Licenta Mihai Dogaru 1 [621968]

UNIVERSITATEA „LUCIAN BLAGA” DIN SIBIU
FACULTATEA DE LITERE Ș I ARTE
DEPARTAMENTUL DE STUDII ANGLO -AMERICANE ȘI GERMANISTICE

LUCRARE DE DIPLOMĂ

COORDONATOR ȘTIINȚIFIC: CANDIDAT: [anonimizat]. UNIV. DR . SORIN ȘTEFĂNESCU MIHAI DOGAR U

SIBIU
2016

UNIVERSITATEA „LUCIAN BLAGA” DIN SIBIU
FACULTATEA DE LITERE ȘI ARTE
DEPARTAMENTUL DE STUDII ANGLO -AMERICANE ȘI GERMANISTICE

VECHEA ȘI NOUA IMIGRAȚIE Î N STATELE
UNITE :
IMPORTANȚA CELOR DOUĂ VALURI
EUROPENE DE EMIGRA ȚIE DIN SECOLUL
AL XIX-LEA ȘI ÎNCEPUTUL SECOLULUI
AL XX-LEA

COORDONATOR ȘTIINȚIFIC: CANDIDAT: [anonimizat]. UNIV. DR. SORIN ȘTEFĂNESCU MIHAI DOGARU

SIBIU
2016

LUCIAN BLAGA UNIVERSITY OF SIBIU
FACULTY OF LETTERS AND ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF ANGLO -AMERICAN AND GERMAN STUDIES

OLD AND NEW IMMIGRATION IN THE UNITED
STATES :
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE NINETEEN TH AND
EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY EUROPEAN
IMMIGRATION WAVES

SCIENTIFIC ADVISER: CANDIDATE:
DR. SORIN ȘTEFĂNESCU , MIHAI DOGARU
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

SIBIU
2016

Table of Contents

Introduction ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………….. 1
1. Theoretical Background of the Migration Phenomenon ………………………….. ………… 3
1.1. Definitions and Concepts ………………………….. ………………………….. …………………… 3
1.2. Migration throughout History ………………………….. ………………………….. …………. 7
1.3. Theories of Migration ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………….. 14
1.4. Causes and Effects of Migration ………………………….. ………………………….. ……. 17
2. A Comparative Analysis of the two Migratory Waves in the United States ……….. 19
2.1. History of the two Migratory Waves ………………………….. ………………………….. 19
2.2. Causes of the two Migratory Waves ………………………….. ………………………….. . 26
2.2.1. Old Immigration Wave ………………………….. ………………………….. ………….. 27
2.2.2. New Immigration Wave ………………………….. ………………………….. …………. 30
2.3. The Impact of the two Migratory Waves on the American Society …………….. 32
3. The Assimilation Process ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………………. 39
3.1. The Old Immigration Assimilation ………………………….. ………………………….. … 42
3.2. The New Immigration Assimilation ………………………….. ………………………….. . 44
Conclusions ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………… 47
Appendix ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …………………. 49
Work Cited ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………. 51
Selected Bibliography ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. .. 59

1

Introduction

Migration has always been a controversial topic which drew attention from all
spheres, either political or social; due to the complexity of the process es and the
unpredictability on which it unfolds. It is a transformative action for both origin and
host country. Nowadays, it has become a subject on everybody’s lips being highly
discussed in all fields due to its complex implications ; but until European immigration
crisis from 2015 and 2016, the topic did not receive as much public attention as it has
in these days. Studies indicate the same identity crisis Europe is facing today, was
also found in nineteenth and early twentieth century United States . Consequently, this
issue was of a great concern for America’s governance and population of that time .
Analyzing the scenario the US went through might help bring a new perspective on
the similar issues of today.
We live in to an inter -connected and rapidly changing world where humans are
more dynamic than ever. In effects to this, migration has an impact on a global scale,
due to the easiness on which the movem ent occurs in these days. America is indeed a
nation of immigrants, formed by a multitude of groups by different ethnicities,
religions and opinions . As a result of this, its identity has always been debated due to
the perma nent changes that have been taking place. This nation can also be seen as an
“experiment” where a great variety of individuals whose backgrounds are very
different try to form a group unity. The position of the global super power United
States has it today is the result of the economic and multi -cultural development
brought by the millions of immigrants who arrived in those times of mass -migration.
Evidences indicate migration worked as a starting point for development. Thus,
irrespective of the multiple pr oblems it led to, the final outcome has been positive ,
given the world dominance America experiences on all plans in these latter days. The
process was a complex and lengthy one and had its drawbacks , as well. I will address
both the benefits and the tensions brought by the immigrants in America.
I chose to focus specifically on immigration topic due to the increas ingly
attention it has been receiving these days and also because of the wide availabi lity of
various dat a and sources which allowed me to outline a reliable and complex analysis

2

of the phenomenon . As a result of th is and due to the economic, social and political
implications migration encompasses , it required a more detailed study in order to
accurately offer a comprehensive perspective regarding the role of the two
immigration waves in formation of the United States . Hence, by adopti ng a
comparative approach of the two waves, my thesis aims explaining the following
questions:

1. Which were the individuals from each period ?
2. Which were the causes that started the immigration process on both
periods ?
3. Which were the transformations and effects on the American society?
4. How did the assimilation process unfold during both waves?

Starting from these questions, the following study focuses on each
immigration period in particular , along with all its constituents. By using historical
insights , theoretical approaches and comparative analyses, the present work aims at
offering a more coherent overview at the highest immigration ever seen. The novelty
of this thesis is that it takes a comparative approach of the two immigration waves,
which allow s for a complete and complex understanding of not only each of these two
influx of immigrants but also of the nation building process of the mo st powerful state
in the world. The first chapter tries to give a general outlook of the migration
phenomenon sin ce its beginning until modern times. A series of migration theories,
causes and effects are discussed in order to rightly depict the evolution of the
phenomenon which led to the two immigration waves in the United States. The
second chapter deals with the historical background of the two periods, in terms of
ethnicity, religion, allegiance and demography. It also presents which were the factors
that caused the process and the afterwards complicated effects. The third chapter
focuses on the assimilation proc ess and which were the obstacles faced by the arrival
of foreigners into a totally different medium. In addition to these, it is also pointed out
the transition from newcomer to the so called “native” status.
I consider it is of a great significance to explore the mechanism which led to
the formation of this nation and which was the role immigration had in the economic
and socio -cultural evolution of the United States, because t he implications of those
immigration periods can still be perceived today .

3

1. Theoretical B ackground of the Migration Phenomenon

1.1. Definitions and Concepts

Humans have been migrating since early times but i n a wo rldwide context where the
movement of people has turned out to be something more present than ever , confusion
may arise regarding the “Migration” term. Many social scientists and historians have
tried to define this concept, but so far, none of them have actually managed to come
up with a general accepted definition by the academia world. Although, at first view it
may be seen as a movement which encompasses a change of the actual living place
for an undetermined period, many other s factors play a vital role in this complexity .
The situation is more accurately emphasized by the following sentence: “There is no
unanimity over the meaning of migration” (Clarke, 1965, 123). There by, there are
three terms that emerge in this situation : “migra tion”, “immigra tion” and
“emigration .” The general definition for these t hree, sometimes confusing terms, as it
can be seen in the Oxford Dictionaries is as following:

a. Migration is described as “the movement of people to a new area or country in
order to find wo rk or better living conditions”;
b. Immigration is distinguished as “the action of coming to live permanently in a
foreign country” ;
c. Emigration is defined as “ the act of leaving one’s own country to settle
permanently in another ”;

There see ms to be a fine line between these three ideas in terms of
understanding and differentiating . Therefore, one can conclude that immigration and
emigration are a sub -category of the more wide and general sphere of the migration
phenomenon. Immigration and emigration are c haracterized by the process of
“coming in” and “ going out” movement from a country to anoth er country. The
similarity which makes them work in a tight correlation is that every single one
involves the movement to a particular individual or group of individuals from one
place to another. The difference is made by distance , duration of stay and wh ether or

4

not a border is being crossed during the process. For a better understanding of
migration, Baggio (2015) came up with a classification of the phenomenon. So that,
from a descriptive point of view, he notes that migration is classified as follow:
geographical, chronological, political -legal , demographic -economic and causal.

a. The geographical classification is defined by the distance covered from a
geographical perspective;
b. The chronological classification consists from the time span i n terms of
intentional or effective duration;
c. Political -legal classification deal s with the manner in which migration takes
place from an administrative perspective or the policies applied in that case ;
d. The demographic -economic classification refers to th e characteristics and the
working skills of the people who m igrate;
e. The casual classification stands for the motivation s, reasons and causes that
underlie the movement, so that one identifies in this case two categories: free
or sp ontaneous and forced migration;

As it could be seen above, migration can also be voluntary (free or
spontaneous) and involuntary (forced) . Voluntary migration is that part of the human
mobility which implies one’s own personal self -motivation and will to go from a
place to another regardless its reasons , whereas involuntary migration represents the
force movement of people against their will for reasons such as persecution,
exploitation etc. There is another third form of movement : reluctant migration. In this
case, the person in cause is not forced to move, but it has to do so due to various
factors such as natural calamities, reallocation, war, political situation, etc. (Zhou,
2016 ).
In terms of number, migration may occur part of an individually or in mass
movement . In the case of mass migration, the figure role is played by the collective
behavior of the group (Sinha, 2005). According to Kammeyer and Ginn (1988, p.112 )
and Trewartha (1969, pp. 141 – 142) as cited in Sinha (2005) , migration may also be
classified depending upon ideas. Thus, it results in conserv ative and innovative
migration. Conservative migration occurs when an individual move due to some
implications which occur on its actual residence, so that its options are whether to
move to a di fferent place in order to preserve its way of living, or to stay and be

5

assimilated by the new environment. An example of such case may be the situation
when a construction project is being undertaken; therefore, the individual who moves
to a new area and get its pr evious job it’s called a conservative migrant. Innovative
migration refers to the actual desire and option of the individual in order to obtain a
new way of life. If due to some external factors it moves to a new location and starts a
new job, ne w activities, one can conclude that is an innovative migrant. Both
conservative and innovative migration is contingent on personal motivation, decision,
determination, consideration, etc. Another third type was indicated , called primitive
migration. This t ype deals with the movement in which people are forced to settle in a
different place due to an environmental constraint in order to survive (Sinha, 2005).
Furthermore, migration may also be divided in two categories . In this case,
Natali (2009 ) distingui shes two types of migration: internal and international
migration (commonly known as immigration or emigration, depending of the
context). A well -known example of internal migration was the case of Germany
following the World War II where people migrated f rom East -Germany to West –
Germany. As respects, a relevant example of international migration comes from
early twentieth century, where people from Eastern -Europe in particular, moved in the
United States (Natali, 2009).
United Nations has tried to simplify the definition of a long – term immigrant
stating a recommendation in the year of 1980, which noted that:

A person who has entered a country with the intention of remaining for more than one year
and who either must never have been in that country continuously for more than one year or,
having been in the country at least once continuously for more than one yea r, must have been
away continuously for more than one year since the l ast stay of more than one year (Natali,
2009 , 3).

The concept of migration involves two keys components: space and time.
Space is concerned in the place of departure and arrival. Such is the case of time,
where th e duration of stay has to be defined for each place. In the context of
international migration , there is no debate regarding the space criterion which is being
well confined due to the fact that the place of departure , as well as the place of
destination belongs to a different country. As a result of this criterion, the

6

international migration appears as the change of individual’ s usual resi dence country
(UN Statistical Commission and EU ROSTAT, 2001).
Concerning t he time criterion , this seems to be more problematic in defining
migration , either internal or international, because there is a close correlation between
the duration of stay and the reason of occupying the dwelling under cons ideration. In
the international migration situation, the most important aspect is not the occupation
of a dwelling, but the time period spent away o f the residence country. One may
consider a person as an interna tional migrant that who transfers its place of residence
for a more than the usual minimal accepted duration of time. At the same time, an
international immigrant will be that person who settles its usual place of residence for
more than the same accepted time period in a di fferent country (UN Statistical
Commission and EUROSTAT, 2001). Natali (2009) notes that, the word “migration”
has always been associated with “international migration”, whereas “ internal
migratio n” has been correlated by the distribution of people, such a s urbanization , as
Skeldon (2008) states. The interrelationships between international and internal
migration are triggered by the same factors, economic, political or social ( Natali,
2009).
Migration doesn’t come only with positive outcomes but does als o have
negative effects, such as “brain drain” . This is a negative consequence of emigration
in which the skilled people leave their own country, even if they would have been a
high asset for the development of it . The “brain drain” is seen as a serious issue by the
countries which supply the hu man capital for this phenomenon (Natali, 2009). In a
study of Dodani and Laporte (2005) it was found that developing countries are the one
where this phenomenon mostly occurs because the trained and high ly educated
personnel seek better living standards and high salaries. These countries invest a lot of
money, resources and time in order to train and educate young individuals; so that ,
worldwide this pose a serious concern, especially because of its impact on the he alth
systems in the developing country. Thus, the emigration of these young professional
to the more developed countries, translates in a significant loss for their country of
origin (Dodani and Laporte, 2005). This phenomenon also occurred in the U nites
States nineteenth and twentieth century immigration waves . Lehrer (2011) rightly
points out that twentieth century America was a magnet for young, ambitious and
educated people from around the world, especially Europe . Many highly educated
personalities such as Albert Einstein or Nikolai Tesla also emigrated in America on

7

that period. The United States has always been regarded as a top destination for
immigrants of all kinds since early times.
The indications are ther efore that , there is a never ending debate regarding
migration phenomenon and its political, social, demographic, cultural and economic
implications due to the dynamics of the topic. The field of migration is complex
containing a numerous spheres of analys is. Irrespective of its nature, internal,
external, rural -urban, migration always occur s because humans will always seek
better living conditions . The forces underlie it are those which have been shaping the
society for thousands of years. Thus, it could be concluded that migration is a process
which will never come to an end.

1.2. Migration throughout History

Migration over long distances is not something new. Since early times humans were
driven to migrate in search of food, riches, spreading their cultural habits, to fight or
to flight from enemies, etc . A few aspects are as fundamental as the human mobility
for the evolution of the society and human’s specie as migration is. Migration or in
this context the human migration has played a vital role in the composition and
evolution of our society . One may say it ’s in our nature to move from one place to
another. This permanent and relentless desire to conquer or to explore new territories
has sketched the world the way it is today. Either it was voluntary or involuntary , the
process has never stopped . The movement over great distances is something inherited
from our early ancestors, as Adler and Gielen (2003) suggest ed. It is further pointed
out by them, that migration is regarded today as a cente r part in the worldwide flow of
persons, ideas, practices and goods. Throughout history, migration has changed every
corner of the globe in terms of demography, nationality, race, mingling influences
from every part of the world i nto a global “melting -pot.”
The first major migration in human history took place when early humans left
from Africa to colonize the world, approximately 80,000 years ago. Due to the
benefits brought by the movement to different places, humans gained the upper hand
in the fight for survival. An aspect that drove early humans to migrate was the
depletion of resources from their current place; therefore, migration had a positive

8

impact. Gugliotta, (2008) has expressed a similar view in his article, sugg esting that
this step, of leaving Africa, brought us to a standing place which offered the human
specie the advantage of dominating other species on one hand, and on the other hand,
a never seen before opportunity for the evolution of our society. Turning to Diamond
(1999), one finds that worldwide migration had some profound and permanent
outcomes for the human species and for the environment, too.
The migrat ory trend started in prehistory, 4 million years ago, when early ape –
like creature s roamed the Af rican continent. About 1 million years ago, early
hominids scattered the north side of Africa representing the beginning of mankind’s
early migratory waves to colonize the planet. The first hominid that left Africa was
Homo erectus moving towards Europe an d Asia. After this step, early Human sapiens
also followed the route to Europe and Asia, approxim ately 80,000 – 60,000 years ago,
in what is known as the most important migration in history. Given the effect brought
by the Ice Age, both Australia and Ameri ca were eventually colonized by humans. It
is uncertain exactly when that happened , but it is suggested that the first humans
migrated in Australia somewhere betwe en 60,000 and 50,000 years ago ( Gascoigne ,
p. 1). As far as that goes, due to another Ice Age , America was eventually colonized
somewhere between 12,000 and 30,000 years ago, when early humans migrated from
Asia, using the Bering Strait, in to wha t is now known as North America. When
Christopher Columbus first arrived in 1492, it is estimated that between 2 and 10
millio n inhabitants were living there (Gugliotta, 2008). As Ewing (2012) perceptively
states, t his situation was the result of successive migratory waves from Asia,
spreading afterwards thro ugh all places of the continent.
Since 3000 BC, different groups of people have moved from one place to
another for a variety of reasons. One of the specific features that made a migratory
group distinguishable in the new places they arrived was their language. Around that
year, a major m igratory event took place when the Semitic tribes left Southern Arabia
through Sinai into the Syrian Desert. Indo -Europeans was another large group of
migrants which came in Europe by the year of 2000 BC. They settled into eastern
steppes of Ukraine and th e northern regions of the Black and Caspian Sea. Regarding
Asia, from around 1800 BC, a significant movement occurred when Hittites tribes
migrated in Anatolia. The first Indo -European tribe that had a major impact on Europe
history was the Greeks. They ar rived in the region of Ae gean and Greece around 1800
BC (Gascoigne, p. 2) .

9

The Jewish Diaspora was another migratory event which was considered to be
distinctive in the history of migration because after the destruction of Jerusalem in the
sixth century BC , the Jewish people had been migrating around the world since then
until the formation of the state Israel. The particularity that gave them that distinctive
feature was that they were a minority in any society they settled; but this situation was
not an impediment for the preservation of their culture. They also had a major impact
in the histor y of the United States, as well (Gascoigne, p. 2).
In the second and first century BC, the world saw another migration in the
form of hordes from the steppes of northern China mov ing towards west and settling
in the region north of Bactria. In Europe, in the same second century, the Germanic
tribes moved south and east from Scandinavia to mainland Europe. After this, it was
followed my numerous tribes that migrated in Europe, such as: the Huns AD 370, the
Visigoths AD 376-418, the Franks at the late of forth century , the Vandals AD 406-
439, the Burgundians AD 413-436, the Slavs in eastern Europe in the sixth century,
the Angles and the Saxons in the fifth and sixth century, the Lombards sixth and
eighth century , etc. Afterwards, major Arabic groups moved in various parts of the
world and Europe starting in the seventh century (Gascoigne, p. 4)
The Middle Age period also witnessed great changes in the composition of
human movement. Since the eighth century up to the late of the fifteenth century,
various groups migrated around Europe , such as: the Vikings, Turks , Mongols,
Magyars , Gypsies, etc. In the same period, there were also a multitude of military
campaigns, suc h as: the Ottoman Turks, the Mongols and the European Crusades . The
discovery of America was an important step in the intercontinental migration. This
event constituted the beginning of one of the most si gnificant human movements in
history. Between the fifteenth and eighteenth century, Europeans driven by various
reaso ns migrated into the New World. Slave migration was also abundance in the first
centuries after its colonization. In the same time, Europeans also migrated in Australia
and other islands fr om the Far East (Gascoigne, p. 6 -7).
It is generally accepted that the largest human migratory wave from recorded
history was the Great Atlantic Migration, where people from Europe immigrated to
the United States in the nineteenth and twentieth century. The first major influx of
immigrants started at the middle of the nineteenth century with people predominately
from Ireland and Germany, so that at the late of the century, immigrants f rom Eastern –

10

Europe rushed to America’s shores. It is estimated that between 1880 and 1910, 17
million European s immigrated to the United States ( Encyclopedia Britannica, p. 1 ).
The process in which people migrated towards Europe, Africa, Asia had a very
slow underway. During the Middle Ages, short -distance migration was reduced by the
European feudalism, but even after its end, many people were still tied up to their
land. After this period, the long -distance migration expanded again amongst those
who had the resources and the capabilities to do so, as the improvements in
transportation sector enhanced. Significantly , the discovery of the “New World”
represented for the Eu ropeans a step closer to long -migration. But, as it has been
suggested in this article, for 300 years inter -continental migration w as limited only to
military campaign s, adventures, explorations , merchandising . An exception that made
Europeans migrate out of their influence sphere in which they inhabited, was in time
of wars, and that was the case in Africa and Asia, as well (Ferrie a nd Hatton, 2015).
Slave and exploitation migration was also a part of the human history for centuries. It
is suggested that the biggest slave migration took place between sixteenth and
nineteenth century when European slave traders were shipping slaves fro m Africa to
America. Approximately 20 million slaves were consigned in order to provide the
manpower needed in various activity sectors (Encyclopedia Britannica, p. 1).
The discoveries of the “New World” led Europeans to a never seen right set of
circumstances for production, trade, and treasure affairs. The main way of
intercontinental migration up until the nineteenth century was either under a contract
or forced (slave deportation) ; the factor that triggere d this was the development of the
North Atlantic triangular trade, which shipped slaves from Africa to the Americas
shores. Between 1492 and 1820 three -quarters of the 11.3 m illion immigrants that
entered America were regarded to be African slaves. These p roportions were
surpassed only in 1880 when the influx of Europeans immigrants arrived in North
America . About a quarter of the 2.6 million Europeans that immigrated until 1820 in
North America were under contracts or were convicts. They were primarily fro m
Spain, Britain and Portugal (Ferrie and Hatton, 2015).
The rise of mass m igration from Europe to Americas started in 1820 up until
the First World War. In this period, 55 million Europeans immigrated in to North
America, South America, and Australasia. M ost of them (71%) migrated into North
America. From the beginning of the influx by the 1870 the number of immigrants per
year was around 300,000. In the following years , not only the number changed, but

11

the nationality composition, as well. The first wave s were formed predo minately by
people from Britain, Ireland, Germany and the Scandinavian countries, but afterwards
the migratory nationality influx was dominated by people from the countries of
Southern and Eastern Europe, such as Italy, Spain, Austria -Hungary and Russia
(Ferrie and Hatton, 2015). Between 1820 and 1880 millions of immigrants from both
Europe and A sia moved in the United States. They were in pursuit of the dream, but
not all of them immigrated for that reason. The Irish for instance, immigra ted due to
the extreme famine that took place in their country in the fourth and fifth decade of
the nineteenth century. Not only were the Irish newcomers. Due to rapid population
growth , industrialization and land distribution, many Europeans from the rur al space
started to move to the more industrialized urban cent ers (Zolberg, 2008). On the same
period of th e year 1850, Chinese immigrants also started to come in the Western side
of the United States, entering through San Francisco. While the economy was
working, these immigrants we re well accepted into the society, but in times of
economic regression, they were blamed for stealing Americans jobs and reducing
theirs wages. An organization famous for th e anti-immigration movement was the
“Know Nothing” , spreading an intense antagonism against immigration and Catholic
tendencies. Nevertheless, the pro -immigration movement was in the end the most
influential part that had the last word, grantin g the newcomers free passage (Zolberg,
2008 ).
The following pe riod on American immigration history was between 1880 and
1930. At the late of the nineteenth century, the trans -Atlantic voyage from Europe to
America’s ports was shortened by the improvements in the steam power ships. People
were migrating from all over the world, especially Europe. To better understand the
scale of this great emigration European wave, in the 1880s , 9% of Norway’s total
population immigrated into the United States (SOLEIF, p. 1). Chinese immigrants on
the other hand, weren’t so welcomed. In 1882 the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed
by Congress, which strictly restricted immigration from China, making the already
arrived Chinese immigrants difficult to reunite with their family. Thus, many Chinese
communities were described as “bachelor soc ieties.” Japanese immigrants weren’t
quite welcomed, as well. In 1907 , the United States and the Emp ire of Japan decided
to have a “Gentlemen's Agreement” , which was an informal consensus suggesting
that there would be no immigration restrictions against Japanese people, but there
would also be no further immigrants coming from Japan. This context offered a

12

favorable occasion for the Government to be hostile against Asian’s workers and their
families. Even if not all things were good in America, the nation was still seen by
many groups who were being victims of persecution s as a refuge; either there were
Mexicans escaping the Revolution, or Jews fleeing from Eastern Europe or
Armenia ns from Turkey, Am erica was considered a way out (SOLEIF, p. 1).
Regarding Europeans immigrants, the late of the nineteenth century and the
early twentieth century, America represented an opportunity. The gate to America on
the Eastern coast was in New York, through Ellis Island port. The demographic
composition was so complex t hat one could find in a neighborhood of Lower New
York the whole world. The stream of immigrants went on up to the outbreak of World
War I, in 1914. Due to the war, the attitude towards immigrants started to alter.
Nationalism movement and suspicion of for eigners who were not loyal contributed to
the tense climate. All these culminated in the 1920s when a series of regulations were
passed by Congress in order to limit the influx of newcomers (SOLEIF, p. 1).
The beginning of the third decade of the twentieth century was marked by the
Great Depression, which abruptly lessened the immigration process. The 1920s
immigration laws were still on, making it even more difficult to come in America.
Many previously immigrants were sent back to their home count ry, such as thousands
of Mexicans, most of them without theirs assent. Given the fast approaching of World
War II and the Nazi persecution s in Europe , a new form of immigration appeared, in
the form of refugees. But due to the immigration laws imposed in A merica, many of
them were eventually returned away. In the moment when the United States joined the
war against the Axis powers, the people from those nations w ere instantly regarded as
foes. As a result of this, World War II brought i mmigration to a stagn ant point
(SOLEIF, p. 1).
After the war, an acute refugee crisis begun, urging America to answer the
crisis. The answer came in 1948 when Congress passed the Displaced Persons Act,
which allowed hundreds of thousands of refugees’ free entry in the United S tates.
Although , it proved that it wasn’t enough for the millions of people who were seeking
refuge. The Cold War brought another series of refugee s, fleeing from the USSR
persecutions. Amongst the first wave of Cold War refugees were 38,000 Hungarians ,
who between 1956 and 1957 were allowed to move in the US, due to a failed attempt
of revolt against the Soviets. For the first time in the United States history, in that
period, the immigration flux was dominated by more women than men. This situation

13

occurr ed because many Europeans women were reuniting with their husbands from
the US Army, contributing to the post war economic boom. In the early years of the
1960s, immigration reforms were increasingly demanded. Therefore, in 1965,
President Lyndon Johnson signed the Hart -Cellar Act into law, which put an end to
the quotas system that had favored the Western Europe countries, replacing it with an
equal immigration policy for all the people in the world (SOLEIF, p. 1).
The following period in America’s immi gration was between 1965 and 2000.
The beginning of it was quickly marked b y the outcomes followed the 1965 Hart –
Cellar Act. The most significant effect was the Asian immigration which almost
quadrupled within 5 years. This situation coincided with the war in Southeast Asia
which made the flow of refugees to be even greater in number. Apart from the 1960s
and 1970s Cold War refugees, a new kind of immigrant group started to take shape in
the form of highly educated persons. The Government allowed profession als lik e
medical personnel, scientists or hi-tech specialist to enter the co untry, creating the so
called “ brain drain” effect for the countries these people emigrated from . Many of
them were women, being the first link in to the migration chain (SOLEIF, p. 1).
This openness for well educated people is still valid toda y. It seems like the
center of immigration movement has changed from the twentieth century New York
to nowadays California, which has become the main access gate for Asians
immigrants, as well as Mexicans and those from Central America. California is now
the core of America’s newest cultures. The influence brought by the new immigrants
is ably felt in the American society . The 1980s and 1990s saw the rise of illegal
immigration, which started a permanent debate in the political sphere. In 1986, 3
million alien immigrants received amnesty, due to the Immigration Reform Act. But
given the hard economic times at the early 1990s, anti -immigration feelings were still
present. Nevertheless, the immigra tion influx didn’t stop; instead, it increased
(SOLEIF, p. 1).
As it could be seen, the indications are therefore that the evolution of human
migration around the world has never come to an end during the whole history. The
process was slow, humans have been migrating during generations, but in the end
every continent was colonized. On this basis it may be inferred that the human
migratory story didn’t have a smooth path. For a better understanding of the historical
background of the migration phenomenon, a detailed analysis was needed in order to
pertinently offer a comprehensive vie w regarding the topic.

14

1.3. Theories of Migration

The impact of migration has always had a profound change to the areas where people
moved from; either there were social , economic, cultural or environmental changes ,
they all were present. Due to this, several analy zes in the form of theories emerged in
order to offer a comprehensive view of the migration impact. This has led historians
and social scientists to bring forth a multitude of models, methods, and ideas for
theorizing this phenomenon. The sphe re of migration is too complex to be explain ed
only by one theory because migrants can be different from case to case, according to
their motivation which underlies the decision to move and their s ocial context (e.g.
slaves, refugees, economic migrants) . Hence, a series of theories were postulated to
explain particular cases of the migration process.
The primary role of a migration theory is to give a comprehensive explanation
with respect to why certain human movements occur and which is the context behind
it. The concept of theorizing the migration phenomenon is relatively something new.
Thus, one of the earliest migration theorists is considered to be Ernst Ravens tein who
in 1885 developed the “ Laws of Migration” . Focusing on Ravenstein ’s theory , his
work was developed based on empirical census data gathered from England and
Wales. His point is that, what drives people to migrate are the better external
economic conditions. In his view, migration is controlled by ‘push and pull’ factors –
inauspicious conditions in the host country are the push factor and favorable
conditions in other places are the pull factor. Other aspects he pointed out were that,
the longer the distance a group or an individual have to cover in order to move from
their place to another, the less migration volume would be; migration does not come
as a long and singular event, it occurs in multiple stages ( Jrank, p. 1 ). Ravenstein’s
theory also found that women tend to migrate more than men. Thereby, men form a
majority in international migration, while women move often on short distances (e.g.
from rural areas to the urban industrialized areas) (King, 2012).
In accordance with the period they first were proposed, there are historical and
more modern theories. The w ork of Hagen -Zanker (2008) indicates that up until the
1950 , migration theories were based on mechanical models, constituted from a
simplistic approach, whereas those which followed that year would tend to have a
rather more sophisticated structure. The so called “modern” theories may include

15

theoretical predictions of migration movements, such as the work of Lewis (1956)
about dual -economy models or other macro -theories referring to the world syst em
theory or dual -market theory. According to her migration theories can be classified
based on the level on which they focus on. Therefore, two categories emerge: micro –
level th eories and macro -level theories. The first deals with the decisions that stay
behind the person who migrates , while the second refe rs to migration trends in all of
their complexity. She further points out that, there is another third type of classifying
migration theories: the meso -level , which consists of something between the first two,
dealing with both decisional and tendency caus es, and th e continuity of migratory
trend. Thus, examples of theories that can fit the micro -level classification are the
push and pull theory, the neoclassical migration theory, and theory of social systems
etc. Regarding the macro -level classification, one can also find a variety of theories
which encompasses this context , such as neoclassical macro -migration theory,
migration as a system, dual labor market theory , etc. (Hagen -Zanker 2008).
Many studies were f ollowing conducted using the same “push -pull” model
based on Ravenstein’s work . In today’s studies, this model is v ery common amongst
the field of immigration study . According to Massey et al. (2002) and Yang (2011) (as
cited in Barajas, 2012), there are t hree fundamental elements which form this theory:

a. Unequal distributio n of resources;
b. Supply and demand market forces;
c. Own individual personal decision to move to a certain place;

A well -known reinterpretation of Ravenstein’s work was done by Everett Lee
(1966), in order to offer a more detailed perspe ctive of the “push” factors, also known
as internal factors. Lee points out that between push and pull factors lay some
fluctuating impediments which may prevent or even disrupt the migration process;
such impediments may be in the form of distance, political obstructions , etc. His
theory further suggests that migration is a selective process because people respond
differently to migration impulses (push -pull factors) , according t o their age, gender or
social status . Moreover, the individual decision to migrate may vary from one person
to another. Individual’s education, family connections, work opportunities etc., are all
stay behind the decision whether to move or not (Jrank, p. 1).

16

As regards to nineteenth and early twentieth century immigration waves in the
United States, push and pull factors may explain which was the mechanism that
underlie such a huge number of immigrants. Most of the immigrants were farmers or
land-workers from Europe and given the population growth, many of them could not
be self -sufficient in their homeland any longer. Hence, it seemed like a significant
push factor was the population growth in Europe at that time. The advancement in
agriculture was anothe r important aspect. Given the European context , religion and
political persecutions also had a role in ‘pushing’ peop le out of their residence place
(Mayer, 2006 ). As it can be noticed in today’s immigration context, people moved
then for the same reasons they move nowadays: jobs opportunity, poverty, tense
social -economic climate, famine etc.
The unfavorable European context coincided with a favorable situation in the
United States which created and precipitated the “pulling” force. Given the Industrial
Revolution, many jobs opportunities occurred. Thereby, in a perspective of a better
life and escaping the poverty of the “old” Europe , the flourishing economic situation
constituted a strong pull factor. Americ a has rightly bee n regarded as “the land of the
free” because many immigrants sought freedom. Thus, for those who suffered from
persecutions of all kinds, America constituted indeed the country where freedom
could be found . Family ties constituted other pull factor. Once a family member
settled in the new country, others would join it forming the so called “chain of
migration” (Mayer, 2006). Other neoclassical economic theories further tries to
explain the migration process and its elements. In the vision of Sjaastad (1962) and
Todaro (1969) a linkage between the international migration and the labor market
demand exist . It is further pointed out that countries with less labor but with high
incomes represent an attraction for those immigrants from countries with a surplus of
labor ( Jrank, p. 1). Hagen -Zanker (2008) correctly argues that n eoclassical theories
describe migration as a part of the economic development. According to Todaro and
Smith (2006, 342) (a s cited in Kurekova, 2011) it is assumed that neoclassical
theories and models focus on explaining that migration is mainly stimulated by the
economic advantages and costs .
It is clear therefore that theorizing the complexities and understanding of such
a vast topic is not an easy task. One can observe th at the “old” migration theories tried
to explain the reasons, personal motivations, different economic or social factors that

17

led to the actual movement; whereas the modern theories focus on more elaborat e
analyses.

1.4. Causes and Effects of Migration

Migration has led to a never seen globalization where the migratory flow is ver y high
affecting everyone involved in the process . In this cosmopolitan world, causes and
effects of migration are in a close connection, due to their interdepended context. As it
has prior been pointed out by the neoclassical theories and models, migrations is
trigger ed by the push and pull factors. Socia l factors such as racism, sexism, religion
are a major cause that makes people migrate . Discrimination in their home country
starts a feeling of un-integration amongst those people, who are generally small in
number and treated improperly. Thus, they are ‘ in need’ to migrate in order to have
the libert ies of expressing themselves in the manner they consider . Religious
disagreements may cause conflicts and violence, making a place unsafe, therefore
people is constrained migrating to a safer place. Other religious factor s may be the un-
acceptance of attending a certain religious cult leading to a need of a place where such
aspects are accepted by the society ( Goh, p. 1 ).
Besides social factors, political on es also significantly contribute in the
“pushing” process. Government and political instability will cause people to be
reluctant whether to stay in their homeland any longer or not. Furthermore, other
cause of migration is government’s oppressive rule in some countries, such as the
unrecognizing of human’s rights (Goh, p. 1). The economic pulling factors also play
a significant role in this state of affairs . In the countries where the economic situation
is not favorable and poverty rate is high, people will always seek to find better living
conditions. Hence, they are drawn to international migration due to the perspective of
higher incomes and better working conditions (Piesse, 2014 ). Concentrating on the
effects experienced either by the source or the host country, one can consider that
both are affected. Hagen -Zanker, (2010) found that t he effects of migration on host
countries can be positive such as higher economic growth or lower unemployment, or
negative such as the “Dutch disease” or the “brain dr ain” effect . It has further pointed
out that the main motivational factor to migrate, especially for young migrants, is to

18

find better working conditions. According to Long (1988: 239) a similar fact is noted ,
that unemployment is a primordial factor which cause people to migrate. A negative
effect on the source country constitutes the loss of citizens in the form off tax payers
which would have been a higher contribution in the economic sector ( Goh, p. 1).
Migration is a process that is undergoing over a long period of time; therefore
in the context of this phenomenon, a research by Morrison (1967) suggests that
migration is a strategy which is being learned over a period of time. He further notes
that the historical background of migration causes the indi vidual to have a better
understanding of spatial and temporal fluctuations in opportunities; making it more
aware of the labor market signals. Given this evidences, Morrison (1967) argues that
another explanation for this situation is that migration is a s elective procedure.
According to him, the areas in which there were large stock of migrants who had
already migrated for a few times, would lead to an inefficient labor market. Thereby,
one can understand that the labor market is directly affected by th e newcomers on a
specific area. Consequently , it can be s een that the same factors that “pulled”
immigrants in the nineteenth and twentieth century immigration waves in America,
are the same that work nowadays . People have always been s eeking better living
conditions and employment opportunities since early times.

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2. A Comparative Analysis of the two Migratory Waves in the United
States

2.1. History of the two Migratory Waves

Immigration has been the building block which formed Americ a the way it is today
since the first Spanish colonist s arrived in the early sixteenth century . The United
States are the perfect example of a multicultural and cosmopolitan nation which its
identity is still largely debated even today. Although, its history may be considered
brief in terms of comparison with other nations, the process of making the modern
America has been as complex as other states went through. It was pointed out :
“immigration is the foremost social process that underlies the formation of the United
States leading to the widespread perception th at it is a nation of immigrants”
(Ștefănescu , 2006, 7). One can properly understand from this assertion that
immigration has been a significant part in the development and evolution of this
country. It was further suggested : “Migration … is woven into the fabric of American
history and culture ” (Messias et al., 2014 , 60). However, these so called “immi grants”
were not ordinary; they were the manifestation of those individuals who had the
courage to seek better opportunities and freedom in order to change their lives , even if
that meant risking everything.
The difference between its old European counterpart states and the “newly”
formed nation of the United States is that, America’s people are bound together by
common goals and expectations, especially the state of being free (Gerber, 2011) .
Immigrants were mostly attracted to move in the United States due to economic
reasons and most importantly the democratic and stable society (Archdeacon, 1 983).
These pulling factors are widely seen throughout old and new immigration wave. Due
to the wide variety of opportunities America managed to stay on top of immigrants
choices.
There are considered to be two successive immigration waves i n the h istory of
the United States: the old immigration and a new phase preceding the old one called
the new immigration . The old i mmigration started at the late of the eighteenth

20

century, and ended a century later, at the late of the nineteenth century, whereas the
new i mmigration preceded the last one and ended before the First World War in the
twentieth century . Archdeacon (1983 ) further pointed out, that old i mmigration took
place be tween 1790 and 1880, while the new i mmigration occurred between 1880 and
1930. The exact years are not of a great significance in defining the two migratory
waves, especially when one ended and the other one started, because the process
transitionally developed . Furtherm ore, one may consider that the old i mmig ration
started right after the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 , or that the new
immigration ended after the First World War, as Archdeacon (1983) also suggested.
Other point of view may indicate that old i mmigration properly beg un in the 184 0s
because the rate at which immigration was undergoing before had been low. As it
prior has been remarked, the exact dates do not have a special importance for
distinguishing the two migratory waves; the differentiating between them is made by
the immigra nts’ national ity composition and other factors.
The old phase was predominately dominated by Western and Northern
European immigrants from countries such as England, Germany, Ireland, and
Scandinavia’s nation s. Many of them were already there from the colonial era
followed afterwards by their counterparts . Concerning about the new immigrants,
their nationality composition was far different from their predecessors. They were
originated from Southern and Eastern Europe, coming from countries such as Russ ia,
Italy, Greece, Spain, Poland, Romania, etc . (DeLorenzo, p. 1). Given the chain of
migration, either old or new immigrants were more likely to settle in areas where their
fellow countrymen had already established themselves . The old as well as new
immig rants predominately settled in large cities of the East Coast. For instance,
German population was mainly located in Pennsylvania, New York, Missouri,
Minnesota, Ohio, Illinois, and Nebraska (Immigration to the United States, p. 1 ). Irish
immigrants on the other hand used to settle in highly concentrated urban centers such
as New York, Boston or other major cities of the East Coast (Constitutional Rights
Foundation, 2010 ). This also stand for the newly arrivals of the second wave who
usually remained in lar ge urban areas where employment opportunities were more
abundant.
Focusing on the similarity, t he main characteristic immigrants from both
waves shared were their social class status. Barajas (2012) observed that these people
were country side inhabitants, who were li ving their lives in small farms, but after

21

moving to America they were regarded as citizens of the newly colonized areas of the
East coast. Although, the origin s of each immigration wave is not common, the
similarity is that , both immigrants from the first and the second wave was the
voluntary decision in changing their location and leaving their homelands. Gerber
(2011) has a similar point of view, suggesting that both waves were in the form of
voluntary immigration. Yet, they were forced by conditions they were living in to
seek better opportunities. One may consider some of the new wave groups in
particular as a forced migration, due to the religion perse cutions on some Southern –
Eastern European countries. However, besides America , other nation s such as South
American countries and Canada could have been an option. Hence , some of them
might have been forced to move, but they definitely weren’t forced to choo se America
as their destination; they willingly did so. Immigrating to the United States was
regarded as a risky voyage, especially in the first decades of the nineteenth century
when steam ships weren’t as sophisticated as those at the late of the century would be.
Given this situation, Archdeacon (1983) notes that immigran ts followed pre –
determined sea routes in order to safely cross the Atlantic Ocean. Thus, Cohn (1984)
estimated the mortality rate on ships between 1820 and 1860 at 1% of the total
immigrants arriving in the US. This percentage suggests that even if the voy ages were
dangerous , many of the passengers would finally arr ive at their port destinations.
During the old i mmigration century the United States went through a series of
significant changes and transformations. A few decades after its formation, there we re
still many problems, being a struggling nation with an economy far from their
European counterpart s. But given this first stages “disadvantage” , a century later, the
country was the leading industrial and economic power in the world (Archdeacon,
1983). In 1790 the United States population was numbering almost 4 million, while at
the late of the nineteenth century; the country had more inhabitants than any other
European country with almost 63 million citizens (Kurian, 2004). Archdeacon, (1983)
found that the cause for this spectacular increase is due to the 15 million foreign -born
newcomers and their descendants (see appendix 1).
Until the 1840s the influx of immigrants was undertaking at a low rate . The
first year of immigration data recording was 1819, before that year no exact records
were available regarding the number of foreign migrants (Kurian, 2004) . However,
Bromwell ( 1856) estimated that between the Revolutionary War and the year of 1819,
a number of 250,000 newcomers entered the United States. According to the

22

immigration influx data, the numbers of immigrants in the coming decades would be
as follow: 18 20s (128,502), 1830s (538,381), 1840s (1,427,337), 1850s (2,814,554),
1860s (2,081,261), 1 870s (2,742,137), 1880s (5,248,568) . The numbers indicate
immigration ’s rate had been gradually increasing during the entire period of the old
phase . The exception is in the sixth decade when it slightly decreased. One
explanation for this drop may be due to the American Civil War, considering that
immigrants were seeking stability and not war. Nevertheless, the immigration rose
back afterwards, reaching in the 1880s the higher influx ever seen until then , with an
unprecedented 5 million newcomers (Kurian, 2004).
The period of the Old Immig ration was dominated by German and Irish
immigrants, especially in the era before the Civil War. The 1860 Census found that
39% of the fore ign-born population was from Ireland and 31% from Germany
(German Empire at that t ime). Moreover, these two nations would significantly
generate more immigrants for at leas t 2 decades (Archdeacon, 1983). The
immigration opportunity had entered the collective European mind. Thereby, as
Archdeacon (1983) found, the desire to move from homelands also includ ed the
Scandinavian countries; t he most prolific wave of Scandinavians was between 1860
and 1889, when 976,347 Norwegians, Swedes, and Danes left their countries for
moving in the US. However, Sweden was the country which supplied the mo st with
714,886 people leaving between 1869 and 1893. As Kälvemark (1972) wrote,
Swedish immigrants were predominately from country side. On the other hand,
Denmark suffered less from immigration loss. An explanation for this may be the
more industrialized economy Denmark had at that time which could offer better
economic opportunities. Given this, people were not so interested in migrating any
longer. After 1860 and up to the 1890, British immigrants superseded other
nationalities in terms of numbers, with 1,922,303 new arrivals. Immigration from the
British Islands constituted an ongoing process during the entire nineteenth century. It
is estimated that in 1890 a total of 20,645,542 US residents were either immigrants or
had at least one immigrant parent, totalizing 32.7% of the entire population. To
properly comprehend the scale of the old immigration influx , between 1823 and 1844
a number of 256,000 people left Germany. He further wrote that they were usually
part of the lower economic classes and only in 1846, 40% of thos e who emigrate were
day-labors (Archdeacon, 1983).

23

Concentrating on t he major port of entry in the United States from both the old
and the new period was in New York . Archdeaco n (1983) indicated that between
1840 and 1844 a total of 66% of the arrivals took place in New York . The amount of
newcomers would only be increasing in the following decades. Yet, b efore 1890 the
immigration station in New York was Castle Garden, but afte r 1892, the gateway to
America became the well -known federal immigration station of Ellis Island. This was
the busiest and the most attended place from all federal immigration stations. The
flow of immigrants was so high, it has been estimated that close t o 40% of today’s US
citizens have at least one ancestor who passed through that station (History, p. 1 ). In
addition to Elis Island, other major ports were in Baltimore, Boston and Philadelphia
(Bandiera et al., 2012). However, the main port of entry conti nued to be in New York:
Ellis Island. There was no coincidence this station stands for the busiest of all because
as Archdeacon (1983) perceptively stated , the geographic distribution of the new
arrivals was conditioned by the ports of entry. Therefore, the entrance port would
determine in a direct manner the immigrants’ future. According to Stark (1988) and
Stolarik (1988) (as cited in Bandiera et al. 2012) it may be reasonable to assume that
given the chain of migration which was being formed, some nationalities tended more
likely to arrive into a specific port. In the vision of Hvidt (1975) o ther explanation for
this trend may be the fact that many ship tic kets were pre -paid by previous
immigrants , increasing even more the chain of migration.
The direction in which America was heading is best explained by the
following words: “The goal of American expansion was to create an empire of
politica l liberty, ec onomic opportunity, and, most imp ortant, Christian civilization”
(Archdeacon, 1983, 64). Thereby, some immigrants may not fit the American goals
and views. This explains why tensions and anti -immigration sentiments had always
been present in those times , even mo re regarding the new immigrants who were often
considered inferior by their previous fellow old immigrants.
Regarding t he new immigration wave , this was evolving at a never seen scale.
At the late of the nineteenth century, when the new i mmigration was preceding the
old one, a new kind of event was taking place in the form of an enormous influx of
people. The number of new immigrants between 1890 and 1930 was unprecedented.
They were different in every aspect , nationality, religion, mentality , and o rigins .
Between 1890 and 1920, over 18 million immigrants arrived in the United States, a
number far higher than in any previous period (Kurian, 2004) (see appendix 2). One

24

diffe rence between the previous waves of immigrants may be that many newcomers
were young single adults, seeing the trip across the ocean as a sojou rn rather than a
permanent stay. The old immigrants were usually travelling in family groups, but as it
was pointed out, many of the new foreigners considered travelling all by themselves
as an advantage due to the fact they were no longer constrained to follow the so call ed
“herd mentality” (Archdeacon, 1983). Focusing on the gender distribution, Barajas
(2012) found that European immigrants’ distribution was more gender balanced than
those f rom other continents. This situation persisted during both old and new wave.
One may conclude Europeans were more usually to migrate in family, especially in
the old era.
The period of time at the late of the nineteenth and early twentieth century is
also known as “The Age of Mass Migration” because millions of Europeans migrated
in the United States. (Bandiera et al., 2012). Studies and historians suggest this period
of an unparalleled migration occurred between 1850 and 1914. One may take into
account the year of 1850 as the start of this period mainly because it was the moment
when German and Irish immigration increased ; whereas the year of 1914 brought a
halt in immigration due to the start of the First World War. Other possible supposition
for the sudden end of the immigration process might have been the immigration limit
accepted by the American society. One can consider the outbreak of First World War
coincided with the American immigration saturation point in allowing any new other
foreigners in. Undoubtedly, the war paranoia also had a significant role in closing the
gateway of immigration. Greenwood and Ward (2014) have a similar view regarding
the end o f this period, suggesting that “The Age of Mass Migration” suddenly ended
with the onset of F irst Word War . Nevertheless, Bandiera et al., (2012) correctly
argues that modern America is based on those individuals who came in that period of
time; suggesting that 100 million people are today descendants of the immigrants who
entered only in New York : Ellis Island alone .
The new immigration wave peak period was between 1892 and 1924, with
over 1 million foreigners coming each year ; only during Firs t World War the influx
declined (Bandiera et al. , 2012). The war paranoia culminated with the beginning of
major restrictions. In a r esearch by Goldin (1994) it is suggested that before the year
of 1917, there were no visas or quotas to limit the migratory influx, but after that year
immigration was subject to a multitude of constrains, making the arrival in the United
States a difficult process. In 1903 companies which were transporting immigrants

25

across the ocean, were discouraged to take on board any person who may be ill,
disabled, or suffering for any kind of incapacities (Bandiera et al., 2012). A plausible
explanation for this somehow drastic measure might be the enormous influx of people
arriving at that time; and given this, it may be speculated the United States was trying
to select who would later arri ve in its ports since the moment of boarding.
Focusing on the immigration restrictions , during the nineteenth century
European immigrants were not subject to any form of restriction in moving to the US,
the twentieth century brought a change in the process. Although, the first decade was
indeed witnessed to an unprecedented immigration flow, it was also the moment when
Congress took control over it , as Brookhiser (2013) has indicated . He further pointed
out that in the 1920s America had almost closed its doors for all immigrants ,
regardless of their ethnicity. Until the First World War limitations were less severe in
granting perm ission to enter the country Major restrictions begun with the Literacy
Act of 1917 when Congress forbidden the entry of cer tain types of individuals who
would potentially become of a public concern (Kurian, 2004). The literacy test was
the first significant measure to control the “quality ” of the new arrivals (Zeidel, 2004).
According to Greenwood and Ward (2014), the restrict ions imposed were firstly
qualitative and then quantitative. The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 and the National
Origins Acts of 1924 and 1929 reduced the number of immigrants to a total of
150,000 annually , bringing United States immigration ’s to a radical c hange
(Greenwood and Ward, 2014). The outset of this situation had been in the latter half
of the nineteenth century, when the intention of controlling immigration by Congress
was more and more visible in federal legislation (Messias et al., 2014). The era of
mass immigration ended with these restrictions.
On this basis it may be inferred that the history of the two immigration waves
was a process undergoing on a long period . A variety of factors influenced the course
of each phase. The old immigrants tend ed to fit better into the American society at
that time due to their common characteristics with their predecessors from the
Colonial Era, while the new immigrants faced more complex issues. On one hand due
to their huge number and on the other hand due to the aspects they did not share with
the already established population. Hence, the conclusion is that as well as old and
new arrivals found to a lesser or a greater degree what they sought: new opportunities
and freedom.

26

2.2. Causes of the two Migrato ry Waves

A series of causes drastically affected the European exodus to the United States from
both waves . The socio -economic -political climate in Europe at t hat time triggered a
series of “pushing” factors which allowed the old and new immigration to unfold .
However, a significant role in attracting European immigrants had also been the
American industry rapid development due to the Industrial Revolution in the early
nineteenth century , leading to a higher need of man power in order to sustain the rapid
growth of the economy. As a result of the economic expansion and stable society, the
pulling factors generated coincided with times of instability in Europe. One distinctive
theory which accurately describes the mechanism underlying immigration ’s causes is
the “push and pull” model; which argues that migration is considerably influenced by
economic and political factors , as well as in sending and receiving country (Briggs,
1984, as cited in Loveless et al., 1996) . According to Yarnold (1990) (as cited in
Loveless et al., 1996), unfavorable eco nomic and political conditions “pushed”
immigrants from their home country as a result of the more favorable condit ions from
other country, which “pulled” them in. Thereby, both old and new immigr ation phase
are explained by this model. However, this concept does not entirely explain
individual’s own decisional factor whether to move or not. Loveless et al. (1996)
share a similar pe rspective, suggesting that the “push and pull” theory is limited in
explaining the variations in i ndividual decision to migrate.
In the context of old and new immigration, this theory doesn’t properly answer
the following question: why did both old and new immigrants choose to immigrate in
the United States and not in oth er countries? A possible explanation of this is pointed
out: “The idea of inexpensive, undeveloped farmlands and the potential for
employment pulled most immigrants to the United States rather th an other developing
countries ” (Loveless et al. 1996 , 56). Considering that many immigrants were farmers
and the farming possibilities were more advantageous in the US than in any other
country. It seems however, that on this basis it may be inferred that the economic
perspective mostly influenced the decisional f actor in the end.
Comparing to other group s of immigrants from other continents, European
immigration was mostly encouraged, even if anti -immigration sentiments were also
present . Thereby, the situation in Europe which allowed the formation of th e pushing

27

factors coincided with a perfect scenario for the pulling factors in the United States. In
an article of Barajas (2012) it was mentioned that European immigration was
facilitated by the Immigration Act of 1864, which restricted other nationalitie s
immigrating any longer in the United States, such as the Mexican. Other important
measure in order to facilitate European s was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 ,
which forbidden the Chinese immigration of entering the United States for a period of
10 years (followed by an indefinite period) . This Act also stands for the first action to
place broad restriction on immigration in the history of the United States ( Office of
the Historian, p. 1 ). Therefore, one may say Europeans were t he only one accepted to
move in. An explanation for this racial selection may be the common features
Europeans had with the US population , in contrast to Chinese or Mexicans who didn’t
seemed to fit so well amongst the usual population.

2.2.1. Old Immigrati on Wave

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, when the old immigration was gradually
evolving, the European nations were overpopulated and gover ned by old century’s
monarchies. As a consequence of this , the common man found himself rejected in the
functioning of his state. As a response, t his situation caused a series of political
reasons which started the immigration process. The revolutions and political
instability at that time influenced the old imm igrants. For example, German and
French immigrants tried to escape political unrest and turmoil in their countries
(DeLorenzo, p. 1 ). The French Revolution was responsible for a number of
immigrants in the form of political refugee. They had to seek refuge elsewhere
because they either were against the ever -increasing radicalism or they were part of a
political faction which was not in power any longer. The French Revolution also had
a rather unexpected impact on English immigrants . Some of them sympathized with
the French Revolution movement. Therefore, they were forced to immigrate in the
United States due to the political and popular harassment, as a result of their radical
views . Joseph Priestly , a renewed scientist, was one of amongst the famous example s
of English radicals who were constrained to do s o (Archdeacon, 1983).

28

A similar situation could be found in Ireland, where members of the United
Irishmen immigrated to the United States in order to seek support for the political
independence of the ir island. More Irish immigrants left their country after the arrest
of the United Irishmen leaders in 1798. One may explain this event, as a response of
support for their political goals and devot ion to their caus e. An additional political
factor which had a major impact upon the movement of people was war. In the first
decade of the nineteenth century European countries were at war with each other ;
thereby , immigration was barely progressing. Only 4000 immigrant s entered in
America between 180 0 and 1810. An explanation for this was suggested , arguing that
this event may have occurred due to the war in Europe ; no country was willing to lose
its manpower while they were still waging wars. To stop its people of fleeing into the
“New World” , in 1803 British Government went furthermore by imposing a series of
restrictions in order to reduce emigration . Though, immigration would increase after
the restoration of peace in 1815 (Archdeacon, 1983).
As far as one can see, economic motivation stands as the greater factor for
most of the immigrants. Due to the economic depressions and rapid industrialization
in Europe, a sizable part of the rural population found itself unsustainable any longer.
The first respo nse came in the form of rural -urban migration; however, given the
mechanization of all industry sectors and the lack of skills needed in such a new area,
they could not integrate to the lately urban conditions. For this reason, the response
came in the form of international migration to the United States, wher e land could
easily be found. The economic factor also stand s as the starting point for the German
immigration; which occurred during the same period of time when Ireland suffered
from the serious crop failure. The reasons underlying t he German mass departure
were in the form of severe economic depression and political turmoil leading 1.2
million people migrate (Loveless et al., 1996). In Archdeacon (1983) vision, other
explanation for the German exodus was due to the rapid population growth which
could no longer be supported by country’s capabilities. The German state efforts to
control it through legislation did not succeed, so that the only option was emigration.
Other old immigration groups from nations such as England, Scotland and
Wales immigrate d especially due to poverty and rapid industrialization (Killik, 2014).
During mid -nineteenth century France had i ts highest influx of immigrants. Between
1840s and 1850s, 153,620 Frenchmen arrived in the United States. The causes which
led to this are largely unknown; yet, France was suffering from a depressed economy

29

in those decades (Archdeacon, 1983). As it was pr eviously pointed out, the French
immigration may have been caused by the same factors that occur ed in other parts of
Europe; assuming that escaping poverty was predominately the main argument in the
decisional factor.
Besides the environmental factors whic h caused, for example the 1867 and
1868 crop failure in Sweden, Scandinavian countries had to deal with major changes
in the agriculture sector . According to McQuillian (1990 ) (as cited in Hu, 2002), the
pushing factors involved in this scenario constitute d the innovations and institutional
changes in agriculture. The consequence was a severe rural unemployment. The same
situation occurred in Norway, as well; where in 1879 the industry, agriculture and
shipping sectors suffered from a long depression (Archd eacon, 1983).
The old immigrants were also forced to move due to environmental factors
that led to a long term changing of their homeland conditions. Such was the case of
Germans and especially Irish. According to Archdeacon (1983) due to a crop failure
in 1817, a consistent number of Irish had to migrate. A similar situation could be seen
in Germany, where between 1816 and 1817, 20,000 people immigrate d in the US
because of severe weather conditions that affected their areas . Ireland faced anothe r
crop failure in the 1840s and 1850s . Consequently, to escape famine, many Irish left
their homes in order to seek refuge in the United States, being also driven by the
Western land rush and other opportunities (Loveless et al., 1996). It is estimated tha t
between 1841 and 1851, 1,374,000 Irish sought their refuge in America (Archdeacon,
1983). Scandinavian nation s were also affected by such causes . For example, Sweden
suffered from a severe crop failure in 1867 and 1868 when 76,133 persons went in the
United States (Archdeacon, 1983) . A series of unfavorable climatic changes such as
too much rain then drought were responsible for the Swedish famine (European
Emigration: The Historical Records, p. 1).
Many European immigrants from the old period , either they moved as a family
or as an individual, they willingly did so. However, as it has prior argued, causes
underlying the migration phenomenon are multiple. Emigration from Europe at the
time when the old wave was unfolding place was the result of a series of pushing
factors at a large scale. Due to the advancement in medicine, agriculture and industry,
the European population expanded remarkably. Overpopulation in Europe was
spurred by the use of new food crops and the eradication of old century’s epidemic s
(Encyclopedia Britannica, p. 1 ). Owing to the fact that development of Europe’s

30

industry generated an increase in population ’s number, one may assume this had a
negative effect, as well; considering that population grew so high that it could not be
supported by European’s nations, any longer. As it turned to be, the demographic
aspect was of a major impact in the influence of early immigrants.
In addition to th is, European immigrants also sought refuge due to various
social causes, such as religion persecution s. Religious discontent was prominent
amongst the reasons of migration during the old phase. For that reason, many Old
Lutherans for instance, made their way to America due to changes in the established
church of Prussia. Sweden went th rough a similar situation, where the severity of law
against those who abandoned Lutheranism was to blame for some of the migration
displacement. Ireland also faced religious oppression. The Irish Catholics, who were
subject to foreign land possessors, wer e suffering from harassment by the upholders
of a foreign religion . Thus, a majority of religious, economic and social causes forced
many Irish to move in the United States (Page, 1911).

2.2.2. New Immigration Wave

Although the new immigrants differed from their old predecessors, the causes which
formed the movement are somehow similar. The difference may be that at the late of
the nineteenth century America was no longer a struggling nation, it was the leading
econo mic and industrial power in the world. Yet, in order to maintain the economic
expansion, it still needed millions of workers. The response came again in the form of
European immigration. The American “pulling” attraction coincided once more with
hard and n egative times in Europe which “pushed” the new immigrants to the United
States. It may be correct to assume the lower social classes in Europe always faced
hard times and found themselves struggling. On the one hand because the newly
established democracies were un able to give the common man the liberties and
opportunities America could offer; and on the other hand because Europe was
drastically divided by social classes , different opinions and religious, and different
allegiances; which created a suffocating medium for the ordinary man. Hence, the
general perception seemed to be America was the place where everybody could
succeed, even if in reality the situation was more complicated than that.

31

By far the most important aspects were the econo mic considerations. High
unemployment and low opportunities in the Southern and Eastern European countries
were amongst the resonant causes which influenced the new immigrants (DeLorenzo,
p. 1). One may assume the period of development into the Western cou ntries was
gradually coming to an end at the late of the nineteenth century . Thus, the old
immigrants were no longer in that ‘desperate’ need of seeking opportunities; whereas
Southern and Eastern countries were going through the conditions Western countri es
had gone through at the beginning of the nineteenth century . As a result, millions of
people fled poverty. The beginning of the new period was marked by an economic
depression in Europe. To better understand the severe effects of this economic
collapse, it is estimated that in the last decade of the nineteenth century 3.5 million
immigrants arrived in America; whereas in the first decade of the twentieth century
the nu mber raised up to 9 million new comers, many of them from the Southern and
Eastern Europe , in pursuit of economic opportunities (EyeWitness to History, p. 1)
A distinctive group of new immigrants, w ho crossed the Atlantic to enter the
US, due to economic reasons, were from Italy. The dramatic surge in immigration was
caused by a series of factors such as social chaos, widespread poverty and economic
instability. Estimates suggest that more than 4 mil lion Italians arrived in the United
States du ring the new immigration phase. They were mostly peasants who were
suffering from poverty. Given the lack of response by the Italian government, many
of them could not resist the temptat ion of migrating ( Library of Congress, p. 1 ). Other
economic consideration may have been the advancement s in farming efficiency. This
led to a surplus of labor resulting to high rates of unemployment. Therefore, that part
of the unemployed population saw the voyage to the United S tates as place where
they could start over again (Reference, p. 1).
Europe was a place dominated by old stereotypes. As a result of this, religious
persecutions stand as another cause which influenced the movement of new
immigrants. For example, Russian Jews fled Russia to escape persecution,
discrimination and fear. Along with them, Jews from Ukraine, Belorussia and former
Hapsburg Austrian Empire shared a similar fate. Due to the Russian pogroms against
Jewish religion at the late of the nineteenth century, the conditions were too harsh to
survive ; thereby, they ventured to America . Furthermore, the increase in violence
constituted a strong “push” factor for the Jewish population. They were no longer
allowed to have certain position, resulted to economic difficulties (Zolberg, 2008).

32

Southern and Eastern countries suffered a lot from political instability. Combined
with other factors such as religion and poverty, a massive displacement in population
chose to move elsewhere. They were closely related to other causes which impacted
the immigration process. One may say the decision to migrate did not come due to a
singular cause in particular, but due to a mix of multiples factors arranged in such a
manner that immigration to occur. A motivational idea shared by all new immigrants
to persuade their fortunate was the social mobility offered by the ‘rags to riches’ or
the American dream, how is commonly known. The United States was regarded at the
land of opportunities where those who work hard and are persistent might become
successful (DeLorenzo, p.) As it could have been seen, the living conditions in Europe
were low for most of the working class. The developing countries which supplied the
new immigrants could not provide decent wages and proper living conditions . Hence,
in order to gain m oney and solve their social issues, this led to immigration.
It must therefore be recognized that it would be impossible to describe and
analyze all the causes’ underlying both old and new immigration. However, the same
causes which influenced those people have still been impacting immigration’s today.
Immigration w as not caused by one factor alone, but of a multitude of negative
circumstances, which seemingly worked at the same time in more than one nation.
Nevertheless, it is generally accepted and suggested that economic issues were mostly
at the core of both old and new period.

2.3. The I mpact of the two Migratory Waves on the American Society

There have been many ideas discussed regarding which or how were the effects
influencing and shaping the American society from the nineteenth and early twentieth
century. One may assume, the old period not only influenced and shaped the United
States, but it also created the nation, whereas the new period migration helped the
nation in its global development. The impact of both periods had profound
reverberations on the American society, starting from economic, social, political and
cultural outcomes, and ending with various results. This multitude of factors was
possible due to the multicultural impact of such a vast migratory influx. The

33

American capitalism also experienced , as Fleischman et al. (2013) suggested , a drastic
development between 1800 and 1900.
Old as well as new immigrants influenced every part of the American society.
In other words, it may reasonable to assume they are the one who created it. The idea
is correctly emphasized in the following words: “Immigrants are individuals whose
world views were learned from and nurtured by experience s in their countries of
origin” (Wals, 2013, 756). Hence, in a society as liberal and absorbent as the
American o ne had been in the period of mass migration, every individual made a
lasting impact. The result of the firstly arrived immigrants after the formation of the
United States was fundamental . On their shoulders America developed the nation it
would be the foll owing decades. A similar idea is suggested in the following article,
arguing that early immigrants’ contribution cannot be exaggerated. Their ideas,
abilities, and culture which they brought with them were the very foundation of
America. The influence of the first English immigrants could be experienced in the
establishment of the Government, national language and other major cultural
practices. Immigrants from Ireland importantly contributed at the construction of the
transportation netwo rk and enriched the cultural traditions . Equally, Germans helped
at the development of efficient and modern farming techniques, and also contributed
in the evolution of the education system through their knowledge (DeLorenzo, p. 1 ).
Concentrating on Irish immigration ’s impact , it was estimated that 5 million
arrived in America during the old period alone (Kenny, 2008). Their contribution
could be most importantly noticed in the nation economic expansion ; where given the
harsh times they had faced back in Ireland, they were accepting any labor job in the
United States , in order to desperately escape unemployment. As a result , they took
any available job, regardless of how hard it would be (Grant, 2012). For this reason,
the American industry b enefited the most after the amount of willingly hard working
Irish immigrants. Furthermore, the religious system was also affected by the arrival of
the newly Irish Catholics immigrants. In 1820 Catholicism was the smallest
denomination with 195,000 member s, given the fact that the American population at
that time was mostly Protestants. Thereby, after the Irish massive immigration flow
by mid -nineteenth century , in 1860 Catholicism had become the largest religious
group in the country, with 3.1 million mem bers. Under th ose circumstances, new
customs and traditions entered the American collective culture, such as St. Patrick's
Day, celebrated every year on seventeenth of March (Grant, 2012 ). A supposition for

34

this rapid evolution of Catholicism in the United States may be due to the fact that
Irish was the first major Catholic group who had immigrated; they rapidly gained
control over the Catholic Church (Kenny, 2008).
Irish also contributed in the urban expansion of the cities they settle d. One
reasonable explanation for this may be due to the Irish background. They were usually
poor immigrants, not having the resources to buy land for undertaking agricultural
operations as their fellow Germans immigrants usually used to do; as a result of
poverty, they had to settle in urban centers ; this situation inevitably le d to cities ’
expansion (Grant, 2012). The synonymy between urban expansion and Irish
immigrants has been so well established in the American collective mind , that the
following question arises : “Did the Irish create the American city?” (Barret , 2012, 1).
He further answered with a “no” , motivating that the America urban culture has never
had a core; the urban neighborhoods and its culture was the product of multiples
ethnic and racial groups. However, in the same article it was pointed out the Irish
population had the greatest influence on the American city life during the old period.
In addition to this, Archdeacon (1983) further wrote that Irish helped in the creation
of the ethnic neighborhoods that characterized urban America until the middle of the
twentieth century and the adjustment task they encountered was even more
complicated than that faced by their predecessors. Barret (2012) wrote that a s a
consequence of poverty and discrimination they had to endure, Irish created inter –
ethnic institutions leading to an inter -ethnic city culture. They understood the only
solution to succeed was not as an individual ity but as a group. Therefore, they created
a group identity as both Irish and American s, in order to establish networks and
connections based on this new identity . Given these points, the collective help was
something Irish tried to establish, helping one another when in need.
Many of the German immig rants were farmers seeking the “ unlimited” land
which America could provide . Their contribu tion can be seen in the development of
Midwest agriculture through the expertise and skills gained back home in Germany.
They helped at the construction of cities such as Milwaukee and Cincinnati where
they had a significant role in the afterward development. Furthermore, they started
business which increased the economy. One such example of business on which
Germans were renowned constituted breweries. The German impact was also noticed
in the military sector; where during the Civil War, their experience and expertise had
a great value for the American Union Army. Not to mention German population

35

played a most important role in opposing slavery given their liberal ideas
(Immigration to t he United States, p.1 ). As shown above, the impact of German
immigrants was remarkably valuable for the evolution of the United States. It seems
however, the German immigrants were more successful than other old immigrants.
This may be explained due to the entrepreneur spirit German s seemed to have and the
fact that the literacy rate was greater amongst them than other fellow immigrants at
that time.
Beside s the economic impact brought by the old immigrants , equally
important was the demographic effect which was in a close connection with the first
one. Estimations indicate the population of the United States at the start of the period
was numbering around 4 million residents, whereas at the end of the period the
population remarkably increased, reachin g almost 63 million inhabitants in 1890
(Armstrong Economic, p.1). The most important decade where the demographic
impact had a significant impact on the number of population was the 1850s; where 2.8
million people who entered the US constituted 12.1% of the overall population. This
rapid demographic increase of population in the course of a century not only had
positive but also negative outcomes . One resounding negative outcome constituted the
depression of wages. Due to the high influx of workers, wages tended to decrease ,
creating a strong anta gonism amongst those so called “native” residents. However,
this situation would mostly occur during the new period .
Together with the negative inconveniences , the positive effects of the
demographic growth cannot be underestimated. The economic development would
not have been possible without the massive contribution these people brought with
them . One may assume it was a matter of assimilation rather than a matter of number ,
and even if the sentiments were often against immigration, this was still encouraged;
because the United States were aware that in order to achieve the level of
development its European counterparts had, an immense working force was needed.
As it turned out to be at the beginning of the twentieth century, the majority of old
immigrants would be assimilated. Immigration and economic growth has always been
linked together. Taeuber and Taeuber (1971: 117) (as cited in Hirschman and
Mogford, 2009) share a sim ilar view, arguing that immigration a nd industrialization
were inter -connected both spatially and temporally.
The impact of the new immigra tion wave was genuinely transformative . Due
to the high number of newcomers and the vast multi -cultural compositi on, th is new

36

period of America was truly a time of significant changes, both economically and
socially. America had to cope with cultural changes, new practices and traditions, and
language diversity at a scale never seen to that point . Thus, the previous immigrants
from the old era saw the new ones with disbelief. The effects were both positive and
negative; yet, it is difficult to suggest the extent of one or another. Furthermore, it is
also laborious to argue which immigrants group from a particular nation had the most
important impact on the American society. Each nationality had its own influence .
However, as their predecessors, the new ones contributed to the American
development and evolution.
In 1890s the transition from old to new immigra nts was rapidly unfolding ; this
resulted in the most economically chaotic years from American history . The newly
arrivals were accused of reducing wages of the already established immigrants,
leading to extreme disagreement on their side (Hu, 2002). These implications le d to
political debates whether to accept or not new immigrants anymore . Francis A.
Walker, the first president of the American Economic Association (as cited in
Greenwood and Ward, 2014), wrote that the United States have to secure “the
Amer ican rate of wages, the American Standard of living, and the quality of
American citizenship from degradation through the tumultuous access of vast throngs
of ignorant and brutalized peasants from the countries of Eastern and Southern
Europe” (78). From th is economic point of view, it may be understood the newly
immigrants affect ed the US old standards in a negative perspective. However, the
economy increased and expanded , regardless the wage cuts in some sectors.
Until the Industrial Revolution, the United States was generally a rural
agrarian society having an economy centered in large metropolitan cities. As a result
of the new high influx of people, the production rapidly increased and diversified
(Olmstead and Rhode, 2000). This was the effect of the manpower brought by the
newly arrival s who accepted any employment opportunity. As Hu (2002) correctly
argued, the new immigrants were frequently accused of ‘stealing’ the employment
opportunities of the already est ablished population. It was further pointed out that
immigrants were taking jobs which require d less knowledge and skills , being poorly
paid. Thereby, the concentration of such labor in specific sector wa s having a negative
impact on the ‘native’ populatio n who was working there. By the arrival of the new
immigrants from Eastern and Southern European countries , some industries had not
even existed or hardly did, such as the automotive or the electronics industry.

37

Archdeacon (1983) shared a similar view, suggesting that the economic impact was
complex and that some jobs had barely existed before the arrival of the newcomers.
Olmstead and Rhode (2000) wrote that due to the American Industrial Revolution at
the late o f the nineteenth and the early twentieth century, a consumer revolution was
unfolding , as a consequence of the decreased in supply and production costs . This
consumer revolution and efficient goods movement was possible due to a well –
established transporta tion network. One may assume the early twentieth century
stand s as the starting point to the consumerism that would come in the following
decades.
In order to cope with the economic changes which were taking place at the
beginning of twentieth century, companies in the manufacturing sector lowered their
wages and change d their capital -labor ratio as a response of the new conditions
(Lewis, 2011, as cited in Lafortune et al., 2015). Some studies from the economic
field suggested that during the n ew immigration wave, the influx of immigrants had
an adverse impact on the per -capita economic growth and the income of native born.
As a consequence, the domestic migration to the industrializing cities in the United
States was reduced (Hatton and William son, 1998: Chapter 8; Goldin, 1994, as cited
in Hirschman and Mogford, 2009). However, in the same study of Hirschman and
Mogford (2009), it was mentioned that other studies conducted by Carter and Sutch
(1999), Haines (2000: 202), Muller (1993: 83 -85) and Thomas (1973: 174)
contradicted that point of views, arguing that newly immigrants had a general benefic
impact on the American economy ; and that mobility of the native born workers was
facilitated during that time . In effect, the impact was positive rath er than a negative
one. Hatton and Williamson (1998 ) further argued that wages of the native born
would have increased even more in the absence of immigration. It is clear therefore
that the debate is still on because it is a matter from which perspective this situation is
analyzed. Yet, it is clear that because of the influx of foreigner s, economy notably
expanded.
Accor ding to Boldrin and Montes (2015 ) the fact th at the new immigrants had
to accommodate in a new labor market seemed to have been a disadvantage , because
they lack the host -country -specific labor market. As a consequence they didn’t have
the knowledge to negotiate with their employers. Thus, this translated to exploitation.
However, the newcomers who came in America provided the manp ower for building
new factories similar to those in Europe (Archdeacon, 1983). The result translated

38

into a more modern and efficient industry which sustain ed the economic growth. He
further wrote that the same pulling forces which created the employment
opportunities are also responsible for the rapid change of the nation.
Due to the high number of people crowded in city ports such as New York or
Boston epidemics were frequent. According to Hu (2002) between 1882 and 1992
outbreaks of smallpox, typhus, and cholera could be found in New York City. This
increased the concerns regarding the health situation of the newcomers, which forced
the Government to roughen the medical examinations for each individual who arrived
in America’s ports. Furthermore, Archdeacon (1983) wrote that European immigrants
were the most exposed to the crime, disease and social disorder ; a number that far
exceeded their fellow residents . They were the first exposed to these kinds of
problems, due to the hardships they were faci ng and the lack of medical knowledge
and other basic public services. Yet, as Archdeacon (1983) further noted, the scale of
these problems was also increased by the fact that they were unreceptive regarding
this situation. The new immigrants also enriched the culture of the United States. One
may assume that the multitude of foreigners settled in brought “an essential and
typical cont ribution” to the nation culture (Ștefănescu, 2006 , 11). For example,
immigrants from Italy were skilled artisans, painters, s culptors, musicians, and
dancers , making the American culture more diverse (Pozzetta, p.1).
A conclusion is difficult to express. It cannot be distinguished which wave in
particular had the greatest impact, due to the importance of both periods. There were
positive as well as negative effects. Consequently, the contribution of each phase
cannot be exaggerated because the way America is today is based on the various
influences each individual brought with them from its home country. One may
assume that what both old and new immigrants shared were the ambitious character.
Determination and motivation to succeed may be the greatest impact they brought.
Because of their will and their stubbornness to escape poverty back home, America
would become the dominan t super power in the following decad es.

39

3. The Assimilation Process

Over the course of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries , United States
went through a series of radical changes. The assimilation of old as well as new
immigrants was a laborious process which unfolded over a long time span. However,
it is difficult to assume what it meant to be an American in those periods due to the
dynamic of cultural, demographic, social, ethnic and racial changes at which the
American society was being exposed. Either old or new , immigrants were facing a
dual reality, triggered by the permanent interaction between the cultural backgrounds
of both origin countr y and host country (Mahalingam, 2006, as cited in Wals, 2013).
Starting from this, the following question arises: were immigrants willing to let
themselves assimilated? A reasonable answer may be difficult to suggest , because
sometimes personal motivations interfere in the process . However, old immigrants
proved to be more receptive than the new ones. One explanation for this may the
common background old arrivals shared with the founding English colonists . It is
generally accepted by all assimilation theories that proficiency in the host country
language is the most crucial ste p in the process of integration (Akresh et al ., 2014).
This seemed to be the first contact to the “new world” foreigners encountered when
arriving in the United States. Yet, Jasso (2011) makes clear that learning English can
be a difficult task for some individuals, especially for adults.
According to Oxford Dictionary, assimilation is “the absorption and
integration of people, ideas, or culture in to a wider society or culture.” In the c ontext
of American History, immigrants’ assimilation is also regarded as “ Americanization .”
Cambridge Dictionary defines this term as “to become or make something typical of
the US or US culture ,” whereas Oxford Dictionary describes it as “to make or becom e
American in character; assimilate to the custo ms and institutions of the U.S . “
Nevertheless, the idea of assimilation to the United States may be better comprehend
in the following words which argue that American assimilation is “the process that
occurs spontaneously and often unintended in the course of interaction betwe en
majority and minority groups” (Nee, 1997 , 827).
Hence, for the immigrants of both periods this process involved an adjustment
to the already established culture and customs. Old im migrants had to accommodate

40

and assimilate the former colonial ways of living, while the new immigrants had to
assimilate the amalgam between Colonial Age and Old Immigration Phase. One of the
differences between old and new immigrants was that the later o ne confronted with a
more difficult assimilation of the English language , due to their dissimilar language
roots. There h as always been a debate concerning who is a native and who is not; but
in a nation of immigrants the me aning of what it means to be a native may often
simpl y be described as “the one who came first.” The term of “Americanization” had
a more vague significance for the old imm igrants because in that period America ’s
socio -cultural identity was being formed. Thus, it may be plausible to ass ume, the old
era stand as the forma tion of what it meant to be an American . When the new
immigration started, the newly arrived found themselves constrained to attend the way
of life their old predecessors estab lished. Movements of Americanization were als o
emerging focusing on assimilating the new immigrants. These movements included
the learning of English language and the English -speaking, Protestant and Anglo –
Saxon identity. More than 30 states passed Americanization laws in the early
nineteenth century (Zolberg, 2008).
America is regarded as a multi -cultural society where various types of
ethnicities blend into one. The usual metapho r to express this condition is “the
melting pot ,” arguing that different elements each individual brought with him such as
culture, language and religion are mixing together into one big homogeneous society ,
creating a national identity . Sociologist s depict this theory as a concept of
heterogeneous society becoming more homogenous with all elements ‘m elting’ into a
harmonious whole sharing a common culture (Crossman, p.1). The origin of the
“melting pot” came from a 1908 play wrote by a British writer, Israel Zangwill. It
describes the story of a Russian -Jew immigrant whom intention was to moving in th e
United States after his family had been killed in an anti -Semitic confrontation in
Russia . In the play is mentioned an ideal republic where acceptance and possibilities
could be found and anyone could integrate (Higgins, 2015). The United States is also
often referred as the “Great Melting Pot” due to the scale at which the assimilation
process is undertaking. However, this theory failed to explain the process on which
immigrants of diverse ethnicities join the United States; process which is often
difficult, slow and complex (eJournal USA, p.2). America’s public identity was
molded by the cultural background of each immigration group (Higgins, 2015).

41

Nativism in America has long played a central part in the political spheres of
the nation . As it is defined in the Oxford Dictionary , nativism is “the policy of
protecting the interests of native -born or established inhabita nts against those of
immigrants”. However, in a nation of former colonists and successive waves of
immigrants, it is difficult t o assume who may be o r not a native . Thus, the question
arises: who can regard himself as an American native? The answer to this question
depends from which point of view, time period and to who is addressed. During the
old immigration, the former colonists may have answered they were the natives due to
the primordial role they had in the proclamation of country ’s independence ; and that,
the old immigrants: Germans, Irish, Scandina vians and even English are the
“newcomers” . At the late of the nineteenth century, given the fact that the old
immigrants had fully been assimilated, they may have answered they were then the
natives comparing to the new immigrants from Eastern and Southern Eur ope.
If one today may ask the descendants of the formers new immigrants (who
were the aliens back then) whether or not they considered themselves American
natives now, they would most certainly answer a “yes” . Hence, it is a matter of
assimilation on a ti me period. As it can be seen, nativism and assimilation are closely
linked to one and another in a society where the common historical background is
missing. One may argue this situation is found on every nation in the world, that at the
beginning of each culture, various diverse groups stand as the formation of it.
However, the European nations for instance, formed theirs national identities many
centuries ahead of the United States, based on a solid historical background. On this
basis it may inferred that the time span between generations allows the nativism to
form through the process of assimilation. After all, based on the “who came first”
assumption, the answer may be even simpler. One may assume the real American
natives were the inhabitants Chri stopher Columbus named them as “Indians ”.
The strong antagonism formed by the nativism sentiment in the United States
was mainly against the ethnic and religious minorities, and political radicals. The
early nineteenth century “natives” Anglo Saxons and other Protestants descendants
saw themselves as superior and “special” , despite the fact that they were surrounded
by other minorities (Encyclopedia of Race and Racism , 2008). “WASP” is the term to
reflect the nativism superiority in contradiction with ot her ethnics groups. They were
the descendants of the first English colonists and those who came at the late of the
eighteenth century. Many of them were highly educated , skilled and with a solid

42

social status ; fact which allowed them having a prosperous life in the United States
(BBC, p.3). As Oxford Dictionary also defines it, the WASP acronym stands for “ an
upper – or middle -class American white Protestant, considered to be a member of the
most powerful group in society.” Given the chance of arriving am ongst the first , the
so called “real Americans ,” always claimed superiority of all kinds upon the later
groups of immigrants. As a consequence of this, the assimilation process unfolded
difficulty.
Know -Nothing was one of the most famous anti-immigration political
movements in the mid -nineteenth century America which called itself “the American
Party.” Its members were mainly white and native -born Anglo -Saxons who fiercely
promoting a strong antagonism against immigration, rejecting any form of
assimilation (Mulkern, 1997). The movement was campaigning against the Catholic
immigrants such as Irish and a part of the German population , in order to achieve
restric tions in immigration and ending their influence on the American society. The
fear that gave power to such a manifestation was that Irish and German Catholics
immigrants were submerging the nation with their own ideas and beliefs (Mulkern,
1997).

3.1. The Old Immigration Assimilation

There were always been arguments regarding the subject of immigration , as a direct
consequence of a nation formed entirely from immigrants. During th at period , the first
sentiments of anti -immigration came out to surface. Yet, the opposition was not as
severe as it would be in the new immigration wave. One may explain this
occasionally “acceptance” as a result of the common features old immigrants shared
with the former colonists, such as the most impo rtant, English language. Hence, as Hu
(2002) noted, the old stock general ly tended to assimilate rapidly, creating little
opposition. However, in the vision of Archdeacon (1983), one barrier the old
immigrants encountered in regarding themselves as America ns, was they lacked the
role in the discovery and formation of the nation and they were not part of a unity,
being divided by nationality, religion and language.

43

Until the end of the eighteenth century, United States Government’s did not do
so much about controlling the immigra tion process . This situation allowed for a high
number of undocumented immigrants arriving and settling in the country; which
created a hostile sentiment amongst the already established population. As a
consequence, in order to reconcile the native -born population, immigration laws were
passed, such as the Steerage Act of 1819 or the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
(Higgins, 2015 ; Kurian, 2004 ). The Government of the early nineteenth century was
also divided regarding the immigrat ion problem. For example, Thomas Jefferson's
Republicans (The Democratic Party of today) was pro -immigration, whereas the
Federalists were against it (Brookhiser, 2013). One may understand from this that
even from the early times, a general consensus in th e United States amongst the
governance or the population regarding immigration issue was far from being set.
Tensions on the international scene were also reflected in the manner immigrants
were perceived and which rights they had. As Brookhiser (2013) i ndicated, in the
1790s tension s between United States and France were high. As a result of this, in
June 1798 Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts which would forbid the
foreign -born population to vote or to hold office. Ewing (2012) (as cited in Messias et
al., 2014) further noted that these Acts authorized the President to deport any citizen
supposed to constitute a menace for the nation, even if President John Adams never
actually expelled anyone during his time.
Focusing on the immigration in flux from the British Islands, t he British
immigrants from the old period were few in number in comparison with their fellow
Germans and Irish counterparts and did not seem to be a problem for the society,
never facing opposition of any kind . This was beca use they shared the same features
as the former English colonists which made them easily assimilated into the American
society . They earned the highest wages amongst the immigrant population , given their
experience which allowed them to advance in the labo r hierarchy (Archdeacon, 1983).
Besides their fellow Irish, at the late of the old period, German population had
a generally good situation. Archdeacon (1983) further tried to come up with an
explanation for this, suggesting that the geographical positi on of the Germans which
were located mainly in the Middle West saved them from the unavoidably criticism of
the crowded East Coast cities. In the 1790s an influx of German immigrants could be
found in port cities. However, as Brookhiser (2013) write, no one worried about them
at that moment, the nativism sentiment was heading towards the Irish . In the vision of

44

Archdeacon (1983), German immigrants believed they can be both Americans and
Germans by joining the political views of the host country but also preserving their
homeland heritage. As it could be seen, by the end of the nineteenth century, many of
the German immigrants were well assimilated, sharing all the values of their native
neighbors.
In comparison with other groups, Ir ish always faced difficulties and proved to
be difficult to assimilate. One role in this may have been played by the religious view
which was different from their fellow immigrants and native -born. Brookhiser (2013)
found that o ne of the first assimilation issue Irish faced, was at the late of the
eighteenth century when they were often seen with disbelief because of the antipathy
they felt for the ir British neighbors. According to Archdeacon (1983), Irish
immigrants were hated since colonial times, due to their problems and Christian
religion. As a result of this, confrontations inevitably occurred in the pre -Civil War
era. Even in the years after the Civil War, the Irish population was still seen with
disregard and discrimination. They usually occupied the lower class of the society
(Archdeacon, 1983 ). They were neither seen with trust by the political structure at that
time, as well. Harrison Gray Otis (as cited in Brookhiser, 2013) , was a federalist
member of the Congress which declared in a speech that he respects “honest and
industrious” immigrants but that he "did not wish to invite hordes of wild Irishmen to
come here with a view to disturb our tranq uility " (p. 18).

3.2. The New Immigration Assimilation

According to Ștefănescu (2006), the assim ilation of the new immigrants from
Eastern and Southern Europe constituted a source of conflict amongst the American
“native” population at that time. He further wrote that the new immigrants were seen
with prejudice and hostility . Other factor that made t he assimilation process difficult
was the religious prejudice against Catholics and Jews. The old immigrants were
witnessing a rapid ethnic change composition of their society, fearing that America
was gradually losing its old identity ( Ștefănescu , 2006). As evidences seem to
indicate, the language barrier was not such of a problem for the various non -English
speakers; because, as Xi (2013) indicated, Eastern and Southern Europeans

45

immigrants who had not been familiarized with the language would successfull y
obtain proficiency. However, the first moments in America, were incredibly difficult
due to this inconvenient. Nevertheless, one may assume learning English was difficult
due to the high rate of illiteracy amongst new immigrants. Hatton and Williamson
(1998) (as cited in Greenwood, 2006) observes that younger immigrants assimilated
more rapidly . As a consequence of the fast learning of English language, their work
productivity enhanced, leading to higher incomes; which eventually facilitated a
better and more rapid cultural and social assimilation. According to Greenwood and
Ward (2014), t he majority of immigrants from the new wave were unskilled which
immediately reflected to their living standards . As a result of this, it was further
argued in the same study that Congress initially implemented quota laws in order to
limit immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe, as direct consequence of their
lack of skills and education. The argument often invoked for those implementations
was that they were tempor ary immigrants being also difficult to assimilate.
The last decade of the nineteenth century stand as the most critical moment in
the immigration acceptance. That period stand as the moment when sentiments
against the new immigrants became a national conc ern (Fairchild 1917 and 1924,
Parker 1924, Higham 1952, Daniels 1991, as cited in Hu, 2002). Hu (2002) further
tried to explain why that occurred in 1890s , arguing that two elements formed the
strong anti -immigration resentments against the new arrivals :

a. The changing composition of ethnicity ;
b. The concern of a negative impact on the native born wages.

Xenophobes at that time argued that these new “peasants” were inassimilable,
given their former old-world aristocracies background. They also stated the new
immigrants would never comprehend the American democracy and way of living.
The Immigration Restriction League was the most efficacious anti -immigration
organization at the late of the nineteenth century. It constantly campaigned for an
immigrat ion selection based on ethnicity and religious (Hu, 2002). The new
immigrants had a slow assimilation process causing a strong opposition amongst the
population (Hu, 2002). This led to confrontations between old and new inhabitants.
Focusing on controver sial ideas, Eugenics was a nother questionable doctrine
postulated by Francis Galton in 1883, which was used by xenophobes to induce a

46

strong antagonism on the new arrivals . It suggested that genetics should be used to
improve the human race by controlling reproduction. In the context of new
immigration wave, the adherents of this argued that “ immigration enabled inferior
individuals from Southern and Eastern Europe to enter the nation, marry the native –
born, pollute our superior bloodlines with their inferior gen es, and degrade our
descendants ” (Hu, 2002 , 63). The evidences seem to indicate the assimilation process
did not have a smooth path. It was influenced by a multitude of factors, as a r esult of
the vast variety of multi -cultural and ethnic influences. Furthermore, the process is
most perspicacity described as follow:

What appears in retrospect a great wave of immigration was, in fact, sporadic and marked by
many interruptions and cross currents, caused by outside factors. European wars would disrupt the flow
from particular countries; hard times or political persecution would start it up again. The on -off rhythm
allow ed for periods of assimilation (Brookhiser, 2013, p. 18).

Many questions still have remained unanswered on this open topic of
assimilation . Hence, a clear conclusion is difficult to assume . However, old as well as
new immigration wave s made a lasting impact on what was, is and will be America.
One may assume assi milation issues will always occur because every individual has
its own complex and distinctive background. Although, the ethnicity and cultural
context of each immigration period were not similar, each group had to deal with anti –
immigration sentiments and assimilation issues.

47

Conclusions

The approach of this study was to closely examine the historical migration processes
underlying the foundation of modern America. After the close investigation of this
topic , it was found that each period had its own specific influence in the formation of
America. It cannot be distinguished the extent of importance of each one alone,
because they are so closely inter -connected . As it could be noticed, the multitudes of
implications were genuinely transformative for the United States. It was found that
the old immigration stand as the starting point for the formation and identity of
America. During that period , the first anti -immigration sentiments also erupted. Even
if different factions and opinions regarding foreigners’ acceptance clashed, old
immigrants were generally well assimilated and accepted . The contribution of the old
immigrants in creating the nation can also stand as the base for the economic
superpower the nation would be i n the following years. The cultural implications also
had a great degree of importance in the formation of America’s identity.
As it has been pointed out, the new immigration wave was different from the
old one in many ways. Starting with the ethnicity co mposition, the old immigrants
were predominately from Western Europe, whereas the new ones came from Southern
and Eastern Europe. The discrepancy between them was also cultural and religious.
Given their dissimilarity, anti -immigration sentiment was much s tronger than it had
been in the previous wave. As it was found out, these sentiments were triggered by
many factors. New immigrants were despised because they were regarded as
competition in the wealth distribution and because they were mainly illiterate and
hard to c omply with the American standards . However, the most significant impact
the new immigration had was economic. The manpower brought by the millions of
newcomers helped the nation in its way to world dominance. The demographic factor
was also emphasized. Old period had a steady influx of immigrants. There were
moments when the flow was disrupted and influenced by the European context at that
time. Although , the difference between the new wave was that , those moment s of low
immigration may have l ed to a proper assimilation; whereas, during the new period,
the number of arrivals was at a much higher scale, making the assimilation process
difficult.

48

Similarly with the current migration waves in Europe, the phenomenon was
met with a lot of tension and skepticism in the United States , as well. The effective
assimilation of the immigrants, within the capacity limits of the new homeland, shows
how this process can be transformed into something valued, with positive economic,
social and cultural implica tions. It is clear therefore that m igration is a phenomenon
which has lasting effects . As it could be seen, the immigrat ion in America during that
time has shaped the modern world.

49

Appendi x

Table 1: Own conception according to ( Datapedia of the United States – American History in Numbers,
Third E dition by George Thomas Kurian , 2004) .

50

Table 1: Own conception according to ( Datapedia of the United States – American History in Numbers,
Third E dition by George Thomas Kurian, 2004) .

51

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