Download Immigration in the United States

Immigration in the United States
Immigration to the
United States from
1789 to 1930 made the
U.S. what it is today.
Considered the melting
pot of the world, the
U.S. incurred
immigration from many
countries around the
world, especially from
Europe.
Many
immigrants
came as whole
families. Others
came one at a
time and sent
for other family
members
as they could
afford it.
Immigration began in force in the late 1700’s / early 1800’s. ScotchIrish were some of the first immigrants to settle in the new United
States. These immigrants settled west of the Appalachian Mountains
in an area known as “the back country”. They settled in this area to
take advantage of farming opportunities. Since then, the Irish have
been one of the top immigrating groups to our country.
Below is a picture of Irish immigrants in the early 1900’s.
Swedish immigrants began arriving in the
United States during the early and middle
1800’s. These immigrants brought with them
skilled trades, such as carpentry and
furniture-making. Swedish workers would
make a major impact on woodworking and
other construction skills for years to come.
Eastern and southern European immigrants began arriving in the United States in the
middle 1800’s and early 1900’s. Italians became one of the first southern European
immigrant groups to migrate to the United States. The skills and expertise they
brought with them included stone-masonry, which can be seen today in the numerous
churches across the eastern and middle United States.
Here is a picture of Italian
immigrants arriving at Ellis
Island in the early 1900’s.
German immigrants originally came to the United States to take advantage
of the abundance of land and the opportunity to farm, both in food crops
and dairy products. They also contributed to scientific research and
technological advances.
We have already discussed
some of the contributions of
the early immigrants to the
United States.
Can you think of any other
contributions that these
immigrants made to our
country?
Now
We have
we will
discussed
look at more
the
earlier
recent immigrants
immigrants to
from
the
other
United
parts
States,
of thewhich
world,
like
included
Latin America,
people from
Asia,
European
and Africa.
countries.
One of the more prominent
immigrant groups from
Asia included the Chinese.
In the middle 1800’s, mass
numbers of Chinese
immigrants came to the
United States, helping to
build the Transcontinental
Railroad and taking
advantage of mining
opportunities in the West.
This picture shows a group of later Chinese
immigrants to the U.S., after they had settled in for
many years.
Latin Americans, especially people from Mexico, have made a major impact on
the population of the United States, as well as the U.S. workforce.
Mexican Americans are highly concentrated in service jobs, as well as laborintensive farming jobs. They are also heavily involved in commercial and
residential construction. Their numbers have made them one of the topgrowing immigrant groups in recent years. Currently, immigration legislation
has been proposed to naturalize many of the illegal immigrants coming from
Mexico.
The earliest Africans to arrive in this country were not
immigrants, but were brought as slaves in the late-1600’s,
into the 1700’s. These individuals were part of the
Triangular Trade, which initially brought labor to the
Caribbean islands, in exchange for Caribbean goods. As
the southern United States developed agriculturally, slaves
were then brought to work on rice and cotton plantations.
This use of man labor could be considered to be one of the
greatest injustices committed against people coming to the
U.S.
In more recent times, Africans have immigrated to
the United States in professional capacities, such
as doctors, teachers, etc. They have also had a
major impact in the passage of civil rights laws,
setting a precedent for all immigrants.
Can you think of some of the
additional contributions made
to our country by the Asians,
Latin Americans, and Africans?
Next we will look at
some graphs and charts
that illustrate
immigration trends in the
United States…
The U.S. entered the 20th century during a period of massive change. Many
social and economic changes were sweeping the country, and immigrants saw
many opportunities and freedoms in the United States that they could not pass
up.
This chart shows
the changes in the
U.S. population and
its ethnic groups
from 1900-1990.
Which immigrant
group had the
largest increase
from 1900-1990?
In 40 years, between
1880 and 1920,
more than 20 million
people came to the
United States.
Although most
immigrants came
from Europe, many
came from Asia.
Irish immigrants came to the U.S., starting in the early 1800’s. This graph
shows the number of Irish immigrants to the U.S. from 1825 to 1890.
Can you think of possible causes for the peak in Irish immigration in
the building of railroads in the U.S.
the 1850’s?
Today we have discussed some of the major immigrant groups that
have come to our country. Each group came for similar reasons of
opportunities for freedom and prosperity, yet each group made a unique
contribution to the growth and development of the United States. These
groups continue to make major contributions to the continued success
of the American people—a diversity of people united for the cause of a
better life.
Now it’s your turn to think about yourselves.
What ethnic group(s) do you descend from?
What contributions has your group made for the betterment of the U.S.?
Resources
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/port/start.html
www.ilw.com/articles/2006,0823-bartlett.shtm
www.cairco.org/data/data_us.html
www.theipinionsjournal.com
www.nyu.edu/.../2006/12/immigration_to.html
www.everyculture.com
www.constitutioncenter.org/.../cw08_12150.html
teachers.henrico.k12.va.us/.../urbanization.html
www.cartoonstock.com/.../illegal_immigration.asp
www.historycooperative.org/.../39.1/frese.html