Immigration During 1865-1898
Primary Documents
1. The above map is from the 1860s that depicts the Transcontinental Railroad. This is important in immigration because many of the Irish and Chinese immigrated to America to help build this crucial transportation. Irish immigrants joined the Union Pacific group that worked westward from Nebraska, and the Chinese immigrants joined the Central Pacific group that worked eastward from California.
2. This Newspaper Article clip highlights the nativism in America at the time. During much of the Gilded Age, immigration to America increased exponentially. Common American citizens did not approve of immigrants stealing jobs and infiltrating the average American culture. Eventually the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1883 was passed prohibiting immigration of Chinese laborers.
Photographs
This image shows Promontory Point, Utah on May 10, 1869. At Promontory Point, the Union Pacific and Central Pacific workers met. This marked the completion of the Transcontinental railroad as well as immigrants roles in our nation's history.
In this image, immigrant families are getting off the boats and heading into America, most likely New York. Immigrants only brought with them what they could carry. 2/3 of immigrants in America lived in cities or urban areas. They would also create ethnic neighborhoods which consisted of immigrants from the same country who surrounded themselves with familiar culture, food, religion, and language.
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This is an image of a political cartoon depicting the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1883. It shows the nativism and prejudices against immigrants within America during this time.
This is a picture of The Statue of Liberty at Ellis Island. Immigrants would come through Ellis Island in New York Harbor where they would be inspected by the U.S. government before they were allowed to enter the country.
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Graph/Data
This data table is showing the main sources of immigration to the United States from 1861-1890. The most immigrants came from England and Ireland during this time. This is most likely due to the economic issues and famine occurring in those areas.