Immigration in the 19th Century vs. Now - Research Paper Example

America is a secular democratic country with high levels of living standards and equal respect to all religions which makes America the paradise of immigrants now. On the other hand, poverty and poor living standards forced people from all over the world to immigrate to America in the nineteenth century. This paper briefly compares and contrasts the current and nineteenth century immigration to America. Nineteenth century witnessed industrial revolution in America. The evolution of better technologies and advancements in science helped America to focus more on industrial development in the nineteenth century.

Factories and manufacturing units established large in number during this period which forced people from other parts of the world to immigrate to America because of the scope of getting better jobs “Majorities of immigrants came during the 1820s - 1890s were mostly from Ireland and Germany. Famine and poverty in Ireland, and political upheaval in Germany brought about five million immigrants” (Immigration and Industrialization in the Nineteenth century). Though life in Ireland was cruel, immigrating to America was not a joyful event.

it was referred to as the American Wake for these people knew they would never see Ireland again. Those who pursued this path did so only because they knew their future in Ireland would only be more poverty, disease, and English oppression. America became their dream (Irish Immigrants in America during the 19th Century) The nineteenth century immigrants mainly focused in getting jobs in American industrial units. However, current immigrants are not only exploring job opportunities, but also exploring the opportunities for establishing small scale businesses in America.

Many of the current Indian and Pakistani immigrants have their own industrial units in America. Many of the people who are relocating to America at present are looking for opportunities to establish their own business units in America, rather than exploring the possibilities of getting a job. The nineteenth century immigrants got only lowly paid hard jobs with high amount of risks. The scope for a better future forced them to accept risky jobs (Immigration and Industrialization in the Nineteenth century).

On the other hand the current immigrant community is not much keen in accepting risky jobs. They always give preferences to safe and secure jobs with the chances of getting a decent salary. Mexicans were another prominent community which started to immigrate to America during the latter part of the nineteenth century. Poor administration, low wages, poverty, increasing population etc in Mexico forced Mexicans to cross the border, both through legal and illegal channels. Mexico and America are neighboring countries which helped the Mexicans to cross the borders easily.

Currently Mexicans are the largest minority groups in America. The flow of immigrants from Mexico to the United States has declined sharply since mid-decade. The Mexican-born population in the U.S., which had been growing earlier in the decade, was 11.5 million in early 2009. That figure is not significantly different from the 11.6 million Mexican immigrants in 2008 or the 11.2 million in 2007 (Passel). The recent recession problems in America are suspected as the major reason for the stabilization of Mexican immigration.

The American economic growth was seriously affected