The Important of the Immigrants in the USA - Essay Example

The actions of immigrants to reach United States in the modern world have come to be derided and admired in equal measure but this has not deterred immigrants from putting in the effort to get to this country because they believe that they can have better lives within it (Foner & Fredrickson 2005, p.46). Those who deride immigration, whether legal or illegal, often do not take into account that it is immigrants who help in the development of a large chunk of the economy as well as its society and political scene so that America has become a unique and diverse society.

Most of the immigrants to United States in the eighteenth century tended to come from northern Europe specifically Germany, Britain, Netherlands, and Scandinavian countries. These immigrants often came to this US to take advantage of the opportunities available and start their life afresh. The immigration that took place between the mid eighteenth century and the first half of nineteenth century was as a result of the agrarian revolution in Europe which forced many peasants out of their land, which they had worked for generations (Evans, 2001).

As a result, many of them came to United States because it held the promise of significant land holdings, as well as work in its growing and developing cities. Those immigrants who came to United States after 1850 were predominantly of eastern European origin as well as of Irish descent. While the former often came to United States to escape the almost unceasing state of conflict and poverty that affected their homelands, the Irish immigrated mainly because of the potato famine that hit Ireland during this period.

Most of these immigrants to United States from Eastern Europe were illiterate and often ended up working menial jobs in cities as New York and Chicago in order to make ends meet. From mid-20th century, immigrants ceased being predominantly from Europe and instead from across the world, as many individuals wanted to come to