Manifest Destiny and Immigration
Miranda Thomas and Jade Paz
Manifest Destiny & People's Attitudes
The old and new immigrants were young, mostly male, Catholic and Jewish, who spoke little to no English. Nearly 46 million people left their homelands seeking a new country. In the 19th century from 1880-1924 23 million people immigrated to America. This ultimately led to the largest mass movement in history.
Indian Removal Policy
Transcontinental Railroad
Economic Decline Begins in Europe
The Lure of Life in America
Before 1880 the Northwestern immigrants, and after 1880 the Eastern and Southern immigrants had seen Advertisements of life in America, with America being was being shown as a magical land with “golden the sidewalks” and “lollipops an every corner. America was the dream land that was seemingly perfect and more advanced than Europe. This was during the 19th century. There were many reasons why America was a highly desired location to live in. Eastern Europe Jews, for an example, could not move “beyond the pale”. They were stripped of their legal rights, no school, no land ownership, no renting. 2 million Jews (⅓ of Europe’s population) came to the America. People wanted a new way of life where they could actually gain money and rise in the economy.
On the negative side of things, going to the USA was extremely expensive. The cost being 65-100 dollars, was most people’s life savings and there was no guarantee that they would not send you back to Europe once you arrived due to sickness and diseases. Furthermore getting from interior lands to coastal port cities was difficult and costly. Going to America was an overall a risky decision but the poor conditions they faced in their home country pushed the majority of people to hop on the boat to start a new journey.