19th Century America Immigration Essay

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To answer question two, to compare and contrast immigration prior and during the late 19th would be that both were for personal well being. Those that settled in America, say the pilgrims, came here for religious freedom more or less. They sought for this new land to bring them new opportunities for a better life. The main difference between these waves of immigration has to be this notion of the “American Dream”. Though this new wave of immigrants did come seeking a better and new life, there was something a little different that separated them from the pilgrims. The fight for better a economic outcome in life, and overall better opportunities for those immigrants and their families. A shift from religious freedom to economic opportunities was the big difference between these waves. As these waves of immigrants came to America, primarily the North East coast, they encountered difficulties in the areas of urban lifestyle. This can be exemplified in both a documentary and book …show more content…

In the book, Sara paints a vivid description of conditions with living in poverty. The struggle of working was described by the sister Bessie, and the struggle of being true and being “American” was felts and described by all. Each sister seems to reach solace while living in America. However the angle or path they try to take towards Americanization, they seem to feel unfulfilled. Whether it is Bessie who lives comfortably in her marriage, or Sara who lives comfortably with her independence. These two characters seemed to feel lost, unsatisfied, and seemed to only be unhappy due to their economic circumstances. It seemed that societies only made these groups of immigrants unhappy due to the fact of them being “different”; in turn, them being ethnically different pushed for them to be impoverished, because the general public had a distaste towards