Immigrants of Yesterday and Today

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Genre

Expository

nonfiction

Comprehension

Skills and Strategy

? Fact and Opinion

? Draw Conclusions

? Text Structure

Immigrants

of Yesterday

and Today

Text Features

?

?

?

?

Captions

Tables

Map

Glossary

Scott Foresman Reading Street 6.5.2

ISBN-13: 978-0-328-52670-3

ISBN-10:

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780328 526703

by Mary Dismas

Vocabulary

access

authority

lush

Immigrants

of Yesterday

and Today

obstacle

toll

torment

wilt

Word count: 2,264

by

Mary Dismas

Note: The total word count includes words in the running text and headings only.

Numerals and words in chapter titles, captions, labels, diagrams, charts, graphs,

sidebars, and extra features are not included.

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People come to the United States from other countries for many

reasons. These Japanese immigrants came to the United States

through Angel Island in California.

Who Are Immigrants?

Immigrants are people who come into a new land or

nation to live there. For hundreds of years, people have

left their friends, relatives, and homelands to live in the

United States.

There are many reasons people immigrate. Some of

those reasons are listed below. Compare the ¡°push¡± and

¡°pull¡± factors. How are they alike? How are they different?

Why do immigrants choose the United States? Many

immigrants believe the United States is a place where

everyone has more personal freedom¡ªwhere everyone

has access to opportunities that will improve their lives.

Why People Immigrate

Push Factors

? Human rights violations

? Economic problems and

poverty

? Environmental problems and

natural disasters

Pull Factors

? Expectation of finding work

? Expection of joining relatives

? Expectation of getting an

education

? Expectation of living a better

life

3

North America has been a destination point

for immigrants since colonial times.

Finland

Sweden

Norway

United

States

Denmark

Scotland

England

Ireland

Germany

Italy

Russia

Poland

China

Where Are Immigrants From?

Before the Revolutionary War, most immigrants came

from northern European countries such as England,

Ireland, and Scotland. From the mid-1800s through the

early 1900s, about 25 million people came to the United

States from Ireland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, China,

Scandinavia, and other countries.

The table below compares the number of people

living in New York City and San Francisco, California, in

1870 and 2000. It also shows what percentage of the

population was born outside the United States. How did

the percentage of foreign-born people living in both

cities change from 1870 to 2000?

Year

Total

Population

Native

Born

1870

Foreign Born

Number

Percent

New York City

942,292

523,198

419,094

44.5

San Francisco

149,473

75,754

73,719

49.3

8,008,278

5,137,246

2,871,032

35.9

776,733

491,192

285,541

36.8

Challenges to Immigrants

Moving to a new country is not an easy thing to

do. An immigrant leaves behind a home, relatives and

friends, and familiar surroundings and customs. An

immigrant may very likely not be fluent in the language

of his or her new country. Think about how you would

feel if you were not able to understand what people

were saying to you. What would you do if you could not

make yourself understood by others?

Many immigrants choose to live near other people

from their own country because they all speak the

same language and practice the same customs. More

established immigrants often help newcomers from their

homeland find food, clothing, shelter, and jobs.

Some Americans have worried that their jobs would

be given to immigrants. Immigrants have at times been

treated with hostility and resentment. Some immigrants

have been denied the right to become U.S. citizens.

Without citizenship, they do not have many rights

guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

Poverty and discrimination often take their toll on

many immigrants, and they decide to return to their

homelands. Some have become ill and died because of

the poor conditions in which they live in their new land.

Others have stayed and worked hard to make the United

States their new home.

2000

New York City

San Francisco

4

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census

5

Chinese immigrants came to find their

fortunes during the California Gold Rush.

Chinese Immigrants

Immigrants in the

Nineteenth Century

The first goal of most immigrants in the 1800s was to

find a job to support themselves and their families, just as it

is today. Some intended to stay in the United States. Others

planned to work for a period of time, save money, and then

return home. Either way, immigrants needed to find jobs.

6

Immigrants came to California from China

looking for economic opportunities. Some

were also seeking to escape political problems

in their homeland. Some hoped to make their

fortunes during the Gold Rush. As a matter

of fact, some Chinese immigrants referred

to California as Gam Saan, or ¡°Golden

Mountain.¡±

The Chinese made many contributions to

the mining industry but were prevented from

making their fortunes. California had laws

that kept the Chinese from owning land, and

they were heavily taxed if they tried to file

mining claims.

Despite the torments of discrimination,

Chinese immigrants continued to arrive in

the United States. Some worked to build

the railroads. Many had been farmers in

their homeland, and so they sought work

as farmers. Some became sharecroppers,

or tenant farmers, while others became migrant farm

workers who traveled from farm to farm harvesting crops

as they became ripe.

Many Chinese immigrants were skilled at farming.

They were able to turn poor land into fertile farmland,

and they knew how to grow specialty crops such as

celery. The Chinese played a major role in the growth of

the wine industry in California.

7

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