Glossary
Americanization
The process by which immigrants were encouraged or pressured to adopt American customs, values, language, and civic practices, often with the goal of promoting national unity and cultural assimilation.
Example:
Public schools and settlement houses often played a role in Americanization, teaching immigrant children English and American history, sometimes at the expense of their native cultures.
Angel Island
The main immigration processing station for Asian immigrants, particularly Chinese, located in San Francisco Bay, which operated from 1910 to 1940. It was known for its more rigorous and often discriminatory inspections and detentions.
Example:
Chinese immigrants arriving on the West Coast often faced lengthy interrogations and detentions at Angel Island, a stark contrast to the quicker processing at Ellis Island.
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
A landmark federal law passed in 1882 that prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers to the United States for ten years and was later extended indefinitely. It was the first major law restricting immigration based on nationality.
Example:
The passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 severely limited the growth of Chinese communities in the U.S. and fueled anti-Asian sentiment for decades.
Ellis Island
The primary immigration processing center in New York Harbor, opened in 1892, through which millions of European immigrants entered the United States. It served as a gateway to America, conducting health and legal inspections.
Example:
After a long voyage across the Atlantic, many European families first saw the Statue of Liberty and then proceeded to Ellis Island for inspection before being allowed to enter the country.
Ethnic Enclave
A neighborhood or community within a larger city where a particular ethnic or cultural group predominantly lives, often preserving their language, customs, and traditions.
Example:
New York City's 'Little Italy' or San Francisco's 'Chinatown' are classic examples of Ethnic Enclaves where immigrants could find familiar foods, social networks, and cultural support.
Gilded Age
A period in U.S. history from the 1860s to the 1890s characterized by rapid economic growth, industrialization, and wealth accumulation, often masking significant social problems like poverty and inequality.
Example:
The lavish mansions of industrialists like Andrew Carnegie stood in stark contrast to the crowded tenements of the working class, embodying the superficial prosperity of the Gilded Age.
Immigration Restriction League
An organization founded in 1894 that advocated for stricter immigration laws, particularly promoting literacy tests for immigrants to limit the influx of 'new' immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe.
Example:
The Immigration Restriction League argued that literacy tests were necessary to protect American culture and jobs from what they perceived as undesirable immigrants.
Nativism
A policy or belief favoring native-born inhabitants over immigrants, often characterized by hostility towards immigrants and a desire to restrict immigration. It is fueled by economic, cultural, and racial anxieties.
Example:
The widespread fear that Catholic New Immigrants would undermine American Protestant values and take jobs from native-born workers was a strong expression of Nativism during the Gilded Age.
New Immigrants
Immigrants who arrived in the United States predominantly after the 1890s, mainly from Southern and Eastern European countries such as Italy, Greece, and Russia. They often faced greater discrimination due to cultural and religious differences and economic status.
Example:
A family from Sicily arriving in New York in 1905 would be considered New Immigrants, often settling in crowded urban areas and working in factories.
Old Immigrants
Immigrants who arrived in the United States primarily before the 1890s, largely from Northern and Western European countries like Ireland, Germany, and Great Britain. They were often more skilled and tended to assimilate more readily into American society.
Example:
Many Old Immigrants from Germany, arriving in the mid-19th century, quickly established farms and businesses in the Midwest, contributing to the region's agricultural and industrial growth.
Political Machines
Unofficial political organizations that controlled local government, often through patronage, bribery, and voter intimidation, but also provided essential services to urban residents, especially immigrants, in exchange for votes.
Example:
Tammany Hall in New York City, led by figures like Boss Tweed, was a notorious Political Machine that, despite its corruption, helped many Irish immigrants find jobs and housing.
Pull Factors
Positive conditions or attractions in a destination country that draw people to migrate there, including economic opportunities, available jobs, political or religious freedom, and family reunification.
Example:
The promise of factory jobs in industrial cities like Chicago and the availability of land in the West were strong Pull Factors for many European immigrants during the Gilded Age.
Push Factors
Negative conditions or circumstances in a person's home country that compel them to leave, such as poverty, famine, political instability, war, or religious persecution.
Example:
The potato famine in Ireland in the 1840s served as a significant Push Factor, driving millions of Irish immigrants to seek new lives in the United States.
Rural to Urban Migration
The internal movement of people from agricultural areas and small towns to larger cities, driven by the search for employment, better social opportunities, and a more modern lifestyle.
Example:
A young woman from a struggling farm in Iowa might participate in Rural to Urban Migration by moving to Chicago to work in a department store or factory.
Settlement Houses
Community centers established in urban areas, primarily by middle-class reformers, to provide social services, education, and cultural activities to immigrants and the urban poor.
Example:
Jane Addams' Hull House in Chicago was a famous Settlement House that offered English classes, childcare, and job assistance to newly arrived immigrants.
The Great Migration
The mass movement of approximately six million African Americans from the rural Southern United States to urban areas in the North, Midwest, and West between 1916 and 1970. They sought economic opportunities and escape from racial segregation and violence.
Example:
During The Great Migration, a young Black man might leave his sharecropping family in Mississippi to find work in an automobile factory in Detroit, seeking better wages and more freedom.