1920s Immigration Essay

1920s America, also known as the “Roaring Twenties” was a time of significant change in American society, and mass immigration was no exception. This immigration, however, was nothing like the “old immigration” that the great nation had seen in the past. 1920s immigrants came mainly for religious freedom and economic opportunities, unlike "old immigrants" that came solely for economic opportunities. The flurry of “new immigrants” that the decade saw came with gifts of new, and to some, strange customs and traditions such as; different foods, religions, ideologies, and more. The seemingly new profound migration of men and women that the 1920s observed would result in vibrant cultures that exceeded the once dull nation. While immigrants of the

1). “New immigrants” were ridiculed and criticized by native-born Americans, as they believed that newly arrived immigrants were making little to no attempts to fit into American society. Fuel would only be added to the fire as many immigrants at the time were not willing to become citizens of the United States, with a study showing that “28 percent of Poles and Italians and 16 percent of Greeks and Portuguese [having] obtained American citizenship.” (Barkan, par. 5). This hesitation in becoming a citizen may have been brought on by the prejudice and hostility that immigrants had to deal with. The undeserving resentment that immigrants were dealt with made it challenging for them to feel a feeling of belonging in their new country. To add, in contrast to their native peers, immigrants in the 1920s faced “encountering formidable legal barriers, discrimination, and, often, violent rejection.” (Barkan, par. 1). These violent attacks that plagued immigrants were a result of derogatory stereotypes made to degrade newly arriving outsiders to American society. Americans made sure to let immigrants of the 1920s know they did not see them as their equals through

These immigrants often sacrificed and worked hard for themselves and their families to stay in the United States. Many Americans who stationed themselves in crowded cities like Philadelphia and New York could only afford tenements that proved to be “dangerous and unsanitary.” (Thakrar, par. 6). These tenements were packed with multiple families, they were dirty and filled with all sorts of diseases, nevertheless; these immigrant families felt this nightmarish housing was a small price to pay for new opportunities. The atrocious living conditions were far from all that was in the path of newly migrated foreigners, as being uneducated and unskilled, immigrants at this time took jobs as common laborers. Immigrants of the 1920s took jobs in “mines, meatpackinghouses, foundries, or on the railroads.” (Thakrar, par. 6). Just like their housing, these working environments were unsanitary and dangerous. To add, hard-working immigrants also worked long hours with little to no pay or breaks. These tough immigrants did not let anything step in the way of providing for their families, as hard-working conditions and disgusting living conditions were unable to. Latino immigrants were no exception to this tough immigrant life, as they became the kings and queens of the immigrant workforce. During the "Roaring Twenties" “the Mexican