Why did Chinese and Irish immigrants come to the US?

Both attempting to escape the problems of their homeland, these two groups came to the United States for a new start. Upon arrival however, both Irish and Chinese immigrants would encounter a violent force that sought to eliminate them from their new home; this force was nativism.

What problems did Irish immigrants face in America?

Disease of all kinds (including cholera, typhus, tuberculosis, and mental illness) resulted from these miserable living conditions. Irish immigrants sometimes faced hostility from other groups in the U.S., and were accused of spreading disease and blamed for the unsanitary conditions many lived in.

What is the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882?

The resulting Angell Treaty permitted the United States to restrict, but not completely prohibit, Chinese immigration. In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which, per the terms of the Angell Treaty, suspended the immigration of Chinese laborers (skilled or unskilled) for a period of 10 years.

Why did Irish immigrants come to America?

Pushed out of Ireland by religious conflicts, lack of political autonomy and dire economic conditions, these immigrants, who were often called “Scotch-Irish,” were pulled to America by the promise of land ownership and greater religious freedom. Many Scotch-Irish immigrants were educated, skilled workers.

Where did most Irish immigrants settle?

Most were illiterate, and many spoke only Irish and could not understand English. And although they had lived off the land in their home country, the immigrants did not have the skills needed for large-scale farming in the American West. Instead, they settled in Boston, New York, and other cities on the East Coast.

Why did the Irish leave Ireland?

Although the Irish potato blight receded in 1850, the effects of the famine continued to spur Irish emigration into the 20th century. Still facing poverty and disease, the Irish set out for America where they reunited with relatives who had fled at the height of the famine.

Are there more Irish in America than Ireland?

According to the Census, there are 34.5 million Americans who list their heritage as either primarily or partially Irish. That number is, incidentally, seven times larger than the population of Ireland itself (4.68 million).

Why was the Chinese Immigration Act passed?

Meant to curb the influx of Chinese immigrants to the United States, particularly California, The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 suspended Chinese immigration for ten years and declared Chinese immigrants ineligible for naturalization. President Chester A. Arthur signed it into law on May 6, 1882.

Where did the Irish come from originally?

From as far back as the 16th century, historians taught that the Irish are the descendants of the Celts, an Iron Age people who originated in the middle of Europe and invaded Ireland somewhere between 1000 B.C. and 500 B.C. That story has inspired innumerable references linking the Irish with Celtic culture.

Why did the Irish and German immigrate to the US?

In the middle half of the nineteenth century, more than one-half of the population of Ireland emigrated to the United States. So did an equal number of Germans. Most of them came because of civil unrest, severe unemployment or almost inconceivable hardships at home.

Why did the Irish immigrate to England?

A year after the potato blight first struck in Ireland, Irish immigration to England really took off. Hundreds of thousands of Irish were on the move, desperate for food, shelter and, if they could think that far ahead, a future free of the starvation and poverty that characterised life for the majority in Ireland.