HIS CH 7-1 IMMIGRATION

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Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

Through the "Golden Door"

Millions of immigrants entered the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries because they were lured by the promise of a better life. Some of these immigrants sought to escape difficult conditions-such as poverty, famine, land shortages, or religious or political persecution-in their native countries. Others, known as "birds of passage," intended to immigrate temporarily in order to make money and then return to their homelands.

IMMIGRANTS FROM EUROPE

Between 1870 and 1920, approximately 20 million Europeans arrived in the United States. Before 1890, most immigrants came from countries in western and northern Europe, including Great Britain, Ireland, and Germany. Beginning in the 1890s, however, increasing numbers came from southern and eastern Europe, especially Italy, Austria-Hungary, and Russia. In 1905 alone, about a million people arrived from these countries through the "golden door" to the land of opportunity.

Many of these new immigrants left their homelands to escape religious persecution. During the 19th century Russia there were attacks by mobs against the Jews. These were often approved or condoned by those in authority.Whole villages of Jews-business people, intellectuals, workers, and farmers -were driven out of Russia by pogroms. These were organized anti-Semitic campaigns that led to the massacre of Jews during the early 1880s and early 1900s.Pogrom is Russian for "devastation".

Other Europeans left because of rising population. Between 1800 and 1900, the population in Europe more than doubled, reaching 432 million. This population explosion resulted in a scarcity of land for farming. Farmers as well as laborers often found themselves competing for too few industrial jobs. Some emigrated to the United States, where jobs were supposedly plentiful.

Finally, there was a spirit of reform and revolt in Europe, especially after the political disturbances in France, Germany, Italy, and elsewhere in the late 1840s. Many young European men and women who were influenced by American ideals of freedom sought to start independent lives in the United States

The Statue of Liberty

Arriving Immigrants

Between 1870 and 1920 about how many Europeans immigrated to the United States.

a.	100 thousand	c.	20 million
b.	10 million	d.	very few

Before 1890 most European immigrants to the U.S. came from _____

a.	Italy	c.	Eastern Europe
b.	the Balkans	d.	Northern Europe

Most of the people who immigrated to the United States were ____

a.	trying to escape suffering in other parts of the world	c.	were subversives
b.	not very grateful to be Americans	d.	only wanted to get rich

With open arms, America welcomed suffering people and did not require that they be rich to immigrate to the United States

true

false

America refused to accept European Jews because of their religion.

true

false

After reading the passages above, which statement below is most true about the United States.

a.	Most of the people who come to America were lazy and only came for the welfare they can get	c.	Most people who came to America came because they were too lazy to stay in their own countries and work for reform
b.	America was and is a symbol of hope and freedom for people all over the world. People come to America for a better life.	d.	Most people who came to the United States found themselves in worse conditions than they were in their homelands.

IMMIGRANTS FROM CHINA AND JAPAN

While waves of Europeans arrived on the shores of the East Coast, Chinese immigrants came to the West Coast in smaller numbers. Between 1851 and 1883, about 200,000 Chinese arrived. Many came to seek their fortunes after the discovery of gold in 1848 sparked the California gold rush. The Chinese helped build the nation's first transcontinental railroad as well as other railroads in the West. When the railroads were completed, they turned to farming, mining, and domestic service. Chinese immigration was sharply limited by a congressional act in 1882.

In 1884, the Japanese government allowed Hawaiian planters to recruit Japanese workers, and a Japanese emigration boom began. When the United States annexed Hawaii in 1898, Japanese emigration to the West Coast increased. As word of comparatively high American wages spread in Japan, the number of Japanese who entered the United States each year reached about 10,000. By 1920, more than 200,000 Japanese lived on the West Coast.

Most of the Western railroads were built by

a.	Chinese immigrants	c.	native Americans
b.	Japanese immigrants	d.	Europeans from Eastern Europe

Japanese immigrants needed the permission of _______ to emigrate to Hawaii

a.	the California government	c.	the Queen of Hawaii
b.	a suite filed with the Supreme Court of the United States for Japanese civil rights	d.	the Japanese government

The Congress tried to slow down Chinese immigration by passing a law in 1882

a.	true	c.	Congress does not have control of immigration
b.	false	d.	Only the President can pass a law

IMMIGRANTS FROM THE WEST INDIES AND MEXICO

Between 1880 and 1920, about 260,000 immigrants arrived in the eastern and southeastern United States from the West Indies. They came from Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and other islands. Many West Indians left their homelands because jobs were scarce.

The Mexican population in the United States also increased. Unlike the Europeans, Asians, and West Indians, however, some Mexicans became U.S. residents without even leaving home. As a result of the annexation of Texas in 1845 and the treaty with Mexico in 1848, the United States acquired vast territories from Mexico. Many of the residents of these territories chose to become American citizens.

Other Mexicans immigrated to the United States to find work or to flee political turmoil. As a result of the 1902 National Reclamation Act (also known as the New lands Act), which encouraged the irrigation of arid land, new farm land was created in many Western states, including Texas, Arizona, and California. This farmland drew Mexican farm workers northward to seek jobs. After 1910, political and social upheavals in Mexico prompted even more immigration. Nearly a million people-7 percent of the population of Mexico at the time-came to the United States over the next 20 years.

10.

Which statement is true about Mexican immigration to the United States

a.	Most Mexicans would rather not immigrate to the U.S. in the early 1900’s	c.	There was very little immigration to the United States from Mexico prior to the 1950’s
b.	Most Mexicans immigrated to the U.S. for the money. There was no persecution of people by the Mexican government	d.	There was a great deal of immigration to the U.S. by Mexicans for many reasons in the early 1900’s

11.

When Texas became a state there were many Mexicans living in the Texas territory. Most of them decided to return to Mexico rather than become American citizens.

a.	true	c.	there is no way to tell
b.	false

12.

When Texas became a state, all of the Mexicans living in the state were driven back into Mexico because Americans are racist.

true

false

A DIFFICULT JOURNEY

By the 1870s, almost all immigrants traveled by steamship. The trip across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe took approximately one week, while the Pacific crossing from Asia took nearly three weeks. For many immigrants, the long sea journey was stormy, uncomfortable, and frightening.

Many immigrants traveled in steerage or in the cargo holds below a ship's waterline. Rarely allowed on deck, immigrants spent most of the trip crowded together in the gloom, unable to exercise or catch a breath of fresh air. They often had to sleep in louse-infested bunks and share toilet facilities with many other passengers. Under these conditions, diseases spread quickly, and some immigrants died before they reached their destination. For those who survived the first glimpse of America could be breathtaking.

13.

Which immigrants had the longest and most difficult journey to the United States.

a.	Italians	c.	Asians
b.	Europeans	d.	Mexicans

ELLIS ISLAND

After initial moments of excitement, the immigrants faced loneliness, homesickness, and the anxiety of not knowing whether they would be admitted to the United States. They had to pass inspection at immigration stations, such as the one at Castle Garden in New York, which was later moved to Ellis Island in New York Harbor. About 20 percent of the immigrants who arrived at Ellis Island were detained for a day or more before being inspected. Only about 2 percent of those who reached Ellis Island had to return home, however.

The processing of immigrants on Ellis Island was an ordeal that might take five hours or more. First, they had to pass a physical examination by a doctor. Any who were found to have a serious health problem or a contagious disease, such as tuberculosis, were promptly sent home or quarantined. Those who passed the medical exam then reported to a government inspector. The inspector checked documents and questioned immigrants to determine whether they met the legal requirements for entering the United States. The requirements included passing a literacy test in their native language, proving that they were able to work, and showing that they had at least $25.

From 1892 to 1943, Ellis Island was the chief immigration station in the United States. More than 16 million immigrants passed through its noisy, bustling facilities. During the peak immigration years from 1905 to 1907, as many as 11,000 immigrants a day hurried down the long staircase leading to the ferry that would take them to New York City and their new lives.

14.

At Ellis Island immigrants were examined and questioned to see if they met the requirements for admittance to the United States. What percentage failed and were sent back to their home countries?

a.	2%	c.	20%
b.	10%	d.	30%

15.

Which of the following requirements did the immigrants not have to prove to the U.S. agents at Ellis Island.

a.	that they were in good health	c.	that they could speak English
b.	that they were able to work	d.	that they could read and write in their native language

16.

Ellis Island was

a.	a hospital	c.	an army base
b.	a prison	d.	an immigration station

ANGEL ISLAND

While European immigrants arriving on the East Coast passed through Ellis Island, Asians-primarily Chinese arriving on the West Coast gained admission at Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. Between 1910 and 1940, about 50,000 Chinese immigrants entered the United States through Angel Island. In contrast to the procedure at Ellis Island, processing at Angel Island included questioning and a long detention while government officials decided whether to admit or reject an immigrant.

The Angel Island facility consisted of ramshackle buildings in which Chinese immigrants were confined like prisoners. To protest these terrible conditions, some immigrants rioted in 1919.

17.

Conditions for immigrants were worse at

a.	Ellis Island	c.	the Mexican border
b.	Angel Island	d.	immigrants were treated the same at all facilities

18.

The main immigration facility on the east coast was _____ while the main facility on the west coast was _____ .

a.	Angel Island - Ellis Island	c.	San Francisco Armory - New York Armory
b.	Ellis Island - Angel Island

EXPERIENCING CULTURE SHOCK

Immigrants also had to deal with culture shock-confusion and anxiety resulting from immersion in a culture whose ways of thinking and acting they didn't understand. Some con men and thieves took advantage of the newcomers' bewilderment and stole their money and possessions. Most immigrants faced the ongoing nightmare of finding a place to live, getting a job, and dealing with the problems of daily life while trying to understand an alien language and customs.

Many immigrants reacted to culture shock by seeking out people who shared their cultural values, practiced their religion, and spoke their native language. Ethnic communities sprang up in areas that had large concentrations of immigrants.

19.

Ethnic neighborhoods such as China Town in San Francisco, Little Italy and Irish Hells Kitchen in New York were created by immigrants who sough out people of their own culture for support.

a.	True	c.	There is no way to tell
b.	False	d.	Immigrants were forced by the government into ghettos