Immigration to America

Immigration is a world-wide issue today, but it is not new. Throughout human history, people have been migrating to other places. This movement of people has always fascinated me. One particular migration of people has been of most interest to me, and that is across the Atlantic to America that began long before 1776 when this country was founded. As a descendant of a passenger on the Mayflower on the paternal side and the granddaughter of a Czechoslovakian-born naturalized citizen on the maternal side, I am the proud and appreciative product of immigration. And I am not alone. Most Americans today are descendants of immigrants who withstood brutal conditions as they crossed the Atlantic.

On board an emigrant ship - 

the breakfast bell immigrants on ship deck, 

1884, Library of Congress Prints and 

Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 

USA, LC-USZ62-60319

I believe America owes much to the millions of immigrants who have come to this country. They have given their raw labor to build the infrastructure that is the foundation of our nation: the canals, the railroads, the roads. Although the jobs available to new arrivals have changed through the decades and the centuries, the contributions of immigrants have always been essential to the strength of America. Let’s take a look at what conditions cause immigration. Why did Europeans, starting in the 1600s, emigrate to the Americas? 

From reading Marcus L. Hansen’s book The Atlantic Migration  and from ideas formed over years of reading about immigration to America, I have reached several conclusions. The reasons for emigration were mainly economic (worsened by population growth), but people also left their birth countries seeking to avoid religious persecution and forced conscription. I discussed the “push” and “pull” factors that influence the movement of people in my post of April 19,2014.

“Descriptive portraiture of Europe in storm and calm….,”  

Edward King, 1886, C.A. Nichols, 

Springfield, MA, https://www.flickr.com/photos/

internetarchivebookimages/14595849259/ 

The economic push factors first centered around agriculture. For much of the time that humans have been on this earth, raising crops has been the main way of survival. And anyone who has tried to grow a garden can attest to the effect weather has on the harvest. For thousands of years, people have been at the mercy of the elements as they try to grow enough food to pay the landlord and feed their own families. Droughts, floods, insect infestations, worn-out soil and other natural events have brought devastation and starvation and driven people to seek new land.

It was not until the 18^th century with the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in England that the majority of the population would become less dependent on farming for their livelihood. The Industrial Revolution caused a shift in the economic paths people took to sustain their families. Although agriculture remained paramount to the sustenance of most people, small cottagers benefited from advances in transportation to increase markets for their hand crafts (spinning, weaving, knitting) to supplement what they could raise on their small parcels of land.

Irish spinner and spinning wheel.
County Galway, Ireland,
between 1890 and 1900,
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, 

Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

Mechanization slowly developed and factories began pulling people from their homes.

Walton, Perry, The Story of Textiles, 1912,
 J.S. Lawrence, Boston, MA, p. 166-A

The movement of poor peasants to factory work did not relieve their poverty (due to low wages) and overcrowding in urban areas led to the spread of disease. The health and life expectancy of the new factory workers suffered from conditions brought about by mechanization, including exposure in enclosed spaces to air full of toxins from textile production and injuries from machines. As we have seen, poor economic conditions played a big part in the urge for people to look for opportunities somewhere else. 

From the early 1600s through the early 1900s, the “New World” (as it seemed to the Europeans) functioned as a safety valve for people from Europe who were fleeing the situations caused by the events mentioned above. Other things also “pushed” people to leave their birth countries. These include the intermittent warring between European countries that made daily living for people precarious: food shortages, more taxes to pay for military activity, and forced conscription were factors that encouraged emigration.

“Descriptive portraiture of Europe
in storm and calm….,”
  Edward King, 1886, C.A. Nichols,
Springfield, MA, https://www.flickr.com/photos/
internetarchivebookimages/14595830779/

The lack of religious freedom was one other push factor that led people to leave Europe and sail across the Atlantic to America. 

This discussion of push and pull factors leads us to ponder how emigration affects both the sending (home) country and the receiving  (destination) country. The effects of immigration (economic, cultural, social) on America is right now and historically has been the cause of heated debate and sometimes violent protests all the way back to colonial times. In a post from July 9, 2014, I discussed the anti-immigrant movement symbolized by the Know Nothing Party  which was born and became popular at a time of high immigration of poor, unskilled Catholics from Ireland.

 How American-born or even many naturalized citizens feel about new immigrants often stems from fear of the outsider: will our language/culture be lost, will our society be taken over by foreigners, will our jobs be lost?  What never seems to enter the equation are two factors. First, history has shown that the children of immigrants nearly always embrace this country with its language, culture and government as their own. Second, the immigrant generation provides labor for jobs that many native Americans do not want.

Know-nothingism in Brooklyn, 1881, Illus. in: Frank Leslie's illustrated newspaper,

 vol. 51 (1881 Jan. 15), p. 340, 

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs 

Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

America has been eager to accept immigrant labor for more than three centuries, but many Americans have not been as willing to welcome them into the fabric of our society. Joseph Connor wrote an excellent article in "American History Magazine,"¹ chronicling American sentiment toward immigrants since our nation began. Connor shows that the American people’s vacillating  relationship with immigration often coincides with economic shifts in the economy. This view is corroborated by Eytan Meyers in his study² of immigration policy, where he states that laws restricting immigration were passed during the recession of 1882-1885 and again during the depression of 1891-1897.

Politicians and others have long tried to understand and sway public opinion. And one of the best ways to grab the public’s attention is through images. With the advent of newspapers and magazines, would-be movers and shapers of popular belief found a successful tool in the art of political cartooning. The political cartoon also functions on the back end to capture the prevailing mood of the citizenry, actually responding to the public’s attitude to many things, including immigration, at different points in our history.

Joseph Connor included two political cartoons in his piece that clearly show how public opinion on immigration parallels economic downturns. One can ask several questions of these cartoons. Do they convey just the opinions of the artist? Does the artist attempt to capture the widespread feelings/fears/beliefs of the day? Is the artist conveying the opinions of one political party or another? Is the artist simply portraying the feeling of the publication paid for his/her work?

The title of the first cartoon, “Columbia's Unwelcome Guests” gives us a big clue as to the sentiment behind the drawing. Frank Beard was the illustrator, and the cartoon was published in 1885 by Judge Magazine at the tail end of a four year recession. In the drawing, Mr. Beard depicts multitudes of immigrants from the sewers of Germany, Russia, and Italy pouring across the Atlantic and breaching our shores. As you can see from the labels he places on the newcomers, (Socialists, Communists, Anarchists, Dynamiters) Beard shows them threatening the law and order of America.

'Columbia's Unwelcome Guests.' American cartoon by Frank Beard, 

1885, showing unrestricted U.S. immigration policies

 encouraging the arrival of anarchists, socialists, 

and the Mafia from the sewers of Italy, Russia, 

and Germany; used by permission under  2019 

The Granger Collection LTD d/b/a Granger Academic.

The title of the second cartoon, “Where the Blame Lies” by Grant T. Hamilton is a not-so-subtle condemnation of immigrants also. It was published in 1891, (the beginning of a seven-year depression) in Judge Magazine. Hamilton goes a bit further in his name-calling as he links political movements, crime and poverty to certain nationalities: German Socialist, Russian Anarchist, Italian Vagabond, English Convict, and Irish Pauper. Perhaps the saddest part of the cartoon is the Statue of Liberty is pictured in the background.

Hamilton, Grant E., Artist. Where the blame lies / Hamilton. 

Castle Clinton New York United States, 1891. 

New York: Sackett & Wilhelms Litho. Co., 

April 4. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/97515495/.

In conclusion, humans have been on the move for centuries. Many reasons spur this movement, and we have mentioned some of the major ones in this post in our discussion of immigration to this country. Throughout its history, America has been the beneficiary of the labor and the many other contributions that newcomers bring. Let us never forget this.

The Poor in Early America

As my readers know, I am interested in the lives of my Irish ancestors who came to Chicago, IL in the mid-nineteenth century. Because they were part of the new urban poor (a group made up of rural people from America and abroad who came to the cities seeking jobs),

From the old to the new world - German emigrants for New York
 embarking on a Hamburg steamer, 1874,
 LC-USZ62-100310, Library of Congress Online Catalog.

I began researching what life was like for those who lived on the margins without secure employment. In my post of November 12, 2014, I wrote about some of the challenges the poor faced in nineteenth century Chicago. This led me to wonder more about the causes of poverty in America and how this society responded to the needs of those without the means to take care of themselves.

Walter I. Trattner, From poor law to welfare state: 

a history of social welfare in America 

 (New York, N.Y. : The Free 

Press, Simon and Schuster, 1999)

I used two books to anchor my exploration into this topic. First, I went to Walter I. Trattner’s book From Poor Law to Welfare State: A History of Social Welfare in America  first published in 1974 and now in its sixth edition. Trattner begins his coverage of the response to poverty by society with colonial America and goes up to President Bill Clinton’s overhaul of the welfare system. In addition to his comprehensive information on the causes and responses to poverty in America, Dr. Trattner also provides an in-depth bibliography after each chapter.

Pauperization: cause and cure, 
Sir Baldwyn
 Leighton, 1871, Internet 
Archive, Wikimedia.

If you research early America, you realize right away that ties to the mother country of England were seen in many areas, including theories on poverty. Debate on this topic flourished in both countries in parlors, newspapers and governing bodies.

We learn from Dr. Trattner that the social system for helping the poor in colonial America was based on the English Poor Law of 1601. (p. 10-12, 16, Trattner.) This law, in  England and similar ones in America in the mid-1600s, allowed towns to levy a tax on householders that was used to provide some relief to the impoverished. Churches also contributed to helping the poor in their parishes. If you were poor in eighteenth century America, you fared better than those who followed you in the next century:

“…the problem of poverty had been defined and the lines of attack against it were marked out. In many areas, selectmen, county justices, overseers of the poor, constables, church wardens, or whoever the authority happened to be, made regular surveys of their areas to determine the condition of the population and to call attention to those who needed assistance….By and large, the poor—at least the white poor—were dealt with humanely and often wisely…especially when compared to later developments.” (p. 27, Trattner.)

Catherine Reef,
Poverty in America (Facts on File,
Infobase Publishing, 2007)

The second book Poverty in America by Catherine Reef is a great reference. It is a textbook, but don’t let that put you off. Not only is the text accessible, it is engrossing, and the book has two very helpful tools at the end of each chapter. First, there is a timeline or “Chronicle of Events” for the period covered in the chapter which lists major happenings and trends, including laws enacted, epidemics, population figures, employment data and different public and private responses to poverty.

Here is an excerpt from the “Chronicle of Events” at the end of Chapter Two “Industrialization, Immigration, and Urban Poverty 1790-1864:”

“1793

An epidemic of yellow fever devastates Philadelphia; the city provides emergency relief to 1,200 households each week.

1800

The population of New York City is 60,515.

Approximately 60,000 people live in the Philadelphia area.

1810

The population of New York City reaches 96,373.

1812

War with England reduces foreign trade; domestic manufacturing expands.

1815

The resumption of peace results in an influx of imported goods and domestic wage cuts and layoffs.

New York State spends $245,000 on poor relief.

1819

The United States enters an economic depression known as the Panic of 1819; 500,000 workers are unemployed.” (p. 31-32 Reef.)

If you look carefully at the timeline above, you will notice that external events like epidemics, wars, and trade imbalances have a great effect on the economic well-being of people.

WITNESS logo originally designed

 in 1996, Chiat\Day, flickr.com

The second end-of-chapter tool is the “Eyewitness Testimony.” This section is composed of quotations from public officials, reporters and editors of newspapers, ministers, staff of almshouses/poorhouses, and people who worked directly with the poor. I found this section particularly moving and sometimes alarming. It is in this testimony that you see two very different philosophies of what causes poverty and how to deal with it. Before taking a look at some of this personal testimony, let’s look at the genesis of these philosophies.

One attitude toward the poor has its roots 2,000 years B.C., became embedded in the sacred texts of the major religions of the world, and continues to a large extent today. (p. 1-2 Trattner) This attitude is that the poor are in their unfortunate position as a result of outside events (such as poor health, unemployment, disability etc.) and deserve to be helped by those with more means in the form of government aid. 

But this charitable philosophy, which flourished in America from colonial times through the mid-eighteenth century, was to have a competing belief that was born from many factors, including: the continuing flow of impoverished immigrants, concentration of the poor in cities which drained public resources, and the feeling on the part of many who had “made it” that only those who were lazy and didn’t take advantage of all the opportunities America offered fell into poverty. (p. 53, Trattner.)

Yard of tenement, New York, N.Y., Detroit Publishing Co. , 

between 1900 and 1910, LC-DIG-det-4a18585, 

Library of Congress Online Catalog.

Now, let’s look at some personal testimonials from Reef’s book that illustrate the opposing philosophies of poverty. These are from “Eyewitness Testimony” at the end of Chapter Two “Industrialization, Immigration, and Urban Poverty 1790-1864:”

This witness, Rev.Ward Stafford, although a man of the cloth, believed that since the poor bore much responsibility for their circumstances:

 “…many charitable institutions, or institutions for affording pecuniary or other equivalent aid to the indigent, exert, on the whole, an unhappy influence on society. Is it not true, that, by these institutions…provision is in fact made for idleness and other vices? If people believe, that they shall be relieved when in distress, they will not generally make exertions, will not labour when they are able and have the opportunity.” Ward Stafford, missionary to the poor of New York City, March 1817, New Missionary Field, p. 43.  (p. 35 Reef.)

For the other side of the debate on the poor, we have this testimony from yet another minister:

“[T]he paupers and the beggars do not constitute the sum total of the POOR. Would to God they did. The great mass of the poor are those who are struggling by toil, privation, and even in destitution, to get bread and clothing for themselves and children, and a place to shelter them from the cold and the storm, without begging, or calling upon the public authorities for aid.” G.W. Quinby, Universalist minister in Yarmouth, Maine, 1856, The Gallows, the Prison, and the Poor-Houses, p. 295. (p. 45 Reef.)

Lights and Shadows of New York life: 
A Woman’s Story of Gospel,
Temperance, Mission and Rescue Work,  
by Helen Campbell, Thomas W. Knox and 
Thomas Byrnes, Hartford,
 Conn: A.D. Worthington
 & Co., 1893, http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-
3:FHCL:614256 p. 275

Later in his testimony, Rev. Quinby describes the horrid conditions that the poor lived under in major American cities in the nineteenth century:

“…I see them living—suffering in garrets and cellars—and pent-up rooms—with no ventilation; damp, filthy, destructive to health and happiness. I see the widow and the orphan—and the honest poor man, with a large family—weak and sickly himself from long and constant toil to furnish bread and clothing for his dear ones.” (p. 45 Reef.)

Lights and Shadows of New York life: A Woman’s Story of Gospel, 

Temperance, Mission and Rescue Work, 

by Helen Campbell, Thomas W. Knox and 

Thomas Byrnes, Hartford, Conn: A.D. 

Worthington & Co., 1893,

 http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL:614256 p. 264 

These two opposing viewpoints towards the poor that we have seen in those who worked directly with them can also be seen in society at large during the early years of America. During the time that most people lived in small villages, worked on farms and didn’t travel far, poverty was manageable: the poor were your relatives or neighbors. Of course, you helped them. But as the nineteenth century dawned, the Industrial Revolution changed poverty. Cities were beacons to the rural poor from America and abroad with their factories that promised jobs. But these jobs were tied to economic conditions that ebbed and flowed.  

Gradually through the nineteenth century, the urban poor filled crowded tenements which became cesspools of disease. The larger society began taking notice of these wretched conditions when it became apparent that disease cannot be relegated to the poor. In “Eyewitness Testimony” at the end of Chapter Two “Industrialization, Immigration, and Urban Poverty 1790-1864,” we hear from Marcus T. Reynolds, an architect, who warned against ignoring the suffering of the poor in The Housing of the poor in American Cities (1892) pp. 34-35:  

“Of all the evils which are due to the tenement-house system, the one that concerns the public most directly is the danger…from the presence in the tenement district of contagious and infectious diseases….The working people, who spend the night in such dirty and disease-breeding places, disperse in the morning, and by the nature of their occupations, find their way to all portions of the city, and are thrown in contact with all classes of society.” (p. 99-100 Reef.)

The tenement - a menace to all, Udo J. Keppler, N.Y., 

 J. Ottmann Lith. Co., Puck Bldg., 

1901 March 20, LC-DIG-ppmsca-25509,  

Library of Congress Online Catalog.

Dr. Trattner also notes that a motive of nineteenth century charity was the need to protect the social order. He quotes a member of the New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, formed in 1843, who suggested that if society does not help the poor:

(they will) “over-run the city as thieves and beggars and endanger the security of property and life.” (records of the New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, formed in 1843, p. 69, Trattner.)

From the depths, William Balfour Ker, c1906, LC-USZ62-45985, Library of Congress Online Catalog.

We have thus seen the operation of two different attitudes toward poverty in America from the 1600s through the 1800s. The Industrial Revolution changed the onus of social welfare from a village matter to a large urban concern. Public assistance to the poor mirrored the feeling of society at large.