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Long Essay Question: The experience of the new immigrants in the late 19th century was

little different from the experience of preceding groups of immigrants to the United States.
Assess the validity of this statement.
By the mid-1800s, population in the United States doubled every twenty-five years and
thirty-three stars graced the American flag. The U.S. was the fourth most populous nation in the
western world and urban growth continued explosively. During the 1840s and 1850s, over 1.5
million Irish and nearly as many Germans entered the United States. Immigration has always
played an important role in American history, and the U.S. has been considered a melting pot of
different cultures and ethnicities. Although there are some similarities between the experience of
new immigrants in the late 19th century and the experience of preceding immigrants to the United
States, there are more profound differences, as discrimination intensified and nativism increased
therefore, this statement is partially valid.
Old immigration refers to the influx of immigrants to the U.S. before 1880. This group
of immigrants was primarily from Britain and Western Europe. Many immigrants came to
America simply because Europe was running out of room or to escape political oppression and
war. Most immigrants traveled to the United States in search of opportunities and to better their
conditions. The majority of old immigrants (with the exception of Roman Catholic Irish) were
Protestant, literate, and easily adjusted to American life. The Irish tended to settle in cities along
the East Coast and work factory jobs as wage slaves. The other prominent immigrant group, the
German, opted to settle in the Midwest and often owned small farms. The immigration of the
1840s and 1850s inflamed nativists prejudices. Politically, nativists formed the Know-Nothing
Party, whose members agitated for rigid restriction on immigration and the naturalization of laws
authorizing the deportation of alien paupers. Despite this discrimination, immigrants helped
expand the economythe American economy and immigrants depended on each other.

New immigration refers to immigration between the 1880s and 1920s. The leading
nations of the new immigration were Italy, Austria-Hungary, and Russia; however, people from
all over Europe and Asia came to the United States. New reasons for immigration emerged, as
many immigrants came to America as birds of passage, to avoid conscription, or to escape
religious persecution. During this time, nearly all immigrants faced discrimination. New
immigrants tended to be illiterate and practice non-traditional religions. Many concerns also
arose regarding new immigrants. Americans feared these foreigners would out-produce, outvote, and overwhelm the old native stock. New ideas of Socialism, Communism, and Anarchism
further incited fear. Reminiscent of the Know-Nothing Party, an organization called the
American Protective Association was formed. This group urged Americans to vote against
Catholic candidates and sponsored publication defaming the Catholic Church. This rise in
nativism and prejudice made it difficult for new immigrants to assimilate into the United States.
Although discrimination intensified throughout the 19th century, there have been
examples of nativism earlier in American history. The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 raised the
residency requirement to fourteen years and granted the president power to deport foreigners.
Throughout the 19th century, some aspects of immigration remained constant, however many
things changed as the U.S. evolved. Immigration undeniably shaped the United States into a
more pluralistic societyone of the most racially and ethnically diverse in the history of the
world.

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