Diversity Due to Immigrants

     Many Germans settled in the north because the weather reminded them of home, though some went south when they came to America. They established many towns throughout the U.S.A. Some of our thought to be classic American food is actually German-the hot dog and hamburger for instance. Another example is when Germans settled New Braunfels, Texas and started a chain of famous water parks, Schlitterbahn, there.
    

How Did They Change the USA?

    
     When immigrants came to America, since the country was built on them, we had always welcomed them with open arms-that is, until the late 1800's. We started to become more hostile, finding things to complain about by saying they were taking all our jobs. Really, they were filling all the jobs nobody else wanted.
     Immigrants were thought of as cheap revenue and a dream to some business owners. Some more educated immigrants took advantage of free enterprise though, and created there own businesses.
    
     Due to a political group called the "Know Nothing" group- which was called so because, when the members were asked about the organization they responded with, "I know nothing."- the government started to evaluate and change some of the laws concerning immigration. Since they complained at every twist and turn, the law concerning how long it took immigrants to become an American citizen was increased by many years.
    
     A problem they did cause, however, was the over population in our larger cities. Disease spread rapidly through the crowded streets of industrial cites. Many people got sick easily because of poor hygiene.

Why Did They Leave Their Homeland?

     Some people fled because of crop failure and famine, others fled due to rising taxes. Many more left because of land and job shortages and saw the west as a place of opportunity.

How Many Immigrants?

  
     Many immigrants that fled to the U.S. in the 1800's were actually Irish. Though there were also many Germans, and many Brits too, most were Irish. Due to the potato famine in 1845, more than three-fourths of a million Irish died and over two million emigrated-almost all, of whom, came to the United States looking for opportunity.

     From 1870 to 1900, nearly twelve million people immigrated to the United States; in between 1870 and 1880, specifically, the largest groups of immigrants came from Ireland, Germany, and Great Britain(as previously stated). Approximately 70% of these foreigners entered through New York, which became known as the "Golden Door".