Has America always wanted 'your poor, your tired, your huddled masses'?Immigration is as old as human history. People move from one place to another for many reasons. When migration occurs across a national border, it is called immigration. When relocation happens within the same country, it is termed emigration. Historians often attribute the movement to "push-pull" factors. Sometimes conditions at home become so dangerous or challenging that people are forced to move elsewhere. Wars, famines, economic issues or political oppression are often "push" factors encouraging people to seek safety or better conditions somewhere else. Sometimes opportunities in a new land attract newcomers. Cheap and fertile farmlands in the United States lured hundreds of thousands of immigrants in the latter 19th century. Political and religious freedom, good jobs and educational opportunities "pulled" many to America to seek a fresh start in the states. Show
Immigration to IowaHistorians usually identify three waves of immigration to Iowa, characterized by the national origin of the immigrants. The fertile Iowa prairies offered for sale at $1.25 an acre attracted thousands from northern Europe and the British Isles. The state government and railroad companies wrote glowing accounts of Iowa’s promise and distributed brochures across Europe in native languages to encourage migration. Germans and Irish were the top two contingents respectively, but British, Dutch, Norwegian and Czech families also swelled Iowa’s population. While new arrivals often formed tightly-knit ethnic communities, they also mingled with native-born settlers from the Ohio River Valley and the Upper South. They arrived with their state churches — Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican — and established newspapers in their native language. During World War I, patriotism in support of the United States often attacked those who had maintained strong cultural ties to their European homeland, especially the Germans. By the time the fighting ceased, Iowa had become more homogenized with less emphasis on cultural diversity. A second wave of immigration began toward the end of the 19th century and continued through the 1920s. Southern and Eastern Europeans brought new faces to the eastern and Midwestern cities, but also to smaller towns. Italians, Croatians, Greeks and Russians took jobs in coal mines and meat packing plants. Mexicans began heading north to fill jobs during World War I. Unlike native-born American groups and immigrants from Northern Europe who were predominately Protestant, the second-wave immigrant groups brought Catholic affiliations and unfamiliar languages. Sometimes they came as families, but frequently a single male would come over first, get a job and sponsor a brother or nephew. The two would work together to buy tickets for other family members until extended families were reunited in America. At the national level, native-born Americans feared the growing numbers of these new arrivals. Congress passed laws restricting immigration from southern and eastern Europe (and Asia) in favor of northern Europeans. Civil wars, political oppression and poverty sent a third wave of immigrants to Iowa. In the 1970s, Iowa’s Governor Robert Ray became the only governor in the nation to initiate a government-sponsored resettlement program for southeast Asians who were the victims of the Vietnam War. Refugees from Somalia, Bosnia and other nations in upheaval found their way to Iowa. Churches became active in sponsoring immigrants and helping them to adapt to their new Iowa homeland. Mexicans and other immigrants from Latin American nations found work in agriculture and meat packing. Mechanization in Iowa meat-packing plants created demand that immigrants were willing to take, and towns with these plants — Perry, Storm Lake, Marshalltown — soon attracted a sizable migrant population. Schools faced challenges teaching classes to many students whose native language was not English. African Americans and IowaAfrican Americans in Iowa present a unique history. While some African-American Iowans in the past 50 years came directly from African nations, most are from families that moved north at some point from the American South. The first African Americans in the state often lived in Mississippi River towns with the direct water connection to the South. Others came to the state recruited by meat-packing plants or coal companies. When African-American workers were hired to replace striking white workers, communities dealt with racial tensions. Even when Iowa laws made discrimination in housing, transportation, education or employment illegal, African Americans often faced hurdles to full integration. Who can come to America is a divisive political issue. Some want to keep the doors open for those seeking a better life, while others worry that immigrants may take jobs from native-born Americans or change the nature of American society. Regardless, Iowa has attracted newcomers since its earliest days and now boasts citizens from around the world. Supporting QuestionsHow have laws regulating immigration changed over time?
How have responses and supports for immigrants and refugees evolved over time?
How have attitudes or viewpoints about immigration changed over time?
Additional Resources
Iowa Core Social Studies Standards (9-12th Grade)Listed below are the Iowa Core Social Studies content anchor standards that are best reflected in this source set. The content standards applied to this set are high school-age level and encompass the key disciplines that make up social studies for 9th through 12th grade students.
What were the push and pull factors for immigrants?Push factors “push” people away from their home and include things like war. Pull factors “pull” people to a new home and include things like better opportunities. The reasons people migrate are usually economic, political, cultural, or environmental.
What were 3 push factors for immigration?Economic push factors of immigration include poverty, overpopulation, and lack of jobs. These conditions were widespread in Europe during the 1800's. As a result, many Irish, Italians, and Germans decided to go live in the U.S.
What are 5 push and pull factors?Push and pull factors. Economic migration - to find work or follow a particular career path.. Social migration - for a better quality of life or to be closer to family or friends.. Political migration - to escape political persecution or war.. Environmental - to escape natural disasters such as flooding.. Which is a pull factor that brought immigrants to the United States?Immigrants came to the United States because they wanted religious and political freedom for better living opportunities and to escape wars. 2. The immigrants adopted some American cultures; Americans adopted some immigrant cultures.
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What were some of the push or pull factors that brought immigrants to the US between 1870 and 1920?
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