19th Century Immigration Analysis

Throughout history, many international migrants have journeyed to the United States to establish a new life with their family to ultimately achieve the American Dream. Along with them, they brought their cultural practices and religious beliefs which uniquely made them different. However, no one would expect the United States’ population to increase by millions during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries due to immigrants. As supported on page 361, “In the last half of the 19th century, the U.S. population more than tripled, from about 23.2 million in 1850 to 76.2 million in 1900.” (“United States History”). The arrival of such a massive number of international migrants during this time period altered the ethnic and social makeup of the U.S.

Some came to start a new life and others came to escape religious persecution. Although they all had the same wish, in the end, to have a better life, they did not let go of their cultural identity and religious beliefs when they settled. In effect, the increasing number of different ethnic groups arriving in the United States began to pave a way for the formation of ghettos. As supported on page 363, “different immigrant groups created distinct ethnic neighborhoods where each group could maintain its own language, culture, church or temple, and social club.” (“United States History”). The formation of these ghettos was mainly due to language barriers. International migrants who only spoke their native language would only be able to progress with people they were able to communicate with. In knowing this, the arrival of many different immigrants from all over the world made it difficult to interact with people of different races. In addition, ghettos were mainly located in urban areas within the United States, which increased, statistically, how many Americans lived in cities. As supported on page 362, “By 1900 almost 40 percent of Americans lived in towns or cities. By 1920, for the first time, more Americans lived in urban areas than in rural areas.” (“United States History”). All in all, due to people from many different countries coming to the United States to live, the ethnic makeup of the U.S. population was no longer predominately white. Instead, it became very diverse within the span of the nineteenth and twentieth century. Immigrants derived from many places such as Southern Europe and Eastern Europe, which mainly brought Italians, Greeks, and