Immigration In The 19th Century
Throughout the entirety of the history of our nation, there have been a multitude of factors that widely contributed to the success of America. Many have argued that the Frontier was the vital element, while ours may argue that immigration was the key to success. Immigration in the 19th century was imperative as immigrants from Germany, England, and Ireland became prevalent in our country. The Frontier was a thesis based on the opinions of Frederick Jackson Turner in the 1890s, who stated that the biased idea of expansion westward would provide opportunities to citizens. During the 1800s, immigration was the preeminent factor of America’s success that shaped the overall way we live today due to the influence on industrial growth and the impact
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Westward expansion brought inspiration to start a new beginning, but immigration created an even greater beginning. Manifest destiny would not have been able to prove expansion justifiable if it were not for immigrants, as a Harvard University article elucidated, “Immigrants were not only integral to the construction of the transcontinental railroads that facilitated western expansion, but they also used the railroad to migrate west and to form new immigrant settlements in western states and territories.” (“Open Collections Program: Immigration to the US, Immigration, Railroads, and the West”). Immigrants built the railroads the not only connected the country, but made westward expansion inevitable, as described in the manifest destiny. In fact, the first transcontinental railroad would not have been completed without the work of Chinese and Irish laborers who compromised a great amount of the workforce. Turner believed that the native-born Americans were pushing for businesses to migrate west to attract more native-born Americans, but in reality, railroad companies created plans that “…increased population in the west meant more business for railroads.” These hard-working railroads would not have been completed without the diligent immigrants. The “American character” exemplified in Turner’s thesis is caused by the
Westward expansion brought inspiration to start a new beginning, but immigration created an even greater beginning. Manifest destiny would not have been able to prove expansion justifiable if it were not for immigrants, as a Harvard University article elucidated, “Immigrants were not only integral to the construction of the transcontinental railroads that facilitated western expansion, but they also used the railroad to migrate west and to form new immigrant settlements in western states and territories.” (“Open Collections Program: Immigration to the US, Immigration, Railroads, and the West”). Immigrants built the railroads the not only connected the country, but made westward expansion inevitable, as described in the manifest destiny. In fact, the first transcontinental railroad would not have been completed without the work of Chinese and Irish laborers who compromised a great amount of the workforce. Turner believed that the native-born Americans were pushing for businesses to migrate west to attract more native-born Americans, but in reality, railroad companies created plans that “…increased population in the west meant more business for railroads.” These hard-working railroads would not have been completed without the diligent immigrants. The “American character” exemplified in Turner’s thesis is caused by the