Figure 1.--Here steerage passangers line up at Ellis Island to begin the immigration process in the early 1900s. The process was primarily designed to find unhealty individuals. This was a stressful time for the emigrants. About 98 percent of the arrivals, however, were allowed to enter the United States.

Extensive European immigration continued after the turn-of- the 20th century. An imposing new building was completed on Ellis Island to process immigrants (1900). Andvwe have an extensive photographic record to document it. Not onlynbwas technology takingbthe camera out of the studio, but the Progrssive Era generated an interest in immigration as it did in other toics like slums and child labor. By the early 20th century about 1 million mostly European immigrants were entering American annually. Immigration peaked (1907). Over 1.3 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island in that year. Large numbers of immigrants continued to flow from Eastern Europe and Italy. Eastern European immigration was primarily from the multi-ethnic Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires substanially increasing America's ehnic diversity. Jewish emigration continued to be substantial from the Russian Empire which at the time included Poland. The United States acquired a Japanese population when it annexed Hawaii (1898). The Japanese were not limited by the Chinese Exclusion Act, but officials in Califormia were demanding a similar law including the Japanese. The United States and Japan signed the Gentlemen’s Agreement (1907). And sea travel was disrupted by the War. This sharply fell off during World War I (1914-18). The War broke out (1914). Countries at war did not want men of military age emmigrating. U-boars discouraged trans--Atlantic voyages. Russian ports were largely closed off by the Germans, both the German Baltic Fleet and military advances in to Poland and the Baltics. The Royal Navy blockaded the ports of the Central Powers. After the War, immigration began to rise, but not from Russia where the Civil War raged. And the Bolsheviks did not approve of emigration--it showcased the fact that that the worker's paradise they claimed did not exist in fact. Poland was, however, no longer part of the new Russian/Soviet state. Most of the immigrants settled in the growing cities, most the northeast and industrial midwest. As a result, many American cities had a much more international makeup than the country as a whole. By the end of the decade, an estimated three-quarters of New York City's population consisted of new immigrants and the newly coined first-generation Americans. The United States was still a largely rural counyty, but the urban population was growing.

The 1900s

Extensive European immigration continued after the turn-of- the 20th century. In fact it increased. Immigration had declined in the 1890s as a result of the Depression of the 1890s--at the time called the Panic of 1893 . Immigration shot up from a low of 0.3 million people (1898)s to record levels (1900s decade). The peak of 1.3 million legal permanent residents was reached (1907). 【U.S. Department of Homeland Security】 The Knickerbocker Panic (1907) was probably the reason for the 1908 decline. National origins shifted. Immigrants from Northern and Western Europe continued coming as they had for three centuries, but in decreasing numbers. After the 1880s, immigrants increasingly came from Eastern and Southern European countries, as well as Canada and Latin America. An imposing new building was completed on Ellis Island to process immigrants (1900). And we have an extensive photographic record to document it. Not only was technology taking the camera out of the studio, but the Progrssive Era generated an interest in immigration as it did in other issues like slums and child labor. By the early 20th century about 1 million mostly European immigrants were entering American annually. Immigration peaked (1907). Over 1.3 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island in that year. Large numbers of immigrants continued to flow from Eastern Europe and Southernn Europe (especially Italy). Eastern European immigration was primarily from the multi-ethnic Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires substanially increasing America's ehnic diversity. Jewish emigration continued to be substantial from the Russian Empire which at the time included Poland. Immigrants came for the same reasons that brought earlier generation of immigrants. By the 1900s, earlier generations had reported home that still largely Protestant America with its northern European population offered far more opportunity than was available in Eastern and Southern Europe. This was especially the case for Jews suffering the restictions and pograms of the Tsaeist Empire. The immogrfation process increasingly organized. Rrecruiting agents helped organize and facilitate the process. Improved shipping made it more comfortable and affordable. Italian and Greek laborers called the agent 'padrones'. National groups varied in the job pursued and where they settled in America. This was influenced in part by where the original groups went in the late-19th century. Many Czechs, Hungarians, Italians, Poles, and Slovaks sought jobs in the coal mines and steel mills of the Industrial Midwest. Greeks seemed moreintersted in textile mills. Russian and Polish Jews worked the needle trades or pushcart markets in New York. These were occupations that the Tsarist authorities has permitted. The United States acquired a Japanese population when it annexed Hawaii (1898). The Japanese were not limited by the Chinese Exclusion Act, but officials in Califormia were demanding a similar law including the Japanese. The United States and Japan signed the Gentlemen’s Agreement (1907).

The 1910s

At first substantial European emigration flows continued to America in the 1910s. The peak year was 1907, but levels continued at very high levels into 1914. And the shift of immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe continued. Eastern and Southern Europeans made up 70 percent of the immigrants entering the country (1910). This all changed dramatically with the outbreak of World War I (August 1914). Emigration dropped precipitously by 1915. A range of factors was involved, primarily because of the situation in Europe. Countries at war did not want men of military age emigrating. Sea transport was disrupted by the War. German U-boats discouraged trans-Atlantic voyages. Liners were seized by governments to serve as troop transports. Russian ports were largely closed off by the Germans, both the German Baltic Fleet and military advances in to Poland and the Baltics. The Royal Navy blockaded the ports of the Central Powers. These were ports where large numbers of emigrants had embarked. America civilians and the Government made various efforts to achieve a negotiated peace. They all failed. Both the Allies and Central Powers were intention a military solution. President Wilson began pressuring the Allies who were dependent of American financing to end the War. The Germans were,however, remained intent on a military solution (1917). And as a result, America entered the War (1917). One impact of the War was a natavist outburst and concern with immigrant groups--especially the Germans. And after the War the Russians. The Immigration Act of 1917 was the first major American step to restrict immigration. This included a literacy requirement. This ended immigration from most Asian countries and affected European immigration to an extent. After the War, immigration began to rise, but never regained pre-War levels. The literacy requirement was a major factor. Emigration from Russia dropped precipitously. The Civil War there was raging. And the Bolsheviks did not approve of emigration--it showcased the reality that the wonderful worker's paradise they claimed was a propaganda fiction. Poland, the Baltics, and Finland were no longer part of the new Russian/Soviet state. New countries were created out of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The creation of these new independent states reduced the one of the impetuses for emigration.

Sources

Handlin, Oscar. The Uprooted (1951).

Kraut, Alan. The Huddled Masses: The Immigrant in American Society, 1880-1921 (1982).

U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigration Statistics, Yearbook of Immigration Statistics (various years). The precise numbers are somewhat confused by the tenency of the U.S. Goverment to use Fiscal Year data.)

Created: 5:48 PM 9/5/2006
Last updated: 6:16 PM 4/10/2024