History Exam

Part I

During the late 19th century and early 20th century is when the United States began experiencing an immigration movement. People from all over the world began making their way, mainly on ships, to the United States. At this time there were no “Native Americans” because everyone residing in the United States had previously migrated there. The people of the United States welcomed immigrants with open arms which gave light to the slogan, “Come one, come all.” Most of the immigrants were coming from “Old World” Europe in search of a place where possibilities are endless and where they could make a fresh start for them and their families. Some of the factors that “pushed” immigrants to the U.S. were problems back home including bad economic conditions, increasing militarization for war and the persecution of minority groups such as differing religious groups. There were also factors that “pulled” immigrants to the United States such as the creation and ever-expanding large-scale industry and the governmental democracy. Immigrants wanted to experience a government led by leaders chosen by the people.

When people first started migrating to the United States, before the Civil War, the majority of them were coming from Western Europe, Great Britain and Ireland. With them they brought their religious beliefs, cultures, languages, etc. In the consensus from 1900 we can see that most of the immigrants came from Germany. With the end of the Civil War came changes to the dynamic of the United States. At this time, immigrants started coming from Southern and Eastern Europe. This brought about revisions in what the United States was all about. New groups of people from new areas meant new religious beliefs, cultures, languages and much more. In the consensus from 1920, however, we can see that there are larger amounts of immigrants from every where else besides Germany.

Ellis Island, an island off shore from New York City, opened in 1892 as the most widely used port for immigrants coming to the United States on ship from all around the world. When Ellis Island first opened it served as a waiting and processing area for immigrants but then later became a detention and deportation center as restrictions began. It became known as the Golden Door to the United States and processed over 20 million immigrants from the time it opened to when it closed. The ship rides to Ellis Island were long and rough. It was hard for the immigrants to survive, but if they did they knew they were close when they saw the Statue of Liberty. To them this was a good sign. After the boat docked, the people had to get on ferries to get to Ellis Island. At this point parents and children were usually separated and some were turned away for varying reasons.

In the 1920’s is when there started to be talk of immigration restrictions. Some laws and quotas were becoming enacted at this time. A big factor in the establishment of immigration restriction laws was organized labor union. The organized labor union opposed immigration because the immigrants were taking jobs from U.S. citizens because they were willing to work for cheaper wages and little to no benefits. Whereas, the organized labor union was working for higher wages, more benefits, and better working conditions. One of the first laws enacted was the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. This law was established after U.S. citizens realized that the Chinese laborers that were coming to work on things were not returning to China, so the law no longer let Chinese immigrants into the U.S. borders. In 1903 they began rejecting anarchists because they were responsible for McKinley’s assassination. They felt these immigrants would only be looking to overthrow the government. Finally, they began denying immigrants into the borders for other things such as one’s mental state, their health and criminal records, etc.

Part II – Question 2.

The main industrial leaders were Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller and Milton Hershey. Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish immigrant that came to the United States with his family. His family moved to Pennsylvania and they were part of the working class. Andrew got a job with Thomas Scott, rising official of PA railroad, as his telegraph clerk. This was the job he needed to get his name heard and start making connections. At this time Andrew also began making investments. At age 28, Andrew was making $2400 a year with his telegraph clerk job but was in essence a millionaire from him investments and rising company, Carnegie Steel. He started working with railroad leaders to begin using steel instead of other options. Steel was a bit more expensive but would last 20 times as long as anything else they previously had used. Carnegie did not allow just anyone to buy stock in his company either.