Immigration

Causes of 19th Century Immigration (Push-pull factors)

Push factors
o Overcrowded European _________________
o _____________ failures (Irish Potato Famine caused mass starvation)
o Religious and _____________________ turmoil (failed German revolution)

Pull factors
o Religious and political ____________________ (democracy)
o ____________________ opportunity (California Gold Rush attracted Chinese immigrants)
o Industrial Revolution created ____________________ jobs
o Abundance of low cost _________________ (westward expansion)

North vs. South

o Most immigrants were attracted to the ______________________ North
Employment opportunities in factories/mills
o Slave labor resulted in __________________ job opportunities for immigrants in the South

Group Location Cultural Influence

Irish Mostly North Catholicism, transcontinental railroad
Irish Potato Famine Major cities like Boston

Germans Mostly North kindergarten, polka music, meat curing,

Largest group of 19th century
Other Europeans
English, French, Italians, Swedes,
Norwegians, Scottish
Pennsylvania, Wisconsin sausage making, Grimm Brothers fairy
(also Texas) tales, some Christmas traditions
mostly North place names, food, traditions

Chinese mostly California transcontinental railroad, food, traditions

Economic boom in the West
Gold Rush then Railroad

African Americans Free: mostly North food, music (gospel, blues), celebrations
Few free, most enslaved (Juneteenth), civil rights participation (20th
Free have few or no rights Enslaved: southern states; mostly century)
Deep South with cotton plantations

Mexican Americans Southwest place names, vocabulary, Catholicism, food,

Former Spanish or Mexican citizens arts

Native Americans Vast majority relocated to place names, food, traditions

In America long before Europeans reservations (Oklahoma)

Barriers
Poverty: Many immigrants spent their money on ___________________ to America and arrived with nothing
Employment: Influx of immigrants resulted in more workers than ______________ (leads to lower wages)
Urbanization: Overcrowded cities resulted in scarcity of jobs, _________________, and _____________
Unemployment, ___________________, and disease were rampant

Nativism
 Many U.S.-born American citizens saw immigrants as a _____________________ to them
Protestant Americans saw Irish (and some German) ____________________as being anti-American
Know-Nothings: Secret _____________________ organization
o Harassed immigrants, denied employment, kept them out of politics
o Help Wanted; ________________ Need Not Apply
________________ Neighborhoods: Immigrants tended to establish their own neighborhoods
o Provided support for their people through housing, jobs, and ______________________

Non-immigrant cultural groups (Faced prejudice, mistreatment, and injustice)

Mexican Americans
Had property __________________ after the U.S.-Mexican War and during the Gold Rush
Native Americans
Murdered, forced off homelands, _____________________, decimated by spread diseases
Enslaved Blacks
Beaten; _________________ exploited; freedom withheld
Denied _________________ rights: voting, education, and equality
Families divided by slave _______________
Free Blacks
Though not enslaved, they usually were denied basic rights even in _____________ states
Subject to ________________________ in Free states and being sold into slavery

Impact
Industrial Revolution
Influx of immigrants allowed businesses to expand the ________________ force

Northern population growth

Immigration caused ___________________________ to grow rapidly in northern states
North acquires more and more political power in ________________________!

Transcontinental Railroad
Most work done by ______________ and ________________________ immigrants.

Cultural identity
American culture has been influenced by many different cultures in many different ways
Language, _______________, customs, __________________ stories, and traditions