Immigration
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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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 TodayAMERICA
Written by Neil Diamond
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.