B. Chapter 13 The Changing American Identity

Chapter 13 The Changing American Identity

By Sharon McNutt

Immigration

Push/ Pull Factors

Irish

Germans

Chinese

Reactions Against Immigrants and Discrimination During The Industrial Revolution

Immigration

the action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country.

A Reaction Against Immigrants

Not everyone welcomed the flood of immigrants. One group of Americans called nativists, wanted to preserve the country for native born, white citizens. Using the slogan, "Americans must rule America," they called for laws to limit immigration.

A Reaction Against Immigrants

Nativists also wanted to keep immigrants from voting until they had lived in the United States for 21 years. At that time, newcomers could vote after only 5 years in the country.

Irish Immigration

In Ireland, almost half of the population lived on farms that produced little income. Because of their poverty, most Irish people depended on potatoes for food. When this crop failed three years in succession, it led to a great famine (lack of food) with horrendous consequences. Over 750,000 people starved to death. Over two million Irish eventually moved to the United States seeking relief from their desolated country. Impoverished, the Irish could not buy the property. Instead, they congregated in the cities where they landed, almost all in the northeastern United States. Today, Ireland has just half the population it did in the early 1840s. There are now more Irish Americans than there are Irish nationals.

A Reaction Against Immigrants

Some nativists protested that immigrants "stole" jobs from native-born Americans because they would work for lower pay. Furthermore, when workers went out on strike, factory owners often hired immigrant workers to replace them. Many distrusted the different languages, customs and dress of immigrants.

Multiple Choice

Were the Irish Pushed or pulled from their country?

• Pushed

• Pulled

Multiple Choice

What food source did the Irish depend on for survival?

• Chickens

• Rice

• Potatoes

• Cabbage

A Reaction Against Immigrants

By the 1850's hostility to immigrants was so strong that nativists formed a new political party. Members of this party were anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant. Many meetings and rituals of the party were kept secret. It was called the Know Nothing Party because members answered, "I know nothing" when asked about the party. In 1856, Millard Fillmore, the Know Nothing candidate for President, won 21 percent of the popular vote.

Multiple Choice

The Know _______ Party was anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic.

• What

• Anything

• Something

• Nothing

African Americans Faced Discrimination

During the nation's early years, slavery was illegal in the North. Thousands of free African Americans lived in the North and their numbers grew steadily in the 1800s.

African Americans Faced Discrimination

Free African Americans in the North sometimes faced discrimination. Discrimination is a policy or attitude that denies equal rights to certain groups of people. Both African Americans and immigrants faced discrimination in the North.

African Americans Faced Discrimination

Despite obstacles, many African Americans in the North achieved notable success in business. We previously learned about the DiBaptiste brothers of Detroit, who were successful business owners and entrepreneurs, as well as the Taylors of Birmingham and the Hamer family of Royal Oak, who were both among early permanent settlers in the area. And of course there is Elizabeth Denison Forth.

Germans

In the decade from 1845 to 1855, more than a million Germans fled to the United States to escape economic hardship. They also sought to escape the political unrest caused by riots, rebellion, and eventually a revolution in 1848. The Germans had little choice — few other places besides the United States allowed German immigration. Unlike the Irish, many Germans had enough money to journey to the Midwest in search of farmland and work. The largest settlements of Germans were in New York City, Baltimore, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Milwaukee.

Multiple Choice

The Germans faced political and ______ issues in their country.

• Goverment

• Economic

• Religious

• Famine

Multiple Choice

This group of Americans wanted to preserve the country for native born, white citizens.

• The Know Nothing Party

• Industrialists

• Immigrants

• Nativists

Multiple Choice

Were the Germans in a better economic position than the Irish when they came to America?

• No- they had no money like the Irish

• Yes- They had more money than the Irish

Multiple Choice

Where did the Germans settle in the United States?

• Mid-west

• south

• north

• West coast

Multiple Choice

Were the Germans Pushed or Pulled?

• Pushed

• Pulled

Chinese

Most of the early Chinese immigration to the United States can be traced to the mid-1800s. These early immigrants—some 25,000 in the 1850s alone—came seeking economic opportunity in America. The Chinese arriving in San Francisco, who came primarily from the Taishan and Zhongshan regions as well as Guangdong province of mainland China, did so at the height of the California Gold Rush, and many worked in the mines scattered throughout the northern part of the state. Others took jobs as farmhands or in the burgeoning garment industry in the “City by the Bay.” Still more became laborers with the Central Pacific and Transcontinental railroads, and were instrumental in building the transportation infrastructure that helped fuel the westward expansion of the United States before, during, and after the Civil War.

Multiple Choice

Were the Chinese Pushed or Pulled?

• Pushed

• Pulled

Multiple Choice

Many of the Chinese took jobs in________

• Railroads, Gold Mining, Farming

• Cattle Raising, Restaurants, Banking

• Kung Fu Schools, Fishing, Logging

• Technology, Book Writing, FBI

Multiple Choice

When did the Chinese immigrate to the United States?

• Mid-1700s

• Early 1900s

• Late 2021

• Mid-1800s

Multiple Choice

What factor led to the Chinese Immigration?

• Dictator Government

• Potato Famine

• Economic Opportunity

• Government Jobs

Multiple Choice

What area of the U.S. did they settle?

• Texas

• East Coast

• San Diego

• San Francisco