Their Humble beginnings
Immigrants are driven to the US for a wide array of reasons. Commonly they’re in search of new opportunities not able to in their home country. A large population of immigrants came to the US in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. People from Europe and Asia would arrive in the US. European from Scandinavia, Poland, and Norway resided in states with a lot of trees. Asians from China, Philippines, and Japan live in densely populated cities like San Francisco and New York. Filipino would frequently travel come the and return home. Although, they were in search of new opportunities immigrants endured hardships. Despite facing discriminatory legislation and economic roadblocks, early Asian and European immigrants made lasting changes to the U.S
Their 9 to 5, made America ALIVE
Immigrants have greatly shaped the economic landscape since their arrival. An example of this would be in the early 1920’s, Norwegians came to the US for a better life. They would live in states like their home in Norway, which have large number of trees. Norwegians would create jobs for themselves as lumber men which are people who cut down trees and sell them which made people like Simon Benison millionaires (17:39). With this influx of wood, the economy would greatly benefit from it as wood can be made into a lot of different product manufactures by other factories. In this way, early European immigrants affect the U.S. through their economic achievements. These immigrants would cause drastic affects in the industry by sharply boosting the economy.
An regarded group
The US has a deep history of technological inventions and achievements like the light bulb. But not all the achievements were strictly complete by Americans. For example, the well know statue of liberty was but by a French architect. The same can be said about Asian immigrants. In the mid 1800’s the California gold rush brought Chinese immigrant to the US in search of “untold riches” (10:27), most didn’t gain success in the gold rush and work as cheap labors to get by (11:34). This meant most if not all dangerous construction projects were performed by these immigrants as they made up a large percent of the workforce (13:07). They were assigned to work on enormous projects like the transcontinental railroad. It was a 1912-mile railroad connecting the east and west coast. The construction was grueling, dangerous, and exhausting. Finally when the railroad was complete, the funders of the project took a picture to commemorate, the Chinese workers despite their hard work weren’t allowed in the frame(15:23). The railroad was an provided a huge boost to America’s economy and the people who built it received no compensation for it. Despite the mistreatment from Americans, many Chinese people stayed in the US. They build a place called Chinatown to remind of their home while living in the US.
Beautiful place built for debris
In 1906 an earthquake hit San Fransico and destroyed the area most Chinese people were staying. When the time for reconstruction came about the government at the time wanted to relocate Chinatown outside of their original location. A Chinese man who lived their named Look Tin Eil thought it wasn’t right, so he raised millions of dollars to rebuild Chinatown bigger and better. The newly built Chinatown was a massive success causing over 50 other Chinatowns to appear across the country (30:09). Their traditions shaped the environment as they put a new spin on these in different places. Immigrants’ homeland customs and traditions cause a change in overall culture in the US.
Songs sung to the masses
American traditions today can’t be trace back to a common origin, every aspect of the US derives from some other place. For instance, hamburgers a staple in American BBQ’s originate in Germany and Independence Day fireworks mimic the Chinese. A lesser know example come’s from the write of “God bless America”. In 1910 around one million Jewish people immigrated to the US immigrated to the America to escape persecution in Russia (19:02). A boy by the name of Irving Berlin escaped with his family to the city of New York (24:32). In tuff times, he sings at bars. His singing would unite all nationalities as he incorporated multiple cultures in the lyrics (25:37). He then goes on to write 1500 songs, 20 Broadway musicals, and Hollywood movies (25:48). In commemoration and honor of the country that gave him a better life he wrote the famous patriotic song “God Bless America” (26:66). This song is widely regarded as an international classic among American’s, which was written by an immigrant. European immigrants influence was important in developing most American traditions we see today.
The Final Words
From their beginnings in late 1800’s to today, immigrants have made timeless changes to the US. The economic and social success of immigrants greatly contributed to the economic power of the US and widely diverse country. Immigrants who came to the US like the Chinese, polish, and Jewish brought over their customs which positively affect the overall culture of America making it more diverse. The America we have today would have a completely different look without the immigrants.