North America stands to be one of the most diverse population and all the thanks can be given to the many immigrants who took the chance to leave behind the comfort of their home in hopes of a better future. Not only did these immigrants make North America so diverse, it also enabled there to be an interaction of different cultures impacting the ethnic and social makeup of the U.S. Starting from the 19th centuries many immigrants rushed in from Europe during the massive innovations in technology and transportations. Many were attracted by the offering of cheap land near the Great lakes regions and in the valleys of Ohio, Cumberland and Mississippi rivers. Moreover, population boomed specially during the industrial development time period. Between 1800 and 1825 doubled and a high birthrate accounted for most of this growth. Then in the 1830s the growth was accounted for by immigrants arriving from Europe, particularly from Great Britain and Germany. When discussing the non-white population which was the African Americans and the Native Americans, their population still grew despite the ban. However, the population decreased when looking at it as a whole from the 18th century to the mid-19th century. Almost 8000 immigrants arrived from Europe but beginning in 1832 there was a drastic increase. Through the 1830s and the 1850s nearly 4 million people from northern Europe crossed the Atlantic a new life in the U.S. Most people settled in the growing cities of Boston, New York and Philadelphia and they stayed there. However, others journeyed more towards the old northwest and the south. Much of the immigration that occurred were due to a couple of factors, the first was that the development of inexpensive and relatively rapid ocean transportation summoned many to come over. Another factor was that in Europe during this time period there were many famines and revolutions thus people escaped their homelands for safety. Lastly, the most obvious was that word was that the United States offered both economic opportunities and political freedom attracting many. However, the ethnic makeup of certain areas became altered when different ethnic groups from Europe mass migrated for the many different reasons. For example, during the mid-19th century half of the immigrants almost 2 million of them were Irish emigrating from Ireland. Most of these Irish immigrants came over due to the potatoes crop failures but because they had little skills they usually competed with African Americans for domestic work and unskilled laborer jobs. Faced with limited opportunities they congregated for mutual support in the northern cities such as Boston, New York and Philadelphia. Another example include Germans who migrated from Germany due to the economic hardships and failure in a democratic revolution.
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Most German immigrants however were modestly skilled in farming and artistry thus they moved westward, acquiring cheap land, and spread throughout the Old Northwest. Due to all the immigrants flowing into the cities, many nativists felt threatened especially since their religious practices were also different as one was Protestant and the other Roman Catholics. Thus they started to riot against immigrants who threatened to take away their jobs. Even till the end of the 19th century more immigrants flooded in the U.S as more push factors came into play. Most of immigrants still came from Europe but it was due to poverty of many displaced workers from the political turmoil, overcrowding and joblessness in the cities and religious persecution particularly the Jews. While in the 1880’s most immigrants were from northern and eastern Europe, all that changed after the outbreak of world war I. Now, many of the immigrants were coming from southern and eastern Europe, including, Greeks, Slovaks, poles, Russians and Italians. These immigrants moved into the already poor ethnic neighborhoods of U.S major cities such as New York. As more migrants moved into these neighborhoods, the different ethnic groups started to create their own ethnic circles. This allowed for each to group to maintain its language, culture, church and even social club. Due to this many groups even had their own newspapers and schools. These areas also became known as the ghettos which served as springboards for hardworking immigrants. Migrations into the
Most German immigrants however were modestly skilled in farming and artistry thus they moved westward, acquiring cheap land, and spread throughout the Old Northwest. Due to all the immigrants flowing into the cities, many nativists felt threatened especially since their religious practices were also different as one was Protestant and the other Roman Catholics. Thus they started to riot against immigrants who threatened to take away their jobs. Even till the end of the 19th century more immigrants flooded in the U.S as more push factors came into play. Most of immigrants still came from Europe but it was due to poverty of many displaced workers from the political turmoil, overcrowding and joblessness in the cities and religious persecution particularly the Jews. While in the 1880’s most immigrants were from northern and eastern Europe, all that changed after the outbreak of world war I. Now, many of the immigrants were coming from southern and eastern Europe, including, Greeks, Slovaks, poles, Russians and Italians. These immigrants moved into the already poor ethnic neighborhoods of U.S major cities such as New York. As more migrants moved into these neighborhoods, the different ethnic groups started to create their own ethnic circles. This allowed for each to group to maintain its language, culture, church and even social club. Due to this many groups even had their own newspapers and schools. These areas also became known as the ghettos which served as springboards for hardworking immigrants. Migrations into the