Push & Pull Factors
A town loses people because all the factories shut down and there are no jobs. Is this a push factor or a pull factor?
Push
Why were some native-born Americans worried about immigrants taking factory jobs?
They feared immigrants would take jobs for lower pay.
What do we call the crowded, poorly built apartment buildings many families lived in?
Tenements
Why did doctors check immigrants when they first arrived in America?
To make sure they didn’t have diseases that could spread.
What two countries did many early 1800s immigrants come from?
Ireland and Germany
Explain why getting a good job is a pull factor. Use one example from the 1800s.
A good job pulls people to a place. Many Irish immigrants came for factory and mill jobs.
Why did the Know-Nothing Party want to make it harder for immigrants to become citizens?
They wanted immigrants to have less political power.
What does urbanization mean, and what is one reason cities grew quickly in the early 1800s?
Urbanization is cities growing. Cities grew because millions of immigrants moved in.
Why did immigration officers check people’s criminal backgrounds?
To keep dangerous individuals out of the country.
What does persecution mean when we talk about immigration?
Being treated unfairly or attacked because of beliefs, religion, or background.
People leave their country because the government takes away basic freedoms like voting or free speech. Is this a push or pull factor, and why?
Push factor — the government is limiting freedoms, forcing people to leave.
Describe one belief nativists had about immigrants and explain why they believed it.
Nativists believed immigrants caused crime, disease, or job loss because they thought immigrants were “changing” America in a negative way.
Describe two details that show what tenement living was like.
Crowded rooms, bad smells, poor ventilation, dirty conditions, or laundry hanging everywhere.
Describe two steps immigrants went through when they arrived at an immigration station.
Medical exam, questions about identity, checking documents, or examining belongings.
What is a slum, and why did slums often appear in growing cities during the 1800s?
A slum is a run-down, overcrowded neighborhood. Slums appeared because cities grew too fast, and many people couldn’t afford better housing.
How were the push factors for Irish immigrants and German immigrants different in the 1800s?
Irish fled the potato famine; Germans fled political problems and unfair treatment.
Explain one major difference between how a nativist viewed immigrants and how an immigrant viewed coming to America.
Nativists feared immigrants; immigrants saw America as a place of opportunity and freedom.
What was a long-term consequence of living in a tenement?
Overcrowding and poor sanitation helped diseases spread.
Explain why going through immigration inspection was often stressful or scary for immigrants.
They were afraid of being separated from family or sent back home.
German immigrants brought new traditions and skills to the U.S. Explain how at least two of these contributions continue to affect American culture today.
German: Christmas, Easter, weekends, Kindergarten, physical education
A family leaves their country because of unfair treatment and poverty, and moves to another country because of jobs and freedom. Explain how push and pull factors can work together.
Push factors force them out, while pull factors attract them to a new place. Both influence the decision to move.
A group wants to limit voting only to people born in the U.S. Explain how this relates to nativism and give one real example from the 1800s.
This is nativism—favoring native-born Americans. Example: The Know-Nothing Party tried to stop immigrants from holding office or becoming citizens.
How did tenements show the larger problems American cities faced?
Tenements showed that cities didn’t have enough clean housing, space, or safety rules to support growing populations.
Congratulations! You have made it through an immigration station and are now in America. What are some challenges you may face now that could make starting a new life in America difficult?
Many immigrants didn’t speak English or know anyone in America, which made finding jobs, housing, and support difficult.
Many immigrants in the 1800s traveled across the ocean in “steerage,” the cheapest part of the ship. Explain how traveling in steerage affected immigrants before they even arrived in America.
Steerage was crowded, dirty, and uncomfortable, so immigrants often faced sickness, poor food, and unsafe conditions, making the journey dangerous before they even reached the U.S.