Immigration Pull Factors

Shayna Pruitt

Mr.Evans

US History

9/26/16

Immigrant Motivations: Push and Pull Factors

Immigration has shaped the United States as a nation since the first newcomers arrived over 400 years ago. America has been known to be a nation of immigrants. Most immigrants viewed America as the "Land of Opportunity." Back in the mid-19th century to the early 20th century immigrants mostly from eastern and westerns Europe were leaving their home to find work in order to allow them to live a better life and to practice their religion freely. Many immigrants came to America seeking greater economic opportunity. America technically kept its promise but the quality of the job that came with it was terrible. They had jobs but the conditions were horrible

" Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these the homeless, tempest-toast to me, I Life my lamp beside the golden door!" (Document A). For many years, the United States opened its doors to welcome those seeking political and religious freedom as well. Immigrants built up the United States from the very beginning. This country was, and continues to be a nation of ethical and cultural groups.

Particularly for immigrants of this period, were the push factors such as European population growth and subsequent overcrowding, scarcity of land, unemployment, and food shortages. Religious persecution forced thousands of Jews from their homelands, especially in countries such as Russia and Poland. In "Document D" is a cartoon of the "Ark of Refuge" it shows Uncle Sam on the Ark of Refuge welcoming immigrants to America with open arms. In the background there are clouds in the sky at the right side of the painting, the sky is darker and scary and there was a war where they lived. The signs in the painting indicate the freedoms to be found, particularly from taxes, kings, and compulsory

attracted people to America. These pull factors continue to attract immigrants to the U.S. even today. After they get here, immigrants start contributing to the economy of this country. They wear many hats in American society. They are family members, students, workers, business owners, investors, clergymen, and members of the armed services, to name just a few of their roles. In all their combined roles, immigrants made a vital contribution to the economy. They compose an increasingly essential proportion of the workforce." An Italian girl who has lessons in cooking at the public school will help her mother to connect the entire family with American food and household habits. That the mother has never baked bread in Italy–only mixed it in her own house and then taken it out to the village oven–makes all the more valuable her daughter 's understanding of the complicated cooking stove. The same thing is true of the girl who learns to sew in the public school, and more than anything else, perhaps, of the girl who receives the first simple instruction in the care of little children–that skillful care which every tenement-house baby requires if he is to be pulled through his second summer…." ("Document G") In this passage, this young lady was able to use her skills cooking to take care of her family at a public school. To add, she could use those same cooking skills to make a living for her family or start a