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Why did immigration become such a major issue in American society 1.1-1.6 …
Why did immigration become such a major issue in American society
1.1-1.6
1.1
Why did people want to emigrate to America
During the late
19th
and early
20th century
about
40 million people
emigrated to the USA
The majority of these came from Southern and Eastern Europe and became known as
new immigrants
People made the journey to the USA for many different reasons. These can be grouped into
push and pull factors
. These push factors explain why immigrants wanted to leave their homeland and the pull factors relate to the attractions of a new life in the USA
Pull Factors
The USA was the land of opportunity for all
The USA was the land of the free and a country which guaranteed basic human rights
The promise of religious tolerance and freedom
The USA was booming industrially, creating many employment opportunities
Push Factors
Escaping political persecution in their home country
The USA followed an 'Open Door' policy. The Open Door policy was designed to make entry into the USA as easy as possible
1.2
Key terms
Open Door policy:
Free admission of immigrants
WASP:
White, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant
Communist:
A person who believes in a classless society
Anarchist:
A person who wants to remove all forms of government
Red Scare:
Fear that immigrants from Eastern Europe were spreading communist ideas across America
Xenophobia:
An irrational fear or hatred of foreigners
1.3
The growing demand to restrict immigration
In the
1920's
many Americans were starting to question the open door policy towards immigration
Between
1900-1913 13 million
people arrived mainly from eastern Europe eg
Italy, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Western Poland and Greece
Traditionally Immigrants came from Western Europe eg
Britain, Ireland and Germany
Why people felt angry towards the immigrants from Eastern Europe
These 'newer' immigrants were often seen to offer little, they were often poor, illiterate and could not speak English
The Immigrants moved to cities where they tended to live with people from their own country of origin and ghettos developed. Many immigrants were failing to
'Americanise'
There was a growing feeling that the 'new' immigrants would take jobs and work for very low wages
It was thought that immigrants were responsible for increases in crime, drunkenness and prostitution
The cultural and religious backgrounds if immigrants from Eastern Europe were different from those of many Americans and led to fear and hatred
The growth of
xenophobia
and the idea that the ideal citizen was a
WASP
, led Americans to look down on the immigrants from Eastern Europe
The rise of
Bolshevism (Communism)
in Russia following the Revolution in
1917
led to a fear of immigrants bringing Communist ideas with them into America
1.4
World War One
There was opposition to further immigration when the USA became involved in the
First World War
and hostility to
German
immigrants increased alarmingly
The teaching of German was banned in schools in several states
Involvement in the
First World War
also caused many Americans to fear future entanglements in European affairs. They wanted the USA to isolate itself from events in Europe and restricting immigration was a way of doing this
The USA had a policy of
isolationism
, which meant staying out of world affairs
1.5
The Red Scare
Many Americans became alarmed over events in Europe especially after the
Bolshevik Revolution
in Russia in
1917
, which led to a communist system of government being set
Fear of immigrants spreading
Communist and Anarchist
ideas across America.
Events that accelerated the growth of
Xenophobia
In
Germany
, a group of communists attempted to seize power in
January 1919
A communist party was formed in the
USA in 1919
. Many Americans began to fear that there would be a revolution in their own country
Americans tended to see any new political ideas, such as
anarchism
as branches of
communism
. All people who believed in these ideas were classed as
Reds
(communists)
There were
3600
strikes in
1919
. They were protests against poor working conditions and low pay. Even the police went on strike in Boston.
People were under the impression that the increase in strikes were an indicator of a revolution
1.6
Actions of anarchists
In
1919
there were a series of bombings by extreme anarchist groups
During
1919
a bomb planted by an anarchist group badly damaged the house of the Attorney-General,
Michell Palmer
In
April 1919
a bomb planted in a church in Milwaukee killed
10 people
In
September 1920
an anarchist bomb exploded on Wall Street killing
38
people
Such action gave rise to the
Red Scare
, the fear that anarchists and communists threatened America