Andrew Carnegie's Immigration Impact

Most immigrants who came to the U.S had high expectations that they would find wealth but once they arrived they realized their expectations weren’t what they expected. Although, they were disappointed in not finding wealth the conditions in which the U.S was in by the late 1800s were still a lot better than the places they all had left behind to come. The majority of the immigration population anticipation was to find profitable jobs and opportunities. When the large numbers of immigration were migrating to the U.S, it was during the “Gilded Age”, which was the prime time for the country’s expansion of industrialization. This rapid expansion of new industries led to the need of workers which motivated people from other countries to come to

The essays share the same central focus: immigration. Both authors describe the many benefits of immigration for America. “...we would have to conclude that our history and society would have been vastly different if they (immigrants) had stayed home”(Kennedy pg24). Our country has been monumentally impacted by the creations, choices, and brilliant ideas of immigrants.

Many believe that immigrants take away native born jobs and others believe that immigration does the country good. Immigration is what makes America great and a place of safe haven not the building of walls to create fear in people. America is land of opportunities not land of walls. The article “Immigration and the American Worker” argues why immigration is important to the economy of the country.

In Economic and Social Impact of Immigrants Stephen Moore is arguing that immigrants and refugees contribute positively to the American Economy. He conveys this through the use of surveys, data, and facts from multiple sources. In the second paragraph he took a 1986 survey that concluded that a lot of foreigners achieved success in this country in difficult positions such as engineering and entrepreneurship. Two separate studies’ discussed in the sixth and seventh paragraphs dispel common beliefs that immigrants take jobs away from natural born citizens. The studies concluded that the exact opposite of popular opinion, immigrants in fact benefitted the economy for employers, employees, and the US economic position. Another popular opinion is

In the time between 1877 and 1920 America saw another significant change to its landscape; this time in the make-up of its inhabitants. With industrialization immigrants increasingly came from Eastern and Southern European countries, Canada, Japan, and even Latin America. By 1910, some 70 percent of the immigrants entering the country were Southern and Eastern Europeans. In fact, in many cities the immigrated population outnumbered the native born citizens. Many states, especially those with meager populations, actively pursued immigrants by offering jobs or land for farming. The industrialization lured millions seeking economic opportunities for their families, while were anxious to escape oppressive governments. Whatever the reason, with these groups came a rich culture that would forever help to reshape the nation.

According the NAS, immigrants delievered a positive gain in the US economy. Higher skilled immigrants usually work in medical field, computer science, and physics. Lower skilled works in hotels, restaurants, and and construction.

Railroad and railway companies and manufactures accounted for 2 million workers by 1920, or roughly 5% of America’s total workforce. Many of those workers were first, second, or third generation immigrants (Carpenter 42). The railroad boom was so extreamly rapid, in part by a ready immigrant workforce, that by 1899 every major city was connected to a national rail line (Carpenter 4). Many immigrants were drawn to the rail industry because, even though the work was tough and conditions poor, the wages were higher than those of urban factories or docks. The creation of the railroads also pulled immigration west.

Immigrants, fleeing their homeland to escape oppression for religion or to find better opportunities for employment, were drawn to the booming American land of industrialization and urbanization. Old immigrants from Western Europe entered the country prominently in the 1880’s. But from the 1890’s to the outbreak of World War I, New Immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe flooded the country. These immigrants, bringing with them lesser-practiced customs and religions that could shape the culture of America, mainly congregated with people of similar nationalities in ethnic neighborhoods in the growing cities, thus limiting their assimilation into American society. Another factor limiting the influence of immigration on America was the resistance of the “native” Americans to the New Immigrants.

Immigration reform has been a big issue for our country in recent years. Many U.S. citizens claim that immigration is harmful to the US economy. In just 20 years, we have seen the average number of immigrants per year jump a staggering 20%. This has lead to the biased opinions we see towards immigration today. Currently, our country is not receiving any benefit from immigration.

The 19th century was the era of the Gilded Age, where the economy was booming, bringing great changes that affected the lives of workers and entrepreneurs. During this period, there was a large influx of immigrants that were coming to America to look for job opportunities. The migration of immigrants proved useful as a source for cheap labor, allowing an even higher rise in the U.S. economy. While American industrialization may have benefited the upper class of the American society, the effects were opposite to the workers of the lower classes. This problem was especially worse for immigrant workers as their belief in the so-called American dream has been worn down due to the misery they had to endure.

According to a study released last year by the Pew Hispanic Center, as of 2008, 11.9 million illegal immigrants lived in the United States, more than triple the 3.5 million who lived in the country in 1990 (Izumi). Immigration throughout the years has become a major issue in the U.S because of too many immigrants entering the country year after year. The U.S has come to a point whether they should deport the immigrants back to their country. Believe it or not, these immigrants are a big contribution to the U.S. If it wasn’t for them, the U.S economy wouldn’t be where it stands now.

Over 37,000,000 immigrants come to the United States every year. But how much do they really affect America? People like Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, and Levi Strauss all came to the U.S from different countries and changed our world today. Without them, some of the most advanced technology, scientific discoveries, and innovative clothes wouldn’t exist today. The fields of science, technology, and fashion were positively impacted by immigrants.

In a research study in 2009 from the Center for Immigration Studies stated that “Immigrants made employment gains across the labor market. In occupations where immigrant gains were the largest, there were 2.2 million unemployed natives.” Also, “most foreign workers compete directly in the construction, service and manufacturing industries where unemployment is the highest.” This shows how immigrants are beneficial to the United States since it is taking on jobs of which natives would not choose to work in. … Economist Gerald D. Jaynes concludes that “the best statistical studies of the effects of immigration on the wages and employment of the native-born conclude that such effects are relatively small—and in any event secondary to other causes of low wages and unemployment.”

Same with the previous research, this analysis finds no significant effect of immigration on net job growth for native-born workers. This suggests that the economy absorbs immigrants by expanding job opportunities rather than by displacing native-born workers in the United States. Moreover, the work force, like the economy, is not fixed and static. The U.S economy itself is dynamic, fluctuating, and creates hundreds of new jobs every

The United States of America, being a country founded by immigrants, is known all over the world as the land of great opportunities. People from all walks of life travelled across the globe, taking a chance to find a better life for them and their family. Over the years, the population of immigrants has grown immensely, resulting in the currently controversial issue of illegal immigration. Illegal immigrants are the people who have overstayed the time granted on their US, visa or those who have broken the federal law by crossing the border illegally. Matt O’Brien stated in his article “The government thinks that 10.8 million illegal immigrants lived in the country in January 2009, down from a peak of nearly 12 million in 2007.”(Para, 2) While some argue that illegal immigrants burden the United States of America and its economy, others believe that they have become essential and are an important part of the US, economy.