Immigration 

Immigrants 

  1. By 1895, most European immigrants were coming from the south and east rather than the west.

    1. Italians, Jews, Croats, Slovaks, Greek, Poles

  2. Most became heavy, low-paid labor.

  3. Made up more than 30% of most big cities

  4. Many lived in crowded, downtown, ethnic ghettos 

  5. Played a key role in machine politics 

    1. This is active political parties going out to recruit new immigrants with incentives 

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Push Factors (Negative)

  1. The poverty of displaced farmers (Mechanization of farm work)

  2. Overcrowding and joblessness in European cities as a result of the population boom

  3. Religious persecution 

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Pull Factors (Positive)

  1. America’s reputation for:

    1. Political and religious freedom

    2. Economic Opportunities

      1. Great Plains
      2. Industrial cities 

  2. Cheap steamship fares 

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Reaction to Immigration 

  1. Restrictions on European immigration began in the late 1800s and increased in the 1920s with quota laws

  2. Supporters of nativist legislation

    1. Labor Unions
    2. American Protective Association 
    3. Social Darwinists 

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US v. Won Kim Ark (1898)

  1. Established jus soli (Citizenship through the place of birth)

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Foreign Policy

  1. Isolationism since Washington
  2. Focus on acquiring territory in North America (manifest destiny)
  3. Monroe Doctrine