Second Wave of Immigration in the USA

In this entry we will write about the second immigration wave in the USA.

This wave took place between 1820 and 1860. There were over 15.3 million people who went from Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and China to the USA. Irish people fled their own country because of a really serious famine that affected Ireland during the 1840s. They had neither money nor resources to go inland. Due to this critical situation, most of them stayed near the East Coast. On the other hand, Germans went inland and bought several farming sites in the Midwest. People from Sweden, Norway, and Denmark decided to stay farming in the Midwest. Finally, most of the immigrants coming from China started working on the construction of the Transcontinental Railroads, the others worked as miners, cooks or launderers.

They arrived to the USA thanks to the port of New York City. The arrivals were processed at the first immigration center called “Castle Garden”.

In 1832 there was an increase in the number of immigrants arriving in the USA going up to 50 000 immigrants per year. In 1854 immigration reached it is peak with 428 000 immigrants that year.

All these immigrants came to the USA not only because they were suffering many difficult situations, but also because USA had done improvements on transports, creating ships and railroads. The United States were known as a land of opportunities for people coming from Europe. That is what we call the “American Dream”. Europe was devastated by wars, famines, revolutions and industrialization. This critical situation, alongside the great reputation the US had, lead many Europeans to America in search of an easier and better life.

Despite the important role immigrants played in US’ economy, an anti-immigrant backlash arose in the 1850s. A great number of Americans were Protestants and they were against Catholic immigrants. Protestant people saw Catholics as religious terrorists. In addition, these new immigrants brought to America many cultures. For this reason some ethnocentric Americans, who thought their culture was the best, were against them. In the Second Wave of immigration there were a great number of socialist immigrants, but these political tendencies were taboo in the nineteenth century. We can also appreciate a rural resentment. Poor immigrants were considered as aliens and they were not accepted in the big cities. The economic resentment was an important problem, “Real Americans” saw immigrants as job stealers.

To sum up, the Second Wave of immigration had a huge impact in American society. Firstly, it brought some important ethnic groups, such as Irish or Germans. Not only that, but it also meant a improvement of American economy, as more workers were available. But most importantly, it made the US a multi-cultural nation.

Information from:

The Forth Waves of American Immigration. Mr. Cunneen's Web Site. Online: https://sites.google.com/site/paulcunneen/home/us-history-1/immigrationunitoutline/4-waves-of-immigration 

Waves of Immigration in America. Online: https://www.preceden.com/timelines/29989-waves-of-immigration-in-america