1890-1920 (Immigration)

Question 1

Immigration 1890-1917

Answer 1

Over 18 million European migrants
Helped in the expansion of the American economy - many immigrants came to the US for work
New cities shaped by immigration (e.g. Chicago)
Tensions between ethnic communities - between new arrivals and those who had settled earlier

Question 2

Countries Immigrants came from

Answer 2

Germany, Scandinavia, Britain
New arrivals from Austria-Hungary, S. Italy, Russian Empire
- Estimated 1/3 Jews in Russia and E. Europe emigrated to the US

Question 3

Reasons for Immigration

Answer 3

‘Push factors’ - e.g. poverty and hunger drove people out of S. Italy
Persecution - e.g. ‘Russification’ in Tsarist Russia
‘Pull factors’ - e.g. idealised ‘American Dream’
- Especially strong with the huge demand for migrant workers

Question 4

Immigrants Returning Home

Answer 4

1 in 3 returned home - varied between communities
- 20% Scandinavians returned home
- 60% Italians
- 3% Russian Jews
Differences reflected reasons for emigration

Question 5

Patterns of Jewish Migration

Answer 5

Most came as families who wanted to make a permanent new life
50% Female, 25% Children
Most poor but not badly educated
- Those who arrived 1908-12, 80% of men and 63% of women were literate
- 2/3 of Jewish men counted themselves as skilled workers, 16% of Italians

Question 6

Urbanisation

Answer 6

1890-1912 - pace of urbanisation very quick
Vast quantities of housing and railways
Accelerated the spread of advertising and modern mass entertainment
Growth most concentrated in North and East
Transformed small towns - brought utilities to towns with > 10,000 population

Question 7

Factors that impacted Urbanisation

Answer 7

Largely driven by immigration
Population increasing anyway - 1900, 76 million -> 1920, 100 million
Internal migration from countryside to cities
- 1910, African Americans started moving out of the South to Northern cities

Question 8

Consequences of Immigration

Answer 8

Many ‘new Americans’ adopted American values quickly
‘Patchwork’ of different communities where ethnic groups stuck closely together - especially true of industrial Northeast

Question 9

Protection Against Discrimination

Answer 9

Politicians willing to offer protection from discrimination to secure votes in election

Question 10

Tammany Hall

Answer 10

New York City
Centre of Irish-American local politics
Regularly accused of corruption as it could always get a Democrat vote

Question 11

Immigrants and Trade Unions

Answer 11

Many immigrants joined unions as they were recruited by union leaders (e.g. Gompers, leader of the AFL)
New immigrants often seen as a threat who could be used by the capitalists to get cheap labour