Nationalism And Nativism In The 1800s

Improved Essays
The United States is often referred to as a Nation of Immigrants. Every person in America is either an immigrant or their ancestors were immigrants. A major period of immigration occurred in the mid nineteenth century. As population started to increase in the United States during the 19th century, immigration was a leading contributor to the population size. To some immigrants America was a safe haven from the events happening in their native country such as famine in Ireland to economic struggles in Germany. While to others it was opportunity to make it big in America because farm land was very cheap. This sparked people from many countries to move to America such as Irish, German, French, and Chinese. Mass immigration did not start until 1830’s. Immigration caused many mixed feelings for Americans, some saw immigration positively while others saw it negatively. This caused ideas such Nationalism and Nativism to be born. This essay will discuss the views of different Americans and how immigration impacted America from 1830-1850’s.
Most of the immigrants who came to America were either Irish or German. Immigration brought many Irish to America. Many Americans did not understand why so many Irish emigrants were showing up on their shores. Ireland was facing famine because their staple crop potato stopped growing. In a letter from a Rev.
…show more content…
One way is my introducing the belief of Nativism. Nativism is the policy of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants. The Know-Nothing Party was created by the belief of Nativism in the 1840s. They wanted to limit the amount of immigrants entering the United States through laws. Nativism caused hate crime to be committed on immigrants. The Nativist tried to “burn out the poor Irish families from their little homes”. This shows how some Americans disliked Irish immigrants and what they were willing to do to show their

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Because at least half of Ireland at that time, mainly her poor, depended heavily on the potato crop as the main source of nutrients, and the rest of Ireland consumed it in large…

    • 2233 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Gilded Age, an era of mixed progression, occurred from the 1870s to the early 1900s. The United States had just come out of its Reconstruction period prior to the Gilded Age; a newly established United States was ready to be molded, or rather, “gilded. ”Mark Twain, a famous author, named the era between the 1870s and early 1900s the Gilded Age. Twain gave this era such a name because this time period displayed American civilization to be cheap and flawed at its core. Although the economy was revolutionized, the abysmal conditions of workers, the social exclusion of immigrants, and the corrupt nature of politics proved Twain’s name for the time period to be appropriate.…

    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    During the period 1840 to 1929, the United States’ population was on a significant rise due to a major increase in immigrants. An increased combination of “pushes” and “pulls” improved migrations throughout the United States. Some push factors included poverty of farmers, overcrowding in cities, and religious persecution. Positive reasons for moving to the United States, or pull factors, included political and religious freedom, economic opportunities, and the abundance of industrial jobs in U.S. cities. There were many different reactions that came about from the increased migration of immigrants.…

    • 1157 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    For this assignment I have chosen to look more in depth at Immigration in the late nineteenth century until early twentieth century, and how this life changing experience was handled by different ethnic groups. In turn I will compare and contrast the essays of Victor Greene and Mark Wyman who both portray immigration in their own light. Victor Greens’s essay titled “Permanently Lost: The Trauma of Immigration” uses tools such as music and ballads to display how immigration effected certain ethnic groups and their families. While Mark Wyman’s “Coming and Going: Round - Trip to America” focuses on pamphlets given out in the workforce and more concrete evidence as to how and why immigration took place the way it did. To my mind Wyman’s use…

    • 1219 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Immigration in The United States during the progressive era resulted in an essential transformative period during American history. The United States was a beacon of hope for immigrants looking for prosperity and a fresh start. However, during the years 1880 through 1925, important transformations within the American economy occurred there were important such as the successful and lucrative industrialization and tensions arose regarding the government’s negative feelings and toward the large flow of immigrants and new cultures. Once the frontier was closed and became irrelevant as the United States settled, there was an illusion of hope for people immigrating to the US.…

    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Immigration Dbq Analysis

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Every year, even in the 1800s, hundreds of immigrants come into the United States looking for something they needed. Immigrants went through many hard times and had to give up a lot to get what they thought of as the life they wanted for themselves and their families. They found out what being an immigrant was like, faced push and pull factors, and found out how hard it was to get into the Unite States and become a citizen. What it’s like making it as an immigrant in the United States is a lot different that you would think. Many stories are told from an immigrant’s point of view and I find it shocking, “He [a labor boss] gave us very little money, and our clothes were some of those that were found on the street…”…

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Immigration In The 1800s

    • 1036 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Immigration became very popular in the late 1800’s, but why did immigrants come to America? Immigration is still changing today. There are now many illegal immigrants in the United States. It is becoming a bigger topic in news and political discussions. Immigration has changed, therefore the views of immigration now compared to the 1800’s have changed.…

    • 1036 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Immigrants are central to American identity. America is a nation comprised almost entirely of immigrants, which is something that cannot be said for many countries in the world. However; America also, paradoxically, has a history of anti-immigration sentiment. This sentiment is generally maintained by white Protestants who object to the number, national origin, religious practices, or race of other immigrants. This nativist sentiment is embodied in the Know Nothing Party of the 1850s, and although that party became defunct relatively quickly, the sentiment remained.…

    • 1441 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Andrew Jackson Dbq

    • 531 Words
    • 3 Pages

    During the era of 1820-1830, Jackson’s Democrats created a popular political party. Democrats were, led by the leader Jackson. He was a war idol and was a man who lived for the country and its people. Jackson’s followers who supported him and shaped the party were also for the public. Such standards were shown throughout numerous times in the time period.…

    • 531 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The immigrants that entered the United States from the 1870’s through the 1920’s proved that they were different from any immigrants that came before them. This generation of immigrants was the most diverse group of people to enter this country during this period. Not only were they from different ethical backgrounds, they practiced different religions, their rules of life were different from ours, and among many other things. While the immigrants had, a hard time living in the US, they still defeated the odds and achieved economic success in multiple institutions. Unfortunately, because these groups of people changed the dynamics of the United States, Americans took that as a threat to the social, economic, religious, political, and overall…

    • 1059 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    At the beginning of the time period, the American population generally had a positive outlook on immigrants because they helped boost the economy. As time began to progress, more and more hatred began to grow because immigrants began taking jobs from citizens and therefore, Americans started to want a quota rule. Following the First World War, the effects of the war and America’s involvement in foreign affairs led Americans to retain their status of isolation once…

    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The United States experienced a flood of immigrants from all over the world, during the 1860’s to the 1920’s, which can also be called the colonial era. The immigrants that entered the United States had many intentions to improve there life. Whether they come for another chance at life, or they come to escape battles, The United States was the go-to option. The United States is home to the American flag, which symbolizes freedom and protection, which is exactly what these immigrants wanted and needed. An example of a popular immigrant group that came to the United States were the Italians.…

    • 1725 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    These effects influenced the Andrew Carnegie’s journey to the United States as well as hundreds of thousands of Scottish immigrants. During the late 1800s, millions people immigrated to America fleeing religious, racial, and political persecution, or seeking relief from a lack of economic opportunity. While large-scale immigration created many social tensions, it also produced a new vitality in the cities and states in which the immigrants settled. The newcomers helped transform American society and culture, demonstrating that diversity, as well as unity, is a source of national…

    • 797 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Nationalism In The 1800s

    • 950 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The 1800s saw the rise of nationalism throughout Europe and it led to the unification of the Italian and German states. Nationalism continues to play a role in European politics in the modern world and is one of the most important developments of the 1800s. Although nationalism played an important role in Europe in the 1800s, its definition varied and this variation would inspire different causes. The differences in the definition of nationalism given by Giuseppe Mazzini and Ernest Renan significantly impacted their respective countries of Italy and France in different ways. Mazzini and Renan exploited their definitions of nationalism to achieve specific goals.…

    • 950 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Immigration Beyond Ellis Island Kazi I. Hossain Kazi Hossain is a professor in the Education department at Millersville University, Millersville, PA. The major focus of the text is that teaching aimed at developing an appropriate awareness of the immigration process is essential in K-12. The reading was assigned to give us an updated discussion on immigration, one that centers on the legal process and experiences of a modern day American immigrant. The text was a good source of immigration policy, however, my highschool did spend a considerable amount of time teaching and making us discuss modern immigration policy and issues.…

    • 1571 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays