OLD vs. NEWOLD vs. NEWIMMIGRATIONIMMIGRATION

Coming To AmericaComing To AmericaAMERICA AMERICA

Written by Neil DiamondWritten by Neil Diamond

FarFar We've been traveling farWe've been traveling far Without a homeWithout a home But not But not without a starwithout a star    FreeFree Only want to be freeOnly want to be free We huddle We huddle closeclose Hang on to a dreamHang on to a dream    On the boats and on the On the boats and on the

planesplanes They're coming to AmericaThey're coming to America Never looking back Never looking back againagain They're coming to AmericaThey're coming to America    Home, don't it Home, don't it

seem so far awayseem so far away Oh, we're traveling light todayOh, we're traveling light today In In the eye of the stormthe eye of the storm In the eye of the stormIn the eye of the storm    Home, Home, to a new and a shiny placeto a new and a shiny place Make our bed, and we'll Make our bed, and we'll

say our gracesay our grace Freedom's light burning warmFreedom's light burning warm Freedom's light burning warmFreedom's light burning warm    Everywhere around Everywhere around

the worldthe world They're coming to AmericaThey're coming to America Every time that Every time that flag's unfurledflag's unfurled They're coming to AmericaThey're coming to America    Got a Got a

dream to take them theredream to take them there They're coming to AmericaThey're coming to America Got a dream they've come to shareGot a dream they've come to share They're coming They're coming

to Americato America    They're coming to AmericaThey're coming to America They're They're coming to Americacoming to America They're coming to AmericaThey're coming to America They're coming to AmericaThey're coming to America Today, today, today, Today, today, today,

today, todaytoday, today    My country 'tis of theeMy country 'tis of thee TodayToday Sweet Sweet land of libertyland of liberty TodayToday Of thee I singOf thee I sing TodayToday Of thee I Of thee I

singsing TodayToday

Old Immigrants – before 1865Old Immigrants – before 1865

• Came for Political, Came for Political, Economic and Economic and Social FactorsSocial Factors– Before the Civil Before the Civil

War America had War America had an an open open immigration policyimmigration policy. .

– Anyone could Anyone could come here with come here with no no restrictionsrestrictions. .

– Immigrants at this Immigrants at this time were time were considered the considered the "OLD "OLD IMMIGRANTS.“IMMIGRANTS.“

Old Immigrants : 1607-Old Immigrants : 1607-1850s1850s

• Came from NW EuropeCame from NW Europe

• Mostly Mostly English and GermanEnglish and German

• Some French & DutchSome French & Dutch

• These immigrants were light These immigrants were light skinned and had light eyes and skinned and had light eyes and hairhair

• Protestant ReligionProtestant Religion

Immigration After 1865

After the Civil War, which ended in 1865, Americans began to want to restrict immigration.

Groups called nativists formed to oppose immigration. The Ku Klux Klan and the Know Nothings were nativists groups. Nativist: a group of people who favored native-

born Americans over immigrants.

NATIVISM in USAAnti-Immigrant Sentiment

Competition for JOBSCheap Labor

Fear injection of Immigrant values, ideas, politics into “American” culture

GANGS OF NEW YORK Old Immigrant

“Natives” (English, German, Dutch)

vs.

Immigrant Irish

Immigration from 1890 – 1920 A look at the statistics shows

that immigration continued to increase tremendously in the late 1800s.

By the 1900's, it began to drop. The 1921 Emergency Quota Act

(also known as the National Origins Act) further restricted immigration.

The immigrants most affected were different from the Old Immigrants and were called NEW IMMIGRANTS.

New Immigrants1860s – 1920s Came from Eastern &

Southern Europe. These immigrants were

Russians, Polish, Italians, Irish, (Chinese out W.)

Jews from Poland and Russia

Their religions were different from the Old Immigrants (Catholic and Jewish).

They were typically darker in color with darker hair and eyes.

Immigrant Life in America Ellis Island, New York Bay (Across from

Manhattan & next to the Statue of Liberty)

Immigrant Inspections

Americanization – Be American

West Coast Immigration Angel Island (In San Francisco Bay near Oakland)

Immigrant Occupations

Mine Workers, Cigar Factory workers in 1927

Immigration Act of 1924 “National Origins Act”

(“Quota Act”)

Greatly reduced the number of immigrants to the USA

Unfairly targeted E. European immigrants (Polish, Slavic, Russian)

Typical Immigrant Occupations

Italian & Polish men = building trades Eastern European men = mines & steel mills French Canadians = New England textile mills Jewish men & women & Italian women=

garment industry Greeks & Chinese = opened businesses like

laundries & restaurants All careers required long hours & hard

labor. (They often worked 15 hour days in adverse conditions to pay for family necessities.)