# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A New Surge of Growth | German | Immigration and Relocation in U.S. History | Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
German immigrants boarding a ship for America European Reading Room
German immigration boomed in the 19th century. Wars in Europe and America had slowed the arrival of immigrants for several decades starting in the 1770s, but by 1830 German immigration had increased more than tenfold. From that…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Spanish-speaking people have lived in North America since the Spaniards colonized Mexico in the sixteenth century, and Mexicans have long played a crucial role in the continent's culture and history. Mexican culture brought many firsts to North America: One of the earliest celebrations of Thanksgiving took place in either New Mexico or El Paso; the first university in North America was founded in Mexico City; the first printing press on the continent arrived in Mexico in 1538, more than a century before printing came to New England.

Mission Concepción.

Mexicans first arrived in present-day New Mexico in 1598 and founded the city of Santa Fe in 1610. By 1800, Spain had governed Mexico as a colony for almost 300 years. Although Spaniards held positions of power, the people of Mexico were primarily mestizos--people of both Spanish and indigenous heritage.

The northern sections of Mexico, especially the lands north of the Rio Grande, were lightly populated well into the 19th century. Mexican government officials, merchants, and a few trappers and hunters from the U.S. lived in small settlements, mostly around a series of mission churches. This arrangement remained largely undisturbed after Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821.

The Land Changes Hands

In 1846, everything changed. War broke out between the U.S. and Mexico over the U.S. annexation of Texas. Mexico was defeated, and in 1848 the two nations signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This treaty gave the victorious nation an enormous amount of land, including what would later become the states of California and Texas, as well as parts of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Nevada, in exchange for a token payment of $15 million.

Scribner's statistical atlas of the U.S., Plate 16

Scribner's statistical atlas of the U.S., Plate 15

One more important piece of land changed hands in 1854, when the U.S. bought what is now southern Arizona and New Mexico from the Mexican government for $10 million. This land deal, known as the Gadsden Purchase, brought the U.S. a much-coveted railroad route, and helped open the West to further expansion.

With two strokes of a pen, the larger nation had expanded its size by one-third. And almost overnight, tens of thousands of Mexican citizens had become residents of the United States.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Becoming Part of the United States | Mexican | Immigration and Relocation in U.S. History | Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Spanish-speaking people have lived in North America since the Spaniards colonized Mexico in the sixteenth century, and Mexicans have long played a crucial role in the continent's culture and history.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Child waiting to be sent to internment camp, 1942

Japanese immigrants began their journey to the United States in search of peace and prosperity, leaving an unstable homeland for a life of hard work and the chance to provide a better future for their children. However, before the first generation of immigrants could enjoy the fruits of their labor, they had to overcome hostile neighbors, harsh working conditions, and repeated legislative attacks on their very presence in the country. Acceptance came only after the immigrants and their children were forced to endure one of the 20th century's worst crimes against civil liberties, and from that crucible fought to claim their place in the life of the nation.

An Open Door

In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry of the United States Navy sailed gunships into Tokyo harbor, forcing a reclusive nation to open itself up to trade with the U.S., and incidentally providing the people of Japan with an unprecedented glimpse of an alien culture.

Osaka street scene

Since 1639, Japan had maintained an official policy of isolation from Europe and most of its colonies, and emigration was strictly controlled. However, in the years that followed Perry's arrival, Japan underwent a tremendous social transformation, and for many Japanese the U.S. increasingly became a model not only of modern military might, but also of a desirable way of life.

After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan's rapid urbanization and industrialization brought about great social disruption and agricultural decline. As farmers were forced to leave their land, and workers were left jobless by foreign competition, they looked more and more for a better life outside the islands of their homeland. As Japanese wages plummeted, and word of a booming U.S. economy spread, the lure of the United States became difficult to resist.

Woman with child, Tokyo

Some of the earliest Japanese immigration to lands that would later become part of the United States was illegal. In 1868, the Hawaiian consul general secretly hired and transported 148 contract laborers to Hawaii. Beginning in the 1880s, however, legal barriers to emigration began to drop, and major emigration soon followed. The Japanese government showed significant interest in the process, often selecting emigrants from a pool of applicants, favoring ambitious young men with good connections. Many prospective emigrants enlisted the support of prominent citizens to underwrite their expensive journey to the U.S. At first, most emigrants planned to return home eventually, and saw their sojourn as a quick path to wealth and respectability.

Between 1886 and 1911, more than 400,000 men and women left Japan for the U.S. and U.S.-controlled lands, and significant emigration continued for at least a decade beyond that. The two most popular destinations were the archipelago of Hawaii and America's Pacific coast. In both places, the immigrants would discover a new and radically different way of life, but the two destinations each responded to, and were shaped by, the newcomers in a unique and distinctive way.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Japanese | Immigration and Relocation in U.S. History | Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Child waiting to be sent to internment camp, 1942 Japanese immigrants began their journey to the United States in search of peace and prosperity, leaving an unstable homeland for a life of hard work and the chance to provide a better future for their children.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Chinese Exclusion Act: 1882, Definition & Immigrants - HISTORY

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was one of several discriminatory U.S. laws that curbed Chinese immigration and made Chinese people ineligible for naturalization.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Irish immigration to America after 1846 was predominantly Catholic. The vast majority of those that had arrived previously had been Protestants or Presbyterians and had quickly assimilated, not least because English was their first language, and most (but certainly not all) had skills and perhaps some small savings on which to start to build a new life. Very soon they had become independent and prosperous. More about pre-1846 immigration here .

Irish immigration to America: The Famine years

The arrival of destitute and desperate Catholics, many of whom spoke only Irish or a smattering of English, played out very differently. Suspicious of the majority Anglo-American-Protestants (a historically-based trait that was reciprocated), and limited by a language barrier, illiteracy and lack of skills, this wave of Irish immigrants sought refuge among their own kind.

The arrival of destitute and desperate Catholics, many of whom spoke only Irish or a smattering of English, played out very differently.

Suspicious of the majority Anglo-American-Protestants (a historically-based trait that was reciprocated), and limited by a language barrier, illiteracy and lack of skills, this wave of Irish immigrants sought refuge among their own kind.

At this time, when famine was raging in Ireland, Irish immigration to America came from two directions: by transatlantic voyage to the East Coast Ports (primarily Boston and New York) or by land or sea from Canada, then called British North America.

Ireland was also part of Britain, and fares to Canada were cheaper than fares to the USA, especially after 1847. Those that survived the journey often had just one thought on their minds: to be free of British oppression. While many chose to settle in Canada, substantially more managed to find the physical and financial resources to reach America.

The arrival of destitute and desperate Catholics, many of whom spoke only Irish or a smattering of English, played out very differently.

Suspicious of the majority Anglo-American-Protestants (a historically-based trait that was reciprocated), and limited by a language barrier, illiteracy and lack of skills, this wave of Irish immigrants sought refuge among their own kind.

At this time, when famine was raging in Ireland, Irish immigration to America came from two directions: by transatlantic voyage to the East Coast Ports (primarily Boston and New York) or by land or sea from Canada, then called British North America.

Ireland was also part of Britain, and fares to Canada were cheaper than fares to the USA, especially after 1847.

Those that survived the journey often had just one thought on their minds: to be free of British oppression. While many chose to settle in Canada, substantially more managed to find the physical and financial resources to reach America.

Irish immigration to America - Discrimination

Notwithstanding the lack of trust between the predominantly Protestant America-born middle class and the impoverished Catholic immigrants who arrived in the mid-19th century, the main problem for the Irish immigrant was a lack of skill.

Of course, there were some who were blacksmiths, stonemasons, bootmakers and the like, but the majority had had no formal training in anything.

On passenger manifests the men claimed to be labourers; women said they were domestic servants. In most cases, they had little or no previous experience in these roles; these positions were the limit of their aspirations.

The Boston Pilot

A job - a wage - was what they were seeking, and they didn't really care too much about the detail. Being unskilled, uneducated and typically illiterate, they accepted the most menial jobs that other immigrant groups did not want. So-called 'Elegant Society' looked down on them, and so did nearly everyone else!

They were forced to work long hours for minimal pay. Their cheap labour was needed by America's expanding cities for the construction of canals, roads, bridges, railroads and other infrastructure projects, and also found employment in the mining and quarrying industries.

When the economy was strong, Irish immigrants to America were welcomed. But when boom times turned down, as they did in the mid-1850s, social unrest followed and it could be especially difficult for immigrants who were considered to be taking jobs from Americans. Being already low in the pecking order, the Irish suffered great discrimination. 'No Irish Need Apply' was a familiar comment in job advertisements.

The Boston Pilot

Irish immigration to America: Steamship competition

After 1855, the tide of Irish immigration to America levelled off. However, the continuing steady numbers encouraged ship builders to construct bigger vessels. Most of them still made the voyage east with commodities to feed England's industrial revolution, but shipowners began to realise the economic advantages of specialising in steerage passengers.

Conditions onboard began to improve -not to a standard that could even remotely be called comfortable today, but improved, all the same.

By 1855 iron steamships of over 1500 tons were becoming increasingly common, and competition was growing. So much so that steerage fares on steamships were often lower than on sailing ships, and voyage time was considerably quicker at less than two weeks.

The reduction of voyage time was a two-fold blessing. Not only did this mean the emigrant had to suffer the discomfort of steerage for a shorter period, it also made the concept of Irish immigration to America -– the leaving of family and homeland -– seem less permanent.

As the size of emigrant ships grew, so it became increasingly common for Irish emigrants to travel to Liverpool, across the Irish Sea in Northwest England, to catch their boat to a new life in America. This huge port could accommodate the larger ships more easily than the small Irish harbours.

Immigration in New York: Castle Garden

New York was the principal entry point to the United States throughout the 19th century and on 3rd August 1855, a Board of Commissioners of Immigration opened the city's first immigrant reception station.

Based at Castle Garden, near the Battery at the southern end of Manhatten, it had earlier been a fort, a cultural centre and a theatre. Now it was pressed into service as a place to receive immigrants.

More than 8 million immigrants of all nationalities passed through Castle Garden before it closed on April 18, 1890. It is now a museum, and also the ticket office for the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Surviving Castle Gardens' records are available on a free online database that also includes a sizeable collection of records dating from 1830 for other ports in America.

The records are mixed together, however, so if you find an entry for one of your ancestors, you will need to verify the port of entry. This can be done either through searching a microfilm of the ship's manifest at NARA or through Ancestry's online collection (fee charged). See below for links for more information.

Irish immigration to America: the turn of the century

Of course, this was not the lot of the majority. In the 1900 census there were still hundreds of thousands of Irish immigrants living in poverty, mostly in urban slums. But economic circumstances were improving for a significant proportion, and the Irish, as a group, were gaining footholds in the workplace, especially in the labour or trade union movement, the police and the fire service.

Their numbers helped. The large Irish populations of cities such as Boston, Chicago and New York were able to get their candidates elected to power, so launching the Irish American political class.

At the turn of the century, Irish born immigrants made up 2.12% of the US population. More importantly, Irish Americans - those Americans born to Irish parents - made up 6.53%. A sizeable group, indeed.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
An overview of Irish immigration to America from 1846 to the 1900s

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Irish immigration to America after 1846 was predominantly Catholic. The vast majority of those that had arrived previously had been Protestants or Presbyterians and had quickly assimilated, not least because English was their first language, and most (but certainly not all) had skills and perhaps some small savings on which to start to build a new life.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Widespread poverty and starvation cast a shadow over Russia during the late 1800s. For Jews, forced relocation to desolate areas coupled with ongoing persecutions and killings called pogroms inspired mass emigration. Between 1880 and 1910, more than two million hopeful Russians set out on foot, bound for port cities further east, where many sailed to the United States. Almost half of the newcomers put down roots in New York City, Boston, and Chicago, taking jobs in bustling factories, many as garment workers. Those who preferred rural living reaped the benefits of the Homestead Act and set up farms across the West, while still others worked in mills and mines in the American heartland. Russians contributed their diverse cultural traditions and devout faith (for some Judaism and others Russian Orthodox) to the places they settled. Unlike immigrants from other countries, few returned to Russia-America had become their homeland.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Russian Immigration to America from 1880-1910 - Ancestry Insights

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Widespread poverty and starvation cast a shadow over Russia during the late 1800s. For Jews, forced relocation to desolate areas coupled with ongoing persecutions and killings called pogroms inspired mass emigration. Between 1880 and 1910, more than two million hopeful Russians set out on foot, bound for port cities further east, where many sailed to the United States.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Italian earthquake refugees board ship for the U.S., 1909.

Most of this generation of Italian immigrants took their first steps on U.S. soil in a place that has now become a legend-Ellis Island. In the 1880s, they numbered 300,000; in the 1890s, 600,000; in the decade after that, more than two million. By 1920, when immigration began to taper off, more than 4 million Italians had come to the United States, and represented more than 10 percent of the nation's foreign-born population.

What brought about this dramatic surge in immigration? The causes are complex, and each hopeful individual or family no doubt had a unique story. By the late 19th century, the peninsula of Italy had finally been brought under one flag, but the land and the people were by no means unified. Decades of internal strife had left a legacy of violence, social chaos, and widespread poverty. The peasants in the primarily poor, mostly rural south of Italy and on the island of Sicily had little hope of improving their lot. Diseases and natural disasters swept through the new nation, but its fledgling government was in no condition to bring aid to the people. As transatlantic transportation became more affordable, and as word of American prosperity came via returning immigrants and U.S. recruiters, Italians found it increasingly difficult to resist the call of "L'America".

Passport used by Italian immigrants in 1909.

This new generation of Italian immigrants was distinctly different in makeup from those that had come before. No longer did the immigrant population consist mostly of Northern Italian artisans and shopkeepers seeking a new market in which to ply their trades. Instead, the vast majority were farmers and laborers looking for a steady source of work-any work. There were a significant number of single men among these immigrants, and many came only to stay a short time. Within five years, between 30 and 50 percent of this generation of immigrants would return home to Italy, where they were known as ritornati.

Immigrants coming ashore, ca. 1920.

Those who stayed usually remained in close contact with their family in the old country, and worked hard in order to have money to send back home. In 1896, a government commission on Italian immigration estimated that Italian immigrants sent or took home between $4 million and $30 million each year, and that "the marked increase in the wealth of certain sections of Italy can be traced directly to the money earned in the United States."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Great Arrival | Italian | Immigration and Relocation in U.S. History | Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Italian earthquake refugees board ship for the U.S., 1909. Most of this generation of Italian immigrants took their first steps on U.S. soil in a place that has now become a legend-Ellis Island. In the 1880s, they numbered 300,000; in the 1890s, 600,000; in the decade after that, more than two million.