Factors That Led to Large-Scale Immigration from Europe in the 19th and Early 20th Century - Essay Example

FACTORS THAT LED TO LARGE-SCALE IMMIGRATION FROM EUROPE IN THE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURY. Name Course Date Abstract During the colonial era, there was a massive immigration estimated to at least 30 million Europeans who moved to the United States of America. America has always fallen victim to immigrants Europeans from its earliest days. The massive immigrations were as a result of both push factors from Europe and pull factors from other countries. The push factors included unemployment, famine and other disastrous conditions, religious persecution and overpopulation. On the other hand, pull factors included America’s freedom of worship, cheap and productive lands for agricultural purposes, affordable housing, an array job and development opportunities and the European enclaves that had been formed earlier by other immigrants (Brubaker, 1989). The first large-scale migration occurred between 1820 and 1870 when more than 7 million immigrants were witnessed in the U.S in this era. Evidently, between 1880 and 1920, more Europeans invaded America, especially from Southern, Central, and Eastern Europe. This population also included Jews, who suffered religious persecution from the Russians. The exponential population growth in America however had implications to the economy, especially by the fact that most of the immigrants were school going and employment seeking individuals. The country had an opportunity for a better and cheaper labor workforce yet on the other hand, its economic developments was at stake because most of the immigrants had poor qualifications to most of employment opportunities, therefore they could only fit into modest employments. This affected the fiscal balance of the country as it spent more resources on welfare of the immigrants compared to their revenue contribution to the government. Table of Contents FACTORS THAT LED TO LARGE-SCALE IMMIGRATION FROM EUROPE IN THE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURY. 1 Name 1 Course 1 Date 1 Abstract 2 Table of Contents 3 Factors that led to large-scale immigration from Europe in the 19th and early 20th century. 4 Famine crisis in Ireland 4 Economic difficulties in German 5 Religious discrimination in Europe 6 Disasters and calamities in Italy 7 Population overgrowth in Europe 8 American Industrial revolution 9 French revolution 10 Economic Consequences of the Immigrations. 11 Reference 13 Factors that led to large-scale immigration from Europe in the 19th and early 20th century. Famine crisis in Ireland In the period between 1845 to 1850, an estimated population of a half a million migrated from Ireland to the United states of America in search for a better life. Ireland had been invaded by a devastating famine and disease outbreaks (Daly, 1986). More of this population joined their fellows at the U.S later in the end-century. In addition to the famine, the Irish peoples’ rights to land ownership had been infringed by the colonialists from British. The Catholics in specific, had been abolished from purchasing land and venturing into different professions in the state, as a result of the British rule’s social policies. The segregated population had no other means but to become tenants to British landlords who had grabbed their lands (Daly, 1986). Lack of access to land compromised food security of the state since a large population depended on potatoes as their staple food, yet they were vanishing from the land. A fungal disease, potato blight, inhibited the surviving potato farms in the early 1840s leading to low productivity. This crop failed for consecutive three years, leading to over 750, 000 deaths from emaciation and starvation (Daly, 1986). The peasant farmers found themselves in a devastating situation, full of debts and other liabilities due to the crop failures. People began to suffer from starvation and the British ruling government failed to intervene the situation leading to a state crisis. The British government left the matter to the free market for resolution, and this is the onset of rivalry between Britain and Ireland to-date. In this era, the European immigrants were estimated as one third of the America’s immigrants, mostly from Northern and Western Europe. They settled along the Coastal strip at the northern region of the U.S. By the 1930, according to statistics, more than 4.5 million people from Ireland had invaded the U.S (Daly, 1986). Economic difficulties in German The Germans from Europe on the other hand suffered from abject poverty in the mid-1800s. this condition forced some of them to flee to the U.S to seek for refuge. These conditions were worsened by political instability in the state. The low-class German population went down the streets through hunger riots and several violent disturbances that led to declaration of the German state under rebellion (Zimmermann, 1995). On the other hand, those who had secured jobs in the urban centers were affected by the significant drop of the economy, leading to deterioration of developed cities. Impacts of colonization include improved technology. Incorporation of technological systems in the European farming industries in the 19th century led to replacement of human workforce with machinery and robots. This came up as a result of industrial revolution. Other factories released affordable products to the markets, drifting away the European artisans ‘customers who had no competing power (Zimmermann, 1995). As a result, the Europeans farm employees also lost their jobs as the artisans could no longer earn a living. The Germans, especially who afforded the ability to travel migrated to the U.S, the only nation in the mid-19 century that opened borders to the German immigrants. There main focus was to seek for economic opportunities and developments. Some of the immigrants willingly became indentured servants since they could not meet the passage price, however, some were forced to serve the Americans after they had been kidnapped from the European cities. America had some factors that were considered attractive to the Germans (Zimmermann, 1995). Climatic conditions at Wisconsin were favorable for oat farming. The U.S received more than 5 million German immigrants in the 19th century, who bought land and settled in the Midwest cities like, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Milwaukee. According to the national census of 2000, more Americans claimed German ancestry than any other group (Morning, 2008). Religious discrimination in Europe Another significant reason for European immigration during the 19th and early 20th century was due to Religious persecution. In 1620, one hundred people (the Pilgrims) fled the European due to lack of freedom to exercise their religious affiliations (Joppke, 2007). A second group (the Puritans), of at least 2 million Jews between 1880 and 1920, migrated to the U.S from Eastern and Central Europe. The eastern European Jews, despite their vital contribution in culture, faced annihilation. They received a harsh treatment from other groups because of their religion and language. This led to a significant gap between the community and other Eastern European residents. They also suffered oppression from the laws which forced them into urban ghettos and restricted them to confide into the “shtetis,” i.e. small villages. Moreover, they had no right to land ownership neither did they have the freedom to make a living. Back in the 1880s, the eastern European Jews were affected by the brutal murders and riots sponsored by the state. The Russians claimed that the Jews had planned and facilitated the assassinated Tsar Alexander II, their Russian leader in 1881. This government played a key role in pogroms, Jewish massacres. They were evicted from their residential places by the ramping mobs and Russian soldiers, who burnt their villages and to slaughtered them. This was their breaking point after a long-time famine and poverty survival as the survivors migrated to America, defiling Czar’s legislative policies against migration. Moreover, between 1891 and 1920, another large number of Europeans also shifted to America. This resulted from the empire expansions by Russia and Austria-Hungary, who grabbed and dominated over smaller countries, Poland being one of them (Joppke, 2007). The Slovaks, the Slovenians, the Lithuanians and the Croatians among others were displaced alongside the Poles. Disasters and calamities in Italy Italy was faced with several adverse conditions unfavorable for humanity. In the 1870s, Italy experienced and exponential population growth as a result of increased birthrates and low mortality rates. This led to poverty, as its severity was evident in the southern province of Italy, Mezzogiorno. The province had the highest illiteracy rate (ten times more) at the late 1900s compared to the European states, according to studies (Basso et al., 2000). Moreover, the southern parts of Italy had been neglected by the Italian government whose dominant officials were from the northern regions. There was no room for economic development in the southern region because of the overprotection of industrial products from the northern side, yet the southerners suffered the high taxes imposed to them. Agricultural conditions in the southern region was poor as cultivation was hindered by deforestation and soil erosion. These issues portrayed lack of unity in the state In the 1907, a city near Naples was completely buried by the volcanic eruptions of Mount Vesuvius. With no relief, Mount Etna also erupted causing a further disastrous deterioration. A large mass of people, especially from Messina fell victims of these disasters and died as a result of an earthquake and a tidal wave in 1908. This earthquake stimulated a deadly tsunami that struck regions at the coast, killing more than 200,000 people and destroyed Reggio Calabria and Messina (Basso et al., 2000). The impacts were extreme to the extent that Sicily and the Italian mainland were separated by a water-filled rift between them. The government offered no help to the affected and the survivors. The few that survived had nothing left with them and they were in shock and grief. They thereafter migrated to the United States of America through traversing the transatlantic with hope to seek comfort and restart their lives. Population overgrowth in Europe In the early ages, Europe was an established country with plenty food and better shelters. It was experiencing a rapid industrialization and urbanization. This factor attracted many people into the country leading to an abnormal population growth. According to Thomas Malthus, (1789), the European population was increasing geometrically because of the decline in rates of deaths and an increased rate of births. This factor played a role in national food security, resulting to an outcry because the levels of food production were lower and could not sustain the increasing population. The overcrowding led to struggle and competition of resources, where only the strong and the incumbents could survive. The environmental conditions deteriorated as a result of difficulties in maintaining sanitation. The state became prevalent to hygiene related disease outbreaks leading to death of some people. Moreover, overcrowding at the cities led to increased crime rates and traffic. Most of the people relied on coal for fuel and this resulted to overuse of natural resources and dirt accumulation. This condition propelled to a situation where the European land carrying capacity was surpassed. The colonial landlords used overcrowding against the Europeans to flee them with reasons to venture into large scale agriculture. This was a push factor that steered a large-scale migration into other countries in search for fortune. Technological advancements led to a massive industrial action. This attracted new opportunities and people flooded in Europe in search for employments. The factories emitted hazardous greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These economic opportunities widened further the gap between the rich and the poor, as the wealthy managed to settle in the urban areas leaving the rural to the poor. The struggle to survive in the region became stiffer, and some people opted to move to other places in search of a better life. American Industrial revolution Apart from the ‘Push’ factors of immigration from Europe, the industrialization of America attracted a good number of Italians. This happen during the period when America was undergoing an intense growth in economic and industrial sectors due to incorporation of machineries and technology in industrial systems. Steam power had been replaced by electric power after the second revolution, and therefore factories had a better chance on production efficiency. The Americans were better in making muskets as a result of adoption of using interchangeable parts. Standard parts were made by the machine and assembled, this contributed to the second American Industrial Revolution. Factories and industries pulled more people from the rural areas to cities, and advanced from agrarian employment. Other developments cut across communication and transport improvements. These operations required both semi-skilled and unskilled workers in order to reduce on expenses to the highly-qualified personnel who demanded for a higher pay. These businesses opted to source their employees from Italy who found it worth to migrate to America. The immigrants also considered the fact that they would get a chance to work in an urban setup leaving behind the Agrarian kind of jobs. French revolution According to the Department of Homeland Security statistics (2008), in the 19th century, America received 353,000 French immigrants between the year 1820 and 1900. Their population rose in a geometric manner as decades passed. These immigrations were as a result of effects of political revolutions in France in 1830, 1848, and 1852 (Department of Homeland Security, 2008). America exhibited an atmospheric freedom and it stood a better chance to allow for individual prosperity. In 1849, there was a discovery of gold traces in Californian soil. From this period to 1851, more than 30,000 people from France moved to America. This was a limited opportunity that lured most French to compete with other immigrants especially from Asia, who had the same intentions. In a period between the 19th and 20th century, political instability and turmoil prevailed in France (Conklin et al., 2014). This led to chaos and violence in the streets, endangering the lives of those who could not afford security. This called for the need to immigrate to America, where there was peace. More French population were received in America in thousands after the fall of Paris Commune in 1870. The radical government ruled for 72 days after it was overpowered by the regular French Army who were bitter about the death of their two officers who were murdered by La Commune. The fight between the two during the “bloody week” was quite a massacre as innocent citizens were killed in questionable environments (Conklin et al., 2014). The Germans later took over and forced a significant French population out of the out of the Alsace-Lorraine province in 1871. The number of French Alsatians increased and thereafter went to the United states. During the early periods of the 20th century, the French were attracted to the booming economy of the American country. More numbers migrated to the state, both for permanent and temporary settlements. In the first decade of the 20th century, more French citizens came to America looking for work in its booming economy. According to the U.S. Census of 1870, 115,260 U.S. residents had ancestral origin of France and most of them settled in the Georgia, New York, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Economic Consequences of the Immigrations. According to the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) report, immigration has long-term negative economic implications (Weber and Weigand, 2016). In the late 1800’s, economic arose America, leading to an economic depression that lasted for four years. There was a 20% drop on income due to cases of unemployment. According to Weber and Weigand (2016), America had threats over its Gross Domestic Product. Its GDP value declined after the immigrations affecting also per capita values. However, another study by the London School of Economics suggested that the long-term implication of immigration may lead to an increased Gross Domestic Product (Friedberg and Hunt, 1995). This results from increased spending within the American economy. These largescale immigrations into the U.S led to overpopulation. An exponential increase in population in major cities was evident. According to statistics, (National Research Council, & Committee on Population, 1997) New York's population rose from 60,489 to 202,589 in the early 1800's. St. Louis' and Cincinnati cities experienced a ripple effect on the growth, whereby their populations increased twice after every nine years and seven years respectively. This condition led to over-use of resources, economic implications and environmental hazards. These immigrations may also lead to a draining fiscal impact according to the National Research Council (NRC) (1997). Most of the European immigrants had little education and less technical skills. Their qualifications limit them to modest employments and little pay. Their low income therefore dictate a low tax contribution to the economy. The government provides aids, help and welfare programs to the immigrants, including affordable social housing and other incentives. This makes them benefit from more resources and services than the revenue they contribute to the country though tax and other fees. NRC reported a range between $11.4 billion and $20.2 billion annual fiscal burden. (National Research Council, & Committee on Population, 1997). However, high population improves the economies of scale in a county, through improvements on work labor and outputs. Moreover, immigrations into the U.S led to a positive impact on the dependency ration. A larger percentage of the immigrants were the young and energetic students and job-seeking individuals. This was a significant increase to the labor workforce, an asset that contributes to high chances of output capacity. The young population outnumbers those who retire due to old age. Therefore, the country was guaranteed that more people will be available to pay taxes, an impact that improves the national budget (Smith, 2012). 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