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During the gilded age the American economy skyrocketed. Business was booming. There was no shortage of labor, for both adults and children worked long arduous days. Factories were being built, and with them more and more jobs. Naturally, this would attract those from countries in which jobs were harder to come by and then attain. Meaning what? Immigrants. During the gilded age, the United States saw a massive influx of immigrants. Immigrants made up a very very large part of the American labor force. “During the Gilded Age there were around 11.7 million people that came to America. From those 11.7 million immigrants 10.6 million of those immigrants came from Europe, which made up 90 percent of the immigration population. The Canadians made …show more content…
up 6.7 percent and then the Chinese made up 1.7 percent.” All of which were lured by the idea of a job and survival. Both of those combine under to what led many immigrants to the United States during the gilded age.
Land of the free! A nation of opportunity! Wealth was the dream of many immigrants who came to the United States during the 1800’s. For some this was true; however, most of the immigrants stilled lived in poverty off very little, albeit these conditions were still better than what many lived under before immigration. The United States influx of immigrants was lured under the false pretense of hope and a good life. Therefore, the United States was more or less built off the misled and false hopes of immigrants.
A part of the reason immigrants had a harder time in the United States was because employers knew they would work for lower wages. This had a number of effects on the immigrant community. For one those immigrants were expected to live off lower wages when the economy was set around average wages. This caused many immigrants to go without basic necessities of life. Another problem would be the general population itself. Due to the massive influx of immigrants jobs were becoming harder and harder to come by, and even when an American citizen had found one, they very well might lose it to an immigrant. Not for the immigrants being more qualified or skilled but rather their paygrade. Employers
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did everything they could possibly do to save money for their company. Often this would include hiring lower payed immigrants. That created a number of hostilities from the general population. Otherwise known as nativism. For some immigrants, though, they did manage the goals in which led them to the United States. None of their names might commonly come up. None of them might have turned into millionaires. That means only one goal is left. To live a better life, and surprisingly this wasn’t all that hard for the immigrants. Many of them came from places and backgrounds in which the only relief was death, for they lived in such poverty that there was no hope for them. When they came to the United States, they wanted to escape that despair. While the normal living conditions were horrid to us, they were kingly to many immigrants. Standard American living conditions. “living conditions during urbanization were terrible, trash piled up in the streets, drinking water was poor, sewage systems were ineffective, air quality was terrible, animal droppings were everywhere. Most people lived in Tenements in slums that were way too overpopulated and unsanitary. Getting clean air into the tenement apartments was a problem until The dumbbell apartment were created” They had a chance to prove themselves. A chance to live a better life. They never had that chance before immigration, so as things go many immigrants lives did very much so improve from what they came from before. The United States is a land very much so built off immigrants.
Quite literally the U.S. was founded by immigrants seeking refuge. The “Promise of America” is nearly old as old as the United States itself. That idea that belief stuck around has stuck around for hundred of years, and was believed to be nothing but true during the gilded age. During the gilded age 12 million immigrants came to the United States. They too came under the pretense of the “Promise of America.” For the most part that promise is true. There are ups and there are certainly downs, but it does still stand. Many have their claims on the “Promise of America”, and while most of such may have not gone down in the history books, their lives did improve. The “Promise of America” does not mean you will get rich or famous. Rather it means you have a chance to prove and work for yourself. That is the promise that built the United States. The idea brought many many millions of immigrants. Though that promise may not be true all the time. Though many immigrants were mislead. It doesn’t change the fact. The United States is a nation built of immigrants. The idea of “A nation of immigrants” could not be anymore
true. The gilded age caused a boom in economy. This economic boom led to a revival of the phrase “The promise of America.” That promise being a better a life. A new life. With that promise came one of the biggest influxes of immigrants in American history. Approximately 12 million immigrants came to the United States during the gilded age. It was believed to be the land of opportunity. For many they followed that promise, and did live better lives than before. The promise of America has always been around since the creation of the colonies. It led every immigrant to America. Those immigrants created the United States. Immigrant built the U.S. from the ground to a skyscraper. The United States is a “nation of immigrants.”
Ellis island brought millions of immigrants to America between the years 1892 and 1954. It is said that 40% of our population today can trace their ancestors to Ellis Island. Many people of many nationalities came to The United States get a chance at having the “American Dream”. Whilst pursuing their dreams, they left their marks on American culture. No one has influenced us so much as the Italians and their way of life.
The grand narrative history of the United States falsely believes that we are a nation of immigrants. If one reads between the lines and digs deep...
Immigration has existed around the world for centuries, decades, and included hundreds of cultures. Tired of poverty, a lack of opportunities, unequal treatment, political corruption, and lacking any choice, many decided to emigrate from their country of birth to seek new opportunities and a new and better life in another country, to settle a future for their families, to work hard and earn a place in life. As the nation of the opportunities, land of the dreams, and because of its foundation of a better, more equal world for all, the United States of America has been a point of hope for many of those people. A lot of nationals around the world have ended their research for a place to call home in the United States of America. By analyzing primary sources and the secondary sources to back up the information, one could find out about what Chinese, Italians, Swedish, and Vietnamese immigrants have experienced in the United States in different time periods from 1865 to 1990.
In the early 1900’s there was a dramatic increase in the number of immigrants coming to the eastern shores of America. Many were pulled to America because of its economic opportunity, freedom, need for labor and its beautiful country. Immigrants were excited to come to America and were pushed from their home countries because of food shortages, overpopulation, war and political instability. This was going on in an important era in American history called the “gilded age”. It was a time of economic growth, and industrialization but also had high percentages of poverty mainly in urban environments. The majority of the immigrants intended to advance out west but actually settled in the eastern cities. In the book The Jungle, Jargis and his family moved to the Americas and hoped to live the “American Dream” but it was the exact opposite when they arrived. Jurgis, his wife Ona, and the rest of the Lithuanian family struggled with working conditions, living conditions, health problems, and maintaining a stable workplace. They were all dealt with disgusting conditions in the boarding houses and a brutal working environment in Packingtown. In 1905, when the book was written, there were very little government regulations, especially in the meat packing industry, which led to unsafe working conditions and sanitation issues.
Between 1880 and 1920 almost twenty-four million immigrants came to the United States. Between better salaries, religious freedom, and a chance to get ahead in life, were more than enough reasons for leaving their homelands for America. Because of poverty, no future and various discrimination in their homelands, the incentive to leave was increasing. During the mid-1800's and early 1900's, the labor and farm hands in Eastern Europe were only earning about 15 to 30 a day. In America, they earned 50 cents to one dollat in a day, doubling their paycheck. Those lower wage earners in their homeland were st...
The Gilded Age was was an era that saw rapid immigration. This along with an explosion of Americans moving from farms to the cities, causing more people migrating to urban areas than ever before. The growth of cities gave rise to powerful political machines, that stimulated the economy, and gave birth to an American middle class. It was a time of highs and lows.
During the Gilded Age, “living conditions in the cities were often deplorable, with thousands of families forced to reside in slums that were breeding grounds for typhoid, smallpox, cholera, tuberculosis, and other diseases that swept through the cities on a regular basis.” (“Industrial Revolution”). Poverty and homelessness was not uncommon at the time. The political corruption at the time did not help with this issue either. Political machines governed cities, exploiting the desperate immigrants and gaining their loyalty to stay in power. Starting life anew was difficult and near impossible. Urban life was deplorable during the Gilded Age as demonstrated by the urban slum life, political corruption and difficult life.
“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”, three common goals immigrants came to America seeking with hopes of the promise to prosper and gain success. However, during the Gilded Age it seemed as though these were attainable only for the select few, while others left the land they knew to spend their lives toiling away in pursuit of the American dream, many never understanding how unattainable it really was. While the Gilded Age was a time of an industrial boom and a growing economy, those working by the sweat of their brow to make the success of this time possible, were not actually ever grasping this wealth, but rather putting right back into the pockets of the wealthy. The Gilded Age compromised the American Dream by limiting the chances of the immigrant working class, and thus creating a cycle of missed opportunities keeping the immigrants from progressing much further then when they came to America to begin with.
One significant reason that undocumented immigrants should acquire a “path to citizenship” is that America is a country of immigrants, founded by immigrants.
One of the most recent outbreaks in America, is illegal immigration. An illegal immigrant is a foreigner who enters the U.S. without an entry or immigrant visa, especially a person who crosses the border by avoiding inspection or who overstays the period of time allowed as a visitor, tourist, or businessperson; a foreigner who has entered or resides in a country unlawfully or without the country's authorization.(dictionary.com). The effect from illegal immigration impacts America directly dealing with: environmental ordinance, social and political concepts, and economic pursuits. "Illegal immigration generates insecurity about America’s borders, carries economic and fiscal costs, and risks the creation of an isolated underclass. The prevalence
Even from the discovery of America, immigrants from Europe sought an escape to seek religious freedom. That is why The United States Of America is referred to as the land of opportunity. Immigrants are one of the main reasons why America has the title of being free, because the whole point of coming to America was to cut all ties with monarchy’s and tyrants that didn’t allow religious freedom and opportunity. Those who migrate here are often times more grateful to be here than an American citizen and they pay back our country by working and filling the jobs that Americans will not.
Immigration has always been a major part of America. In fact, without immigration the creation of America would not have been possible. The majority of immigrants came to America for religious freedom and economic opportunities. However, for the most part before the 1870’s most immigrants were Protestants from northern and western Europe. These immigrants often migrated to the United States as families and usually lived on farms with family or friends who had already migrated beforehand. A lot of immigrants came to America with a plan or goal in mind. They often had saved up money for the long immigration overseas, were skilled in a certain trade, or had already been educated at a high level. Sadly, this would not last. Immigration became so prominent in America between 1870 and 1900 that the foreign-born population of the United States had almost doubled. A lot of German and Irish Catholics had immigrated in the 1840’s and 1850’s, and more decided to immigrate after the Civil War. A portion of Americans were biased against Catholics. Thankfully, the Irish spoke English and the German Catholics reputation was improved because of their Protestant countrymen’s good reputation. However, their children often lacked any skill or education, but they were able to blend in quite well with the American society. More and more immigrants would migrate to the United States without any skill or education and on top of that they were usually poor. These immigrants were called “new” immigrants and they came from all over the world including Italy, Greece, Poland, Hungary, and Russia. However, you cannot blame immigrants for migrating to America. Many immigrants faced religious persecution in their home countries which pushed them away, otherwi...
America, “The Land of the Free”, “The Home of the Brave”, “The Melting Pot”, “The Land of Milk and Honey”, “The Land Across the Pond”, “The Western World”, “Uncle Sam”, and most importantly “The Land of Opportunity”. America is still “The Land of Opportunity” because there is much more freedom in America than most other countries. There are no caste systems to limit what someone who is in America can do. Additionally an American’s destiny is created by his/her own choices, not the choices of his/her family or peers. America is a country founded by immigrants for immigrants, and although the Land of Opportunity has suffered an economic crisis in the last decade, it still maintains its reputation for being the greatest country in the world. The United States is still “The Land of Opportunity” because there are no caste systems, one’s destiny is made by his/her choices, and American freedoms are a part of everyday life.
Immigrants have always been an important part of United States’ population. Each year, there are hundreds of thousands of immigrants, from all around the world, including legal and illegal, come into the United States for job opportunities, new life, or the American Dream. “Immigrants have contributed significantly to the development of the United States. During the Lincoln administration, immigrants were actually encouraged to come to America, as they were considered valuable to the development of the country.” (Soylu & Buchanan, 2013). They believe that the US will give them more freedom, protection, and opportunities, which sometimes it becomes the major issues for immigrants. That’s why “the U.S. population is becoming more racially and
America is sometimes referred to as a "nation of immigrants" because of our largely open-door policy toward accepting foreigners pursuing their vision of the American Dream. Recently, there has been a clamor by some politicians and citizens toward creating a predominantly closed-door policy on immigration, arguing that immigrants "threaten" American life by creating unemployment by taking jobs from American workers, using much-needed social services, and encroaching on the "American way of life." While these arguments may seem valid to many, they are almost overwhelmingly false, and more than likely confused with the subject of illegal immigration. In fact, immigrants actually enhance American life by creating, not taking jobs, bolster social service funds through tax payments, and bring valuable technical knowledge and skills to our country. If we are to continue to excel as a nation, the traditionalists who fear an encroachment of foreign-born Americans must learn to accept that we achieved our greatness as a result of being "a nation of immigrants."