Immigrants In The 19th Century
In the early 19th Century, the United States saw a large wave of immigrants that came to America in search of better lives. Roughly ⅓ of the immigrants came over from Ireland and settled on the east coast of the US. The Irish were driven out of Ireland by the great famine of the 1840’s. Around 5 million Germans also came over during that time. There were tons of boats full of immigrants and most of them came through Ellis Island which is located in New York. Transoceanic transportation had become much cheaper and less difficult, making it easier for the poor Europeans to immigrate to the United States. The United States was in a better economic situation than most other country were during this time, however the Immigrants soon learned that
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But some immigrants did not come over here by themselves. Many were taken to America because of labor agreements. This caused a major issue in America, the immigrants were seen as competition for jobs. American’s did not want the immigrants to have the upper hand so they made them work to be in America. As an immigrant, working was very hard, they worked every day and got paid a lot less than the average American. Then they would come home to their families in a very dirty place that has not been taken care of very well. Immigrants were thought of as bottom of the social status, they were not to be part of any social group and did not make friends with the Americans. Immigrants of the same ethnic background usually remained clustered together, which allowed the immigrants to speak their own languages and retain their customs and cultures. However, this also seemed to separate immigrants from the rest of America and played a huge role in contributing to stereotypes, prejudice toward certain ethnic groups. They were seen as simple labor workers and that is it. They came to America to try and better their lives but had little to no success. The Americans never trusted any of the immigrants, so it was a lot harder for them to fit in if no one trusted them or if no one wanted to associate with
But some immigrants did not come over here by themselves. Many were taken to America because of labor agreements. This caused a major issue in America, the immigrants were seen as competition for jobs. American’s did not want the immigrants to have the upper hand so they made them work to be in America. As an immigrant, working was very hard, they worked every day and got paid a lot less than the average American. Then they would come home to their families in a very dirty place that has not been taken care of very well. Immigrants were thought of as bottom of the social status, they were not to be part of any social group and did not make friends with the Americans. Immigrants of the same ethnic background usually remained clustered together, which allowed the immigrants to speak their own languages and retain their customs and cultures. However, this also seemed to separate immigrants from the rest of America and played a huge role in contributing to stereotypes, prejudice toward certain ethnic groups. They were seen as simple labor workers and that is it. They came to America to try and better their lives but had little to no success. The Americans never trusted any of the immigrants, so it was a lot harder for them to fit in if no one trusted them or if no one wanted to associate with