Unit 6: Topic 8 - Immigration and Migration in the Gilded Age

Question 1

“Old Immigrants”

Answer 1

“Old Immigrants” were immigrants who had migrated to the US before the 1880s, primarily from Britain, Germany, Ireland, Scandinavia, or somewhere in Northern Europe. Many of these “old” immigrants were Protestants (though many were also Irish or German Catholics) and continued to emigrate to America in large numbers during the Gilded Age.

Question 2

“New Immigrants”

Answer 2

Beginning in the 1900s, “new “ immigrants who migrated to the US were primarily from Southern and Eastern Europe; many were Italians, Greeks, Croats, Slovaks, Poles, and Russian. Also, many “new” immigrants were poor and illiterate peasants who had left autocratic countries, so they were unaccustomed to democratic tradition. These immigrants supplemented but did not replace immigrants from other parts of Europe.

Question 3

Push Factors

Answer 3

Push factors encourage people to leave their points of origin and settle elsewhere. Examples of push factors are high unemployment, high crime rate, and/or increased environmental disasters.

Question 4

Pull Factors

Answer 4

Pull factors encourage and attract migrants to new areas. Examples of pull factors are employment, housing, and/or education opportunities.