The great Armenian migration to America happened in three waves beginning in the 1890s. During the troubled final years of the Ottoman Empire, its prosperous Christian minorities becoming the targets of violent Turkish nationalism. A second wave of migration came after World War 1 , and the third wave began after World War 2.
The first wave of Armenians in America flooded into the greater Boston and New York, where nearly 90% of the immigrants joined the handful of relatives or friends who had arrived earlier. Many Armenians were drawn to Factories in New England, while others in New York started small businesses, later arrivals settled in Los Angeles which today has the largest Armenian community in America.
Using their entrepreneurial backgrounds …show more content…
Still, traditional Armenian culture so closely resembles American values that many Armenians feel they are “coming home” to America this enables them to make an easy transition to its free –market economy and social values. They share such values as independence, children are encouraged at an early age to develop their own goals in life. Many are impressed by how achievement oriented they are and how hard they work and play. A competitive spirit is often the motivating factor to work harder. A large percentage of immigrants become wealthy business people or educated community leaders within a decade or two of arrival, and feel an affinity with U.S. natives.
American society’s reception of Armenians is equally friendly. Armenians have experienced little prejudice in America. Armenians are a tiny minority, barely noticed by most Americans because Armenian newcomers are typically multilingual, English speaking Christians arriving into tight-knit families in which the head of the household is an educated professional, skilled craftsman, or businessperson readily absorbed in the U.S.
The first wave of Armenians in America flooded into the greater Boston and New York, where nearly 90% of the immigrants joined the handful of relatives or friends who had arrived earlier. Many Armenians were drawn to Factories in New England, while others in New York started small businesses, later arrivals settled in Los Angeles which today has the largest Armenian community in America.
Using their entrepreneurial backgrounds …show more content…
Still, traditional Armenian culture so closely resembles American values that many Armenians feel they are “coming home” to America this enables them to make an easy transition to its free –market economy and social values. They share such values as independence, children are encouraged at an early age to develop their own goals in life. Many are impressed by how achievement oriented they are and how hard they work and play. A competitive spirit is often the motivating factor to work harder. A large percentage of immigrants become wealthy business people or educated community leaders within a decade or two of arrival, and feel an affinity with U.S. natives.
American society’s reception of Armenians is equally friendly. Armenians have experienced little prejudice in America. Armenians are a tiny minority, barely noticed by most Americans because Armenian newcomers are typically multilingual, English speaking Christians arriving into tight-knit families in which the head of the household is an educated professional, skilled craftsman, or businessperson readily absorbed in the U.S.