freedom encouraged many to come to the USA

• Economic Opportunity – Immigrants wanted land where they could support their families and have a better future.

• Abundant land – USA had more than enough land for people to live on (Louisiana Purchase and Mexican Cession gave us millions of acres)

Scandinavians Seek Land• Scandinavians are from countries like Sweden,

Denmark, and Norway.

• Thousands of Scandinavians came to the USA seeking land.

• An acre of land sold for $1.25

• Scandinavians settled in states like Minnesota and Wisconsin because they had the same landscape as their homeland. (Forest, lakes, and cold winters)

Germans come for Economic Opportunities

• Germans head to the Midwest, including Texas! (New Braunfels and Fredericksburg)

• Germans settle in cities as well as farms• They become bakers, butchers, carpenters,

printers, shoemakers, tailors, etc.• Many German immigrants achieved great success!• Germans were the largest immigrant group of the 1800’s

The Irish come to escape hunger and Religious and Political persecution.

• The Irish had been persecuted by the British for centuries.

• Irish Catholics couldn’t not own land, vote, or go to school. (Protestant British said NO)

• Most Irish people lived in poverty• Potato famine hit Ireland hard (potatoes were

the base of the Irish diet)

The Irish come to escape hunger and Religious and Political persecution.

• Irish people came to the USA uneducated and poor

• They stayed in the cities where their ships docked (New York, Boston, Baltimore, and Philadelphia)

• Took low paying, back breaking jobs

U.S. Cities Overcrowded• Between 1800-1830 New York City’s

population jumped from 60,489 to 202,589.• Greedy landlord built large apartment

buildings on small lots• Outdoor toilets overflowed• Disease spread• Crime flourished

Some Americans Oppose Immigration

• Many American feared the immigrants would one day outnumber natives.

• Many immigrants faced anger and prejudice.