Essay On How Did The Late 1800s Outweigh The Drawbacks Of Immigration

Did the benefits of the immigration boom in the late 1800s outweigh the drawbacks? During the 1800s, many people migrated to urban areas because they wanted jobs and land. Many people thought that migrating to urban areas would be like a perfect dream, however they were disappointed when they realized that the benefits of migration did not outweigh the drawbacks. During the late 1800s, millions of immigrants were coming to the United States. Most of the immigrants came from Europe. Immigration increased during this time for many reasons: one reason was the hope for a better life, for instance economic opportunities and getting away from oppressive governments. Another reason was for religious freedom, for example the Jewish

The homestead act helped make this happen, it seemed good at first but after a while the immigrants realized the negatives of the land that they gained outweighed the benefits. The homestead act was passed by congress on May 20,1862. This act was supposed to get people to move to the Great Plains. This act stated that “any citizen of the U.S could claim 160 acres of government land”, however they had to pay a small fee. After paying the homesteaders had to improve their land by living on the land, building a home, and planting crops. If the settlers did those things and stayed on their land for five years, the land became their property. With the homestead act about 270 million acres of land was available for people to live on. That must sound great cheap land that comes with 160 acres, that exactly what the immigrants thought, but they soon realized the negatives of having the land. Even though the requirements of the homestead act seemed simple, many people still had problems. Many people who owned the land had little farming experience. Most of the land in the Great Plains was not good for farming because the land was dry and was not good for