Essay

PAPER 2: IMMIGRATION TO THE USA (1880S - 1930)

All in all, it is estimated that between 1880 and 1930, around 28-30 million immigrants entered the United States.

Background:

“The 1880s marked a turning point in the history of American immigration, as well as the American attitude toward it. In the first place, the annual rate rose dramatically. The number of arrivals from Europe went up more than 100% from 1879 to 1881, and it more than tripled during the next year…The shift from northeast to

southwest [and Eastern] Europe as a source for immigration, which began about 1883, and increased rapidly until the first decades of the 20th century (the 1900s), brought unfamiliar cultures in unprecedented numbers to the United States”

(Wepman, 160)

Global Context: “It was a period of unprecedented migration throughout the world. People were moving from one nation in Europe to another, from Europe to Australia and South America, from Asia to both Europe and the Americas. In the first 2 decades of the 20th century, Canada received nearly 3 million people, Argentina admitted more than 2 million, and Brazil about 1 million. Australia and New Zealand admitted some 900,000 European immigrants during this period. However, the United States remained the most popular destination; from 1906 to 1915, it saw the arrival of 9.4 million immigrants” (161).

Source: Wepman, “The New Immigrant: 1881 – 1918.”

Research Question:

Write the paper from the perspective of an immigrant during this time period.

· Where did you come from, and what is your name? (make up one that goes with your nationality)

· Why did you come to the United States (what were the “push and pull” factors), and was your experience once you arrived in the USA? How did Americans react to you?

· Lastly, do you think American views of immigrants today are comparable with views and policies back then? Give a good objective explanation.

GUIDELINES

· MLA format – https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_ style_guide/mla_general_format.html

· 12-point font – Arial or Times New Roman

· Double spaced

· Length: 1000 – 1300 words

· DO use in-text citations when quoting (use at most 2 short sentences, not blocks of text)

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_ style_guide/mla_in_text_citations_the_basics.html

· You must include a Work Cited Page/Bibliography.

· You must use a minimum of 5 sources

· Create a title for your paper.

· Do not include a title page o Do not include section headers

· Do not use footnotes or end notes

BOOKS AND ARTICLES:

Chapters and excerpts from the following books and articles will be posted on D2L/Content/Paper 2. Click on the titles to open up the articles.

History of American Immigration

· Daniels, Roger, American Immigration: A Student Companion.

The Push and Pull Factors

• Gerber, David A. American Immigration: A Very Short Introduction. 2011. Oxford University Press. – Chapter 3

The Journey to America and the Immigration Processing Centers

• Kraut, Alan. The Huddled Masses: The Immigrant in American society, 18801921. Wheeling, Ill.: Harlan Davidson, c2001 – Chapter 2, pp. 52 – 85.

Assimilation

• Gerber, David A. American Immigration: A Very Short Introduction. 2011. Oxford University Press. – Chapter 6

•

Nativism and Legal Restrictions

· Gerber, David A. American Immigration: A Very Short Introduction. 2011. Oxford University Press. – Chapter 2

· Shrag, Peter. The Unwanted: Immigration and Nativism in America. September 2010.