Neil Diamond wrote the song "America" in tribute to the impact of
immigration in America. It speaks of the quest for opportunity that
embodied million who crossed into our nation.
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AMERICA
Written by Neil Diamond
Far
We've been traveling far
Without a home
But not without a star
Free
Only want to be free
We huddle close
Hang on to a dream
On the boats and on the planes
They're coming to America
Never looking back again
They're coming to America
Home, don't it seem so far away
Oh, we're traveling light today
In the eye of the storm
In the eye of the storm
Home, to a new and a shiny place
Make our bed, and we'll say our grace
Freedom's light burning warm
Freedom's light burning warm
Everywhere around the world
They're coming to America
Every time that flag's unfurled
They're coming to America
Got a dream to take them there
They're coming to America
Got a dream they've come to share
They're coming to America
They're coming to America
They're coming to America
They're coming to America
They're coming to America
Today, today, today, today, today
My country 'tis of thee
Today
Sweet land of liberty
Today
Of thee I sing
Today
Of thee I sing
Today
Both Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy found it necessary to
remind the American people that the United States is a nation of
immigrants. Every person on the North and South American continents
came from someplace else -- either as an immigrant herself or as a
descendant of immigrants. It is a telling and unfortunate commentary
that we require regular reminders of these facts.
The late nineteenth century was one of the great ages of
immigration in American history. This era of immigration differed
from previous immigration booms in two key respects: scale and
sources. In many ways, the change in sources of immigration was more
important than the change in scale. By far the largest sources of
immigrants in the period were the nations of central, eastern, and
southern Europe. These immigrants were refugees from economic
privation and political and religious persecution in the ailing
empires of Austria-Hungary and Russia and the new, fragile nations of
Italy and Germany.
This also was the first great period of Asian immigration to
America, mostly from China but with a trickle of immigrants from
Japan and Korea as well. However, anti-Asian feeling in the western
United States, exacerbated by such cynical politicians as Daniel
Kearny of California, limited both the extent of Asian immigration
and the degree to which the Asian immigrants could take full
advantage of the opportunities available to their white neighbors.
The growth of immigration in this period
was spurred, as were so many other social phenomena, by
technology. The development of ocean-going steamships and the
rise of a great transoceanic trade spanning the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans made it possible for tens of thousands of men, women, and
children to seek a new life in America and, despite the lure of the
large eastern cities, to spread out across the continent to do
so. Moreover, the rise of American industries and the
growth of the railroad system created thousands of jobs -- both in
factories and in the construction trades -- that offered powerful
inducements to prospective immigrants seeking a new life.
Copyright 1995 by the
Council for Citizenship Education. All rights reserved.
This material may be reproduced for classroom
use and other educational purposes without prior permission so long
as no commercial profit is gained from it and so long as full credit
is given.
The proper citation for this material is as
follows: CROSSROADS: A K-16
American History Curriculum, Troy, NY: Council for Citizenship
Education, Russell Sage College, 1995
Immigrants came to America for many reasons. Beginning in the
1600's and 1700's America was seen as the land of opportunity. The
Pilgrims came for the opportunity to have religious freedom. The
Quakers and French Huguenots did as well. Economic opportunity was
also a goal of many early immigrants. Whether it was the search for
gold, the chance to own land and a farm or the chance to start a new
life... even as an indentured servant; America was the "new world"
and full of opportunities.
Immigration Before 1865
Before the Civil War America had an open immigration policy.
Anyone could come here with no restrictions. Immigrants at this time
were considered the "OLD IMMIGRANTS."
Old Immigrants - Came from northwestern
Europe. These immigrants were mostly English and German. There were
some French. These immigrants were light skinned and had light eyes
and hair. They were Protestant.
Immigration After 1865
After 1865 Americans began to restrict immigration. Groups called
nativists formed to oppose immigration. The Ku Klux
Klan and the Know Nothings were nativists groups.
Immigration from 1890 - 1920
A look at the statistics below shows that immigration increased
tremendously in the early 1900's until it was slowed by the Emergency
Quota Act (also known as the National Origins Act) in 1920. These
immigrants were different from the Old Immigrants and were called NEW
IMMIGRANTS.
New Immigrants - Came from Eastern and Southern
Europe. These immigrants were from Russian and Polish Jews, Italians
and Irish. Their religions were different from the Old Immigrants
(Catholic and Jewish). They were typically darker in color with
darker hair and eyes.
Immigration from Asia
Chinese and Japanese immigration occurred throughout the periods
listed above. It was Chinese labor that built the transcontinental
railroad. Because of their unique racial background, however, they
were discriminated against a great deal. As a result Asian immigrants
are neither old or new immigrants.
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