The United States of America has often been called a "melting-pot" because of our diversity in people, and rightly so. For many of our.
greatest achievements would not have been possible without immigrants. Although American was portrayed as a golden land full of hope and opportunity, by the time the second big wave of immigrants arrived, it was almost as much of a struggle to live in the US as in their former countries. Many immigrants were victims of harsh.
discrimination and were forced to live in slums. They had their hopes and dreams dashed by overcrowding and nativists trying to swindle.
the immigrants out of what little money they still possessed after traveling to America.
To begin with, immigrants, upon entering the country, were stripped of all their dignity and pride if they did not conform with American society. Hate groups and discriminators were almost unchecked in their poor treatment of immigrants. Groups like the APA, KKK, and the Know-Nothings were created, or, if already in.
existence, expanded their evil ways to include immigrants and anyone else who was "different". Immigrants were barred from jobs because of their religion or accent and sometimes even the way they looked. The Chinese in America were unconstitutionally stripped of their citizenship because they were Asian. Many people were forced to find "ethnic neighborhoods" where people from their own country had already settled. A place where they could speak their native language.
or practice their favored religion without too much fear of persecution. They were only partially safe from discrimination because they lived in large numbers in one concentrated area.
On top of the bad decisions of others, immigrants had to deal with poor living conditions. Being an immigrant meant starting over completely. Unless immigrants were lucky enough to already have help in their strange new homes, they had to find housing themselves.