Immigration

1. Describe the causes of the immigration of Southern and Eastern Europeans, Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese to America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Many imigrants came to the United States because of the gold rush in California. They also tryed to escape religous persecution. They left to get away from the rising population. They wanted to flee political turmoil and they wanted to find high paying jobs.










2. Describe the journey immigrants endured and their experiences at United States immigration stations.
By the 1870s, almost all the immigrants travled by steamship. The trip across the Atlantic Ocean from Eyrope took approximately one week, while the Pacific crossing from Asia took nearly three weeks. Many immigrants travled with the cheapest accomodations in a ship's cargo holds. Rarely allowed to exercise or get a breath of fresh air. They had to sleep in lice infested bunks and share a toilet with other passengers. Disease spreads quickly in these conditions and many immigrants died before they reached their destination.