The Rise of

Industrialization
The Gilded Age (Immigration)
 New Immigrants

• Immigration is a central theme of

American history
• Foreign born population of US
doubled between 1870 and 1900
• Fear among Americans that that
immigrants would destroy American
culture
 Old Immigrants

• Until 1870, most immigrants that came to the US

were Protestants from northern and western Europe
• Many had saved money, had a skill or trade, and were
educated
• Many were German and Irish Catholics
• Though some Americans were prejudiced to Catholics,
the Irish spoke English and German Catholics benefited
from good reputation of their Protestant countrymen
 New Immigrants

• Beginning in 1870, “new” immigrants from southern

and eastern Europe began coming to America
• Often unskilled, poor, Catholic or Jewish, usually settled
in cities
• Came from Italy, Greece, Poland, Hungary, and Russia
• Planned to make money and return home to Europe
• Many native-born Americans felt threatened by
newcomers with different cultures and languages
 Push/Pull Factors

• Push/Pull Factors are factors that lead to people

immigrating
• Push Factors- factors that compel people to leave
their homes
• Famine, war, persecution
• Pull Factors- factors that draw people to a new place
• Economic opportunity, religious freedom
 Push Factors

• Land reform and low prices forced many in

Mexico, Poland, and China to move off of farms
and come to the US
• Wars and political revolutions forced many from
China and eastern Europe to immigrate
• Russian and eastern European Jews came to the US
to escape religious persecution
 Pull Factors

• US offered opportunity for plentiful land and

employment
• Homestead Act attracted those looking for land
• Railroad construction and other jobs attracted many
foreign workers
• US offered political and religious freedom to
immigrants
 Arriving in America

• First stop for ships bringing

immigrants to America was at a
processing station
• Immigration officials decided who
could stay in US
• Beginning in 1892, immigrants from
Europe arriving in New York went
through Ellis Island
 Ellis Island

• Third-class passengers on ships sent to Ellis Island

• Immigration officials did legal and medical inspections
• Checked to ensure they were healthy, had money, a skill,
or a sponsor
• Only about 2 percent denied entry due to shipowners
doing preliminary screening prior to boarding
 Angel Island

• Chinese and other Asian immigrants

were processed at Angel Island,
which opened in 1910
• Was always formidable and seemed
designed to filter out Chinese
immigrants
 Chinese Exclusion Act

• Signed into law in 1882 by Chester A. Arthur

• Suspended Chinese immigration for ten years and made
it impossible for Chinese to become naturalized citizens
• Though it was challenged by Chinese already in
America, their efforts failed
• Extended another ten years in 1892, then Chinese
immigration made permanently illegal in 1902
 Life in America

• Most immigrants settled in cities

close to factories
• Often lived in ethnic neighborhoods
with people who shared their native
language, religion, and culture
 Nativism

• Newcomers to the US often faced nativism (the

belief that native-born white Americans were
superior to immigrants)
• Competition for jobs and housing fueled resentment
• Immigrants willing to work for less wages
• Religious differences sparked suspicion between
native-born workers and immigrants
 Nativism

• Religion was a big problem

• Protestants were suspicious of Catholicism: Irish,
German, Italian, and Polish
• Many native-born Protestants would not hire
Catholics or Jews
• Some Americans signed agreements not to rent or
sell property to Catholics, Jews, African Americans,
or other groups they considered “non-native”