Question

For this assessment, you may write either a letter to a friend or family member back home or a guide about immigration for people hoping to come to the United States, to explain what the process will be like. Your letter or guide should be written from the point of view of an Asian or European immigrant in the early 1900s.

Answer 1

Dear Friend

Coming into the United States as an immigrant from any part of the world, especially during the 1900´s is a real hassle and nothing like it was made out to be. To begin with, my expectations on what I would find and how my life would develop once I arrived here in New York deflated. Having come from Eastern Europe, and having had no money because of the depression and famine that hit Europe during the 1890´s, I was led to believe that once I arrived in America my life would change. I was approached then by a Padrone, recruiting agents from American companies that offer you jobs and a new chance in America and they offered me the world. But when I arrived, the reality was something entirely different. Because I am poor and couldn´t afford passage neither on first or second class, I was taken to the immigration port at Ellis Island, nothing more than a shack where millions of immigrants come every day. I was then detained for 4 hours while they asked me 29 questions, among which were, if I had family in America and if I had a job. But I was let go when they saw that I was no threat to them and their country. Because I was alone, I went out into the streets of New York and was faced with the stark reality. America was not as it was painted. I was met with unpaved roads, dirt, poverty, and also a lot of inequality between the poor and the rich of the city. Lots of factories and grime lined the small roads. Finally, I was found by a group of our fellow Eastern European brothers and they took me to their neighborhood. They have formed into clusters depending on their nationalities and state of life.

So prepare my friend, prepare well. America is a new chance at a good life, but it will be really hard to achieve and you must be ready for it.

Answer 2

Answer:

Where are you from?

Why did you leave your homeland?

How was your journey to the United States?

What happened to you when you arrived?

What is your new life like in America?  

Where do you live and what do you do every day?

What difficulties do you face because of who you are, where you came from, or where you live now?

I am from Asia, I am a Chinese immigrant. There are a lot of different people here. Most of them seemed to have arrived from northern and western European countries. They are referring to us migrating as the "old immigration wave" to the United States. I arrived on the West Coast (early 1850s). There are a lot here already. During the California Gold Rush, about 25,000 Chinese immigrants came to the United States.

Famine in China pushed Chinese people such as me and my family from our original homeland. We took the opportunity to come to America in hopes of securing jobs or land. The Midwest was what we hoped for (my family and I) with its open spaces available for farming was the best option. Immigrants from Asia were attracted to the West Coast for the same reason that European immigrants were drawn to the East Coast. Jobs created by industrialization pulled immigrants to the cities.                                          

         The overseas journeys for immigrants were very difficult. Most immigrants traveled below-deck areas where the ship's steering mechanisms were located. Many of us became sick during the long voyage in the cramped and dirty places.

All types of immigrants from Asia arrived at Angel Island, in the San Francisco Bay. Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which prohibited new people like us coming to the U.S. The Chinese Exclusion Act limited Chinese immigration. The act was supposed to last only ten years but was not repealed until 1943.Only people whose fathers were U.S. citizens could enter the United States. States were difficult for many newly arrived immigrants. Many bought counterfeit papers that identified them as children of citizens. Angel Island officials had us there for months before accepting or rejecting our people.

We arrived in California (1850s) seeking riches, but instead we ended up working as manual laborers. We (Chinese immigrants) did much of the work laying track from west to east on the transcontinental railroad. On the West Coast, Chinese immigrants labored first in the gold mines and later as railroad workers.  

We lived in overcrowded, poorly constructed apartment buildings. Our community worked in dirty and dangerous factories, small shops, or mills called sweatshops. The conditions for these jobs were absolutely terrible. Most of us worked in unskilled jobs in the garment industry or construction.

We were given dangerous jobs and paid less than other workers. There was a lot of discrimination between us. Life was difficult for my family. Jobs had low pay and long hours. Though we faced a great deal of prejudice, some of us were eventually able to open their own businesses, working as launderers, shoemakers, and other service jobs.

In conclusion, We faced a great deal of prejudice for being Chinese (being from Asia). People called nativists wanted literacy tests for immigrants, especially like us. Congress passed a literacy test in 1917 to keep people who could not read English from entering the country. This was mostly meant for us. Then Congress decided to pass the Immigration Act of 1924, it limited total immigration to 164,000 people per year. In July 1927, the number was reduced to 150,000 per year. It banned Asian immigration completely. The act also restricted immigration from southern and eastern Europe. My family and I came from China. My family thought it would be in my best interest. We live in a community filled with our own, so we can keep traditions and culture, mostly everything else has changed. It is not the nieces place to live, but it is what we call home now. Overall this whole experience was not pleasant.

Explanation:

That is what I sent in I am mostly an ALL "A" student, I currently have an "A" for my History class. Don't worry when I say mostly all "A" student... The lowest grade I have had on a Report card is "B-" And I am pretty sure it is because my teacher hated me

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