Were Late Nineteenth-Century Immigrants “Uprooted”?
YES/NO SUMMARY: In the yes summary “Oscar Handlin asserts that immigrants to the United States in the late nineteenth century were alienated from the cultural traditions of the homeland they had left as well as from those of their adopted country.” On the other hand Professor Wyman “argues that as many as four million immigrants to the United States between 1880 and 1930 viewed their trip as temporary and remained tied psychologically to their homeland to which they returned once they had accumulated enough wealth to enable them to improve their status back home.”
BODY: I do not agree with either professor, they both state an argument that is too broad of an argument. Either they did not bring their
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traditions to America or they viewed America simply as a way to gain status and move back home, when I believe that they could have brought their traditions to America and stayed in American. As an American today I see my country as a “Melting Pot” of cultures, traditions and people, so obviously they brought their traditions with them and shared them with others. Also, they must have stayed due to the fact that they are still here, eighty years later, with their traditions and cultures still intact. The American people of the 1880s to the 1930s may have had a difficult time accepting the cultures of the immigrates, but centuries later, during the twenty first century, most of all cultures are accepted by almost all Americans, with only a few going against the standard.
And the people that accept the other cultures are actually defending these immigrates, fighting to defend a culture that they are not a part of, due to the fact that they accept the fact that everyone should have a voice and should be able to live their lives the way they want. Many individuals may have gone back, but the ones that decided to stay integrated their cultures into the Americans. They brought their cultures, traditions, languages, food, and so much more intelligence, they stayed passed their information to their descendants and to anyone who wanted to learn. Like recently in the Presidential Debates immigration continues to be a topic of discussion once again, just like in previous years. With the levels of immigration only increasing towards this twenty first time period, the election has sparked a debate on whether or not to allow the immigrate, illegal immigrates to stay or to kick them out of the country they came to seek solace, refugee or anything else they are seeking to
gain from moving to America. Many candidates say that they should leave the country so that the legal Americans can have more job opportunities and such, and some say that they should be allowed their “pursuit of happiness.” The two arguments made by the professors are two completely different arguments that, in my opinion, barely coincide on a tangent. I can understand how they were placed as an argument, though, they both spoke of how the immigrates of the 1880s to the 1930s lived in America, I just do not agree that this is how or why they lived in America due to the way that I live and experience my country today. I do not understand how they could have just come to work and then go home due to the fact that they are still here in large proportions today, and how their cultures and traditions are so integrated into my life. FINAL SECTION: These two professors did provide evidence to support their case though. Professor Handlin spoke about how the Europeans “could not stand on their own feet.” The Europeans were use to depending on the people of their community to help them and for them to help others, they were not use to the type of world that they came to when they moved to America. But they were able to adapt to the environment after a little while, getting jobs and settled and also learning the way of the Americans. He also stated that the melting pot method was not occurring and that each culture “seemed to retain its own identity.” During the time of the 1880s to the 1930s the Americans may have been resistant towards the other cultures, but I do not think this is true. We Americans had accepted them, such as Little Italy and Chinatown that flourished due to the immigration of both people and the Americans had obviously accepted them and allowed them to expand and bring their own cultures and way of life with them, they had a place “where the old country still lives inside the new one” (PBS). They did not lose their traditions or anything by moving to America. Professor Wyman on the other hand thought that the immigrants only moved to America to gain enough money and possessions, to basically become rich in terms of their old country and move back to their home land. Yet, even he states that there were “shifts in expectations,” as in there were many examples of people who came to America and stayed. Therefore, even he is contradicting himself and admitting that there were flaws to his hypothesis that people came to America and then moved back to their homeland. Many people in this time period view America as a way of solace from the World Wars, a way to escape the land that had been taken over and changed so much from the one that they had became accustomed to. Therefore, I cannot agree with either statements made by the two professors due to the flaws that I see in both cases.
Mark Wyman, the author of the brief essay known as Coming and Going: Round-Trip to America, had a different perspective about immigration to America from the various counties during the 1880’s through the 1930’s. A common belief, regarding the immigration to America, held that immigrates stayed in America during the massive shift of population, due to the enormous creation of factories and cities that erupted in America. The past day literature entices readers to believe that all immigrates came to America to work and eventually settled down to create their own families. It’s taught that all of these families stayed in America for their entire life span. Although despite the common belief, Wyman held to his own thoughts on the controversial debate and pioneered a new way of thinking. He believed that countless immigrates, which came from all over the world, actually only
In Marcelo M. Suarez- Orozco and Carola Suarez- Orozco’s article “How Immigrants became “other” Marcelo and Carola reference the hardships and struggles of undocumented immigrants while at the same time argue that no human being should be discriminated as an immigrant. There are millions of undocumented people that risk their lives by coming to the United States all to try and make a better life for themselves. These immigrants are categorized and thought upon as terrorist, rapists, and overall a threat to Americans. When in reality they are just as hard working as American citizens. This article presents different cases in which immigrants have struggled to try and improve their life in America. It overall reflects on the things that immigrants go through. Immigrants come to the United States with a purpose and that is to escape poverty. It’s not simply crossing the border and suddenly having a great life. These people lose their families and go years without seeing them all to try and provide for them. They risk getting caught and not surviving trying to make it to the other side. Those that make it often don’t know where to go as they are unfamiliar. They all struggle and every story is different, but to them it’s worth the risk. To work the miserable jobs that Americans won’t. “I did not come to steal from anyone. I put my all in the jobs I take. And I don’t see any of the Americans wanting to do this work” (668). These
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.
In the years from 1860 through 1890, the prospect of a better life attracted nearly ten million immigrants who settled in cities around the United States. The growing number of industries produced demands for thousands of new workers and immigrants were seeking more economic opportunities. Most immigrants settled near each other’s own nationality and/or original village when in America.
During the late 1800's and early 1900's hundreds of thousands of European immigrants migrated to the United States of America. They had aspirations of success, prosperity and their own conception of the American Dream. The majority of the immigrants believed that their lives would completely change for the better and the new world would bring nothing but happiness. Advertisements that appeared in Europe offered a bright future and economic stability to these naive and hopeful people. Jobs with excellent wages and working conditions, prime safety, and other benefits seemed like a chance in a lifetime to these struggling foreigners. Little did these people know that what they would confront would be the complete antithesis of what they dreamed of.
Between the years of 1840 and 1914, about forty million people immigrated to the United States from foreign countries. Many of them came to find work and earn money to have a better life for their families. Others immigrated because they wanted to escape the corrupt political power of their homelands, such as the revolution in Mexico after 1911. Whatever the case, many found it difficult to begin again in a new country. Most immigrants lived in slums with very poor living conditions. They had a hard time finding work that paid enough to support a family. Not only was it difficult for immigrant men, but for women as well. Immigrant women faced many challenges including lack of education and social life as well as low wages and poor working conditions.
“Columbia’s Unwelcome Guests”, by Frank Beard (February 7, 1885), displays how the unrestricted US policies that were implemented were causing more immigrants to emigrate from Europe. The new aliens are depicted as anarchist, socialist, and the Mafia arriving from the sewers of Italy, Russia, and Germany. In the late nineteenth century, the U.S. government was not only concerned with the racialization of the immigrants entering the country, but also
Vigdor, Jacob L. From Immigrants to Americans (The Rise and Fall of FittingiIn.) New York:
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many American nativist groups opposed free unrestricted immigration. Although racism is a main reason, there were many others. Economic, political, social and moral standards seemed to be threatened by these newcomers. The immigrants were unfamiliar of the language and customs that we take for granted in our everyday lives. The fear that gripped the nation was why people reacted so strongly against immigrants. The people feared change might distort the course of our prospering country. We did not want to become what those immigrants were fleeing.
Moving from the unpleasant life in the old country to America is a glorious moment for an immigrant family that is highlighted and told by many personal accounts over the course of history. Many people write about the long boat ride, seeing The Statue of Liberty and the “golden” lined streets of New York City and how it brought them hope and comfort that they too could be successful in American and make it their home. Few authors tend to highlight the social and political developments that they encountered in the new world and how it affected people’s identity and the community that they lived in. Authors from the literature that we read in class highlight these developments in the world around them, more particularly the struggles of assimilating
Before the 1920’s American had an ‘open door’ policy and many people from around the world travelled there to fight poverty and experience the American dream. However then America introduced two immigration laws in 1921 and 1924 which restricted immigrants from Southern, Central and Western European countries such as Italy and Russia. Fear of communism explains the changes in American policy toward immigration in the 1920’s to a certain extent. However factors such as Isolationism, Prejudice and Racism, Social Fears, the Effects of WW1 and Economic fears were also important.
Immigration, the act of coming to live permanently in a foreign country. Throughout the United States’ history, immigrants faced various challenges and especially after 1880. Most immigrants moved to achieve the American dream of having a better life and pursuing their dreams. But, this experience as they moved, was different for every immigrant. Some lives improved while others did not. Immigrants such as Catholics, Italians, and the Chinese were not welcomed into America in the late 19th century and early 20th century because of their differences in beliefs and cultures.
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...
It has been observed that, from history American has served as a destination for most immigrants in the world the world (Williams 16).
Immigrants leave their countries in search for a better life and improvement of their situation. There is no singular reason for immigration; motivations range from better economic prospects to political safety. As of late, the number of immigrants living in the United States is an estimated 11 million. Those who immigrate are expected to contribute to the United States culturally, politically, and economically. Yet, full assimilation becomes difficult to achieve when the immigrant is made into “the other” by the country of reception.