Coming to America: Immigration in the 19th and 20th Centuries Throughout history, immigrants have come to America for many different reasons. Their presence in America had a great impact on the country. There have been four different periods of immigration from the founding of America to the present day. The first period, the Formative Era, lasted until 1815. Then came the 19th Century Era, which ran from about 1815 to 1824. The third period was the era of restrictions, which ran from 1924 to the mid-1960s. Finally, the era of renewed immigration began in 1965 and continues today as immigrants continue to populate America. While each wave played a significant role in the history of the United States, the 19th century era of immigration had the greatest impact in shaping America into the country it is today. This wave of immigration not only created a huge population boom, but also set the pace for a new industrialized nation as immigrants came to America from all over the world, primarily for economic prosperity. Although immigrants came here for a better life, they often faced many hardships and had no one to turn to. Immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries may not be considered a prosperous and happy time for many; however, it was necessary for the future of America and its people. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Immigrants came to the United States from all over the world, from countries large and small. Irish immigrants made up a significant number of the total immigrants arriving in the late 19th century. By 1900 there were over ten million foreign-born people in America, and over 15% were from Ireland. Others came from all over Europe, including Great Britain, Norway, Germany, Italy, Poland and many others. Immigrants also came from the East as large numbers of Chinese and Japanese entered the country. They came for several reasons, including religion, war, overpopulation, family, new opportunities, economic prosperity, and others. America was seen as a country of freedom, equal rights, and prosperity (Keene). Immigrants believed that their lives would be better in such a country. Coming alone was not very common and very often immigrants brought with them their immediate relatives and some extended family. This was the case depicted in The Jungle, with Ona and Jurgis Rudkus traveling to America with a total of twelve members of their family, including children, parents, and cousins. They came in the hope of finding a better life while seeking higher earnings because wages in their home country, Lithuania, were very low and the family was heavily in debt. For the Jurgis family, America was seen as a place of wealth and love (Sinclair). This was a norm for many of the families who came to America when industrialization hit America in the late 19th century and created many jobs with higher wages than in their home countries. Many of these jobs were located in large cities on the East Coast, but others moved farther west. When industrialization hit America, cities grew very rapidly. With the rapid emergence of raw materials, cheap labor, and innovation, America was transforming into a new country. Machines became the tool of the century and the need for skilled workers decreased as anyone could perform the tasks required by the machines. Along with the machines came the large trading companies. Manufacturing factories were being built rapidly in cities such as New York, Philadelphia andChicago. These cities were popular places for European immigrants as the ships they traveled on most of the time passed through Ellis Island in New York Harbor. Ellis Island is where immigrants first entered the country. Here they answered questions and filled out paperwork to make them citizens (Keene). Therefore, the easiest and most cost-effective place for immigrants to go to look for work was New York City. With the amount of people entering New York City, it soon became overcrowded, causing other cities such as Philadelphia and Chicago to become popular. Chicago also became a travel location well known for its stockyards, which provided thousands of jobs. As the Jurgis family case demonstrated, Chicago was an easily accessible city with a growing economy and plenty of jobs. Additionally, large cities were desirable because they provided easy transportation and there was a good chance of finding others from one's home country. The West was also a popular place for immigrants, especially those from Asia because it was easier to reach. As a result, the West Coast of the United States was rapidly prospering. After the discovery of gold in places like California, the population of the West began to grow. Along with Manifest Destiny and several laws that granted Americans land in the West, industrialization slowly began to travel west. To do this, the railroad was a necessity and this became a great employment opportunity for many Chinese and other immigrants. Other industries, such as steel and coal, brought significant numbers to the West. Although Chinese immigrants were seen as dirty, dangerous, and strange, workers overlooked these qualities as cheap labor was the main priority as throughout America (Keene). Entrepreneurs knew that immigrants needed jobs; therefore, cheap labor and poor working conditions were the norm. When immigrants came to the United States, they needed any job they could find, regardless of salary. The most common way to find work in the 19th century was to stand in line and wait for employers to choose you based on your age and physical appearance. It was very difficult for women and the elderly to find work as they were deemed unfit to carry out the required work. For Jurgis Rudkus in The Jungle, finding a job was no problem: Jurgis had stood outside Brown and Company's "Central Time Station" no more than half an hour, on the second day of his arrival in Chicago, before being called up by one of the bosses (Sinclair p. 19). Jurgis was selected so quickly because he was a fit young man with a ready-to-work attitude. Others were not as lucky as Jurgis, and some remained in line for weeks or months. Those who could not find work were often seen by others as lazy and good for nothing (Sinclair). Finding a job was just one of the many difficulties immigrants faced when arriving in America. Another difficulty immigrants faced when coming to America was the language barrier. Most immigrants knew little or no English. This made it very difficult to communicate with others. Because of this, immigrants were often victims of scandals as people tried to scam them out of more money. Furthermore, once a family managed to reach their intended destination, it was very difficult to locate a place to live and know where and how to find things. Like the Rudku, immigrants often knew only one or two words and that was where they intended to go. Once you reach ittheir position, that word no longer had any meaning. Most of the time, others went ahead without paying any attention to the new immigrants, and were pitied for their helplessness. Immigrants feared those in uniform and could not turn to the law for help (Sinclair). Given the language barrier and fear of asking for help, immigrants had difficulty finding housing, especially something that was affordable. They often found themselves in public housing with dozens of other families in the big city. Tenement houses were usually five or six story buildings. Families would get 2 or 3 rooms in the building, cramming 2 to 15 people into their rooms. Families also took turns in the rooms, while one family worked, the other slept and the two switched at some point during the day. These homes often resulted in high rates of illness and death due to the easy spread of bacteria in such narrow hallways. It also carried disease water through cities, which claimed many lives during the 19th and 20th centuries (Keene). Another option for living was to rent or buy your own home. Often there were ads to buy houses by making payments over the course of the year. Large families like the Jurgis family thought it was a good idea because there was more room for everyone and it would be manageable with so many people and several different incomes. Like Jurgis, however, the families would be defrauded. Instead of buying a house, as they planned to do, they ended up renting it, which allowed for an easier eviction. If you were late with a payment you would be evicted immediately (Sinclair). Despite the terrible living conditions in the city, rents continued to rise as demand for housing was high. This has made it extremely difficult to find an affordable home. Housing problems were only the beginning of the immigrants' difficulties. Most immigration-related difficulties have been caused by the direct and indirect effects of jobs and workforce. Finding a job wasn't the only difficult part of entering the industrialized workforce; the working conditions and demands themselves were excessive for many immigrants. Each type of job had its difficult demands. The most common requirement of a job that put a strain on the family was long working hours. The average working day was at least ten hours. Long days brought with them low wages. During the 1900s, the average worker earned approximately seventeen and a half cents an hour. The average income of a worker was between $250 and $350 per year. This income was not at all sufficient for the survival of many families, especially the larger ones. Family expenses, including rent, fuel, food, clothing, and medical care, often amounted to more than the family income, resulting in high amounts of debt (Hollitz ch. 2). Beyond the hours and salary, the hardest part of most jobs was the physical labor and workplace conditions. Factory and mine jobs were the most common for immigrants, and both were extremely dangerous. The machinery in a factory was very large and treacherous. Hundreds of men were injured by the machines, while others were not so lucky and were killed. In addition to the dangerous machinery, the factories were hot and full of rapidly spreading diseases. As described in The Jungle, dangerous chemicals have played a major role in the harsh conditions of meatpacking factories. Every job in a packaging factory puts workers at risk. Loss of limbs was a norm, as were unbearable odors. Not just factories.