American Immigration 1900 Essay Example

During the early 1900's a vast amount of people both immigrated and migrated to the United States in search of money, better jobs, new lives, etc. Yet, the people who immigrated and migrated to the United States were each a part of different cultures: from Italian to German, French to Jewish, Irish to African American (American Cities/New York/African American/Intergroup Relations/Color Lines). New York City was a prime location for the immigrants and migrants of the time to create their new lives. They joked that "The Jews own New York, the Irish run it and the Negroes enjoy it" (American Cities/New York/African American/Intergroup Relations/Color Lines). The single line clearly shows how each group, Jewish, Italian, and African American, had distinct experiences from one another. Although they had experiences that were different, the immigrants and migrants all experienced some of the same feelings, being in a new place, being discriminated against and being alone. After immigrating and migrating to the United States, Eastern European Jews, Italians, and African Americans had experiences that were unique as well as similar to each other. The first experience of immigrants and migrants was the area of neighborhood they chose to live in. In New York, African Americans migrated primarily to Harlem, yet were scattered in different neighborhoods. This was an ideal location for African Americans, since "most people in New York were so busy they hadn't time to spend hating other people" (American Cities/New York/African American/Intergroup Relations/Color Lines). Although most of the New Yorkers

Wolf 2 did not discriminate, there was still a portion of the population that contained Southern whites, who felt that the African Americans were taking over the white neighborhoods (American Cities/New York/African American/Intergroup Relations/Color Lines). Within these neighborhoods was where the African Americans encountered prejudice and