Immigration in America

The nineteenth century in the US had an unmistakable theme, immigration. Over 20 million immigrants, mostly European, came to the United States between 1820 and 1900. They came for a variety of reasons. Most came because the economies of many European countries were in crisis and workers had a very hard time finding work. As well, some fled religious and cultural persecution. Most of them decided to come to the US because of the opportunities they had heard …

…about the affect immigrants had on the US, “Immigration in the late 19th and early 20th century really made this country because they literally built this country. As the blacks had done in the years before the Civil War, the immigrants were doing the hard work behind the scenes while other people took credit for it.” Although the immigrants themselves paid a large price, they willingly took the first steps that would benefit future generations.