Us Immigration In The 1900s

Throughout history there are many different moments that have defined who and what we as a nation have become today. Society in the United States has come a long way from how it functioned back in the 1776s; a large part of this change happened as a result of the mass immigration that occurred in the 1900s. This paper will specifically focus on how the immigrants who helped to shape how the U.S. today immigrated to the U.S. and how they assimilated into this country.

During the first few years of the 1900’s immigration was at a major high, this was known as the “Second Wave” of Immigration. These immigrants, who were mainly from European countries, came to American to find economic opportunity and religious freedom. They left everything
Most of the immigrants came over with little to no money, not knowing English, and sometimes without a family or community to receive them. This made adjusting to our culture very difficult. With all these new cultures and nationalities pouring into our country there was, quite literally, a melting pot of ideas. For the immigrants that came over without family and without a community waiting for them, it seemed as though they were swept up into the new American culture and they would slowly start to lose a grasp on their heritage. On the other hand, the few immigrants that came over to a family or a community often lived in a close network with their own

nationality and customs, which enabled them to hold on to their beliefs. The communities that the immigrants lived in were usually tight quarters. They were unsanitary and unhygienic, nevertheless; “As abysmal as the living conditions that immigrants faced upon arriving in New York City, life for them was still better than that in their country of origin. Although most immigrants started from the very bottom, they had the job opportunities available to them that would allow for better housing in the future.” The next step for these immigrants would be finding
Factory work during the 1900’s were harsh and brutal conditions, there were dangerous machines and low pay. The factory owners knew that these immigrants didn’t have much money or have much knowledge about our society and they took advantage of cheap labor. “The machines that made mass manufacturing possible were often very dangerous. Kept in small spaces without proper enclosure or ventilation, manufacturing machines emitted noxious fumes and contributed to excessive heat inside factories filled with workers. The exposed machinery routinely claimed lives and maimed laborers. In 1900, 35,000 workers were killed in industrial accidents, according to the ''Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History.'' That same year, 500,000 were maimed in factory accidents.” Now, not all of these deaths and injuries were those of immigrants. However, in the 1900’s “Many factory owners hired immigrants over locals because they could get more work for less wages.” Another aspect to keep in mind is, during this time with all the new cultures coming into New York it made the city a transforming and new