19th Century American Immigration

During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s most of the immigrants that came into America were poor peasants in search of a safety, freedom, and a better future than their home country could offer. However, during the first two waves of Eastern European immigration, the people coming to the United States were neither poor, nor peasants. Those who came were of the middle class with some money, experience in their trade or profession and came to stay in America. These immigrants were well equipped to take up life in the United States. The major first wave of Eastern European immigration took place during the second half of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century before the World War I. Those who came were generally, Russian Jews fleeing …show more content…
The Russian Civil War and Revolution and post-WWI, left many people without a home, school or business, due to not only the sheer destruction a civil war, world war and a revolution occurring at the same time can bring, but also the changing boarders that displaced millions of people, as well. The Eastern Europeans that fled their home countries, left to escape oppression, violence and political upheaval. Like the first wave of people, they too settled in larger urban cities and were quick to take up a new job. However, contrary to the first wave, these people had the intentions of returning to their native countries, as soon as the uproar settled down. They intended on working, saving money, and sporadically sending money to family that had not yet made the move from their native homes of chaos. Nevertheless, their plans were put to a halt in 1921, when the United States passed the Johnson Act, limiting the number of European immigrants that could come into the country each year. The law specifically stated that the number of immigrants that could come into the United States from each native country was no more than three percent of the number of immigrants from that country already living in the United States by 1910. The Americans were fairly happy with this new law, since they believed that the immigrants jeopardized the United States as a …show more content…
Although, the third wave of people immigrating to the United States from Easter Europe were unlike any before, they were poor, peasant workers, that had been seriously displaced due to the war. Many people could not return to their homelands after the chaos of the Second World War, and stayed in a foreign country until they had enough money to go to the United States. The new immigrants were suspect to a large amount of discrimination due to the belief that they were all Soviet spies who had infiltrated the United States. Later, during the 1950’s the suspicions of Soviet spies did not fade, but unfortunately, Americans saw them as Communists infiltrating the United States now. This mass prejudice against the Eastern Europeans made it hard for them to find jobs, homes and even make friends in their new home country. These people were extremely excluded in everything they did. The ever-changing face of Eastern European immigrants started off positively, but quickly spiraled into several negative prejudices. These people all moved with the same purpose, but were not all met with the same open arms by