Immigration in American History

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Immigration in American History

Migration has existed from the beginning of time. People and animals migrate for various reasons. The Philippines were the first group to arrive in 1587. The first European immigration began in 1600. The British lot led the rest of the Europeans, and they majorly settled on the East Coast. Twenty years later, Africans were brought in as slaves to work in plantations. Initially, the cost of migration was quite expensive, with the young adults offering to work as indentured servants. The indentured servants gained their freedom after toiling for seven years or after reaching 21 years. Initially, immigration was quite easy. People moved relatively freely into America (Daniel). Later, the American Congress introduced restrictive measures to curb immigration surges. The attitude of the Americans to immigrants has experienced ups and downs from the beginning.

The Europeans migrated for various reasons. The Europeans migrated majorly to seek faith, freedom, and also to seek economic growth. During this time, the main church imposed religious restrictions on the Europeans, which drove most of America. Let’s not forget that the earlier explorers had passed down the narrative that America was unoccupied and that the Europeans should conquer it. Thus America came to be perceived as a land of opportunity and prosperity. The narrative assumed that there were no occupants in the Americas. Yet it is well documented that close to two and a half million people may have lived in the Americas during this time. Those words saw a surge in migration for the next 150 years. It is important to note that migration selection was mixed that is both pull and push factors played a role in the past. Currently, migrants are primarily positively selected, at least based on skill and other observable characteristics. In the past, immigrants arrived pennilessly and eventually caught up with the American natives. Nowadays, it may take a generation to catch up with the rest of the Americans (Martinez).

Ravenstein, a British social scientist, developed the laws of migration. He summarized them into three, namely, migrants’ characteristics, patterns of migration, and volume of migration. Firstly, the basic characteristic of all migration is that it is selective. Most of the 19th-century immigrants were male. In 1851, immigrants from Ireland were evenly matched. Pull immigrants tend to be positively selected, while push migrants tend to be negatively selected. Hence, a migrant whose conditions at home are favorable is likely to stay and may only move if the destination has favorable pulling factors. Under migrants’ characteristics, Ravenstein noted that most immigrants tend to be the youth (Daniel). For example, in the 19th century, 40% of the Irish migrants were between 20-24.

Ravenstein posited that most migration takes place within a well-defined stream. Migration often follows a precise pattern from a particular region, city, village rather than form a whole country to a specific place in the destination country. For example, the first Germans to move to America settled in Pennsylvania. Consequent German migrations settled around Pennsylvania and became their neighbors. For every major migration stream, a counter stream develops. Unfortunately, migratory patterns have not been recorded by the immigration department. Ravenstein however, notes that many immigrants eventually returned to their countries even though this data was not noted (Daniel).

Ravenstein postulated different approaches to explain the volumes of migration. He argued that volume would differ according to the grade of a diversity of territory of the host country and the diversity of the sending country, the difficulties of the means, and the economic differences between the host and the sending country (Daniel). In the past, the main determinant was the means of transit. Most people could not afford the cost of transport in the 16th and 17th centuries. With the invention of the airplane, the movement has become easy. For example, Puerto Ricans can now easily move to America like never before since air transport, which is relatively cheaper for them.

Most immigrants believed America was a country of green pastures and could easily gain prosperity. Some came in pursuit of liberty. Such immigrants later noticed that it is harder to achieve liberty. The other two myths are the myths of Plymouth Rock and the melting pot. The myth of Plymouth Rock holds that the immigrants were poor or dirty. The Melting Pot’s third myth holds that the immigrants believed America was the place that all races and nationalists would merge and become one (Daniel). Each of the three myths holds some truths in them because people who arrive in America acquire some liberty, acquire wealth, and have intermarried even though most people still recall their ethnic affiliation.

Europeans migrated voluntarily to America. The Europeans still migrate and are given jobs like the of the peoples of the world. Initially, people settled according to their country or ethnic origin. As time progressed, people intermingled and were able to settle in various places. However, Africans were brought in as slaves to toil in plantations managed by whites. The contribution of Africans to the American economy is immense and undeniable. However, it is just regrettable that they have not been given the same respect as the rest of America’s population. African-Americans get poor education compared to their white counterparts, less salary for the same job than their fellow Americans, and poor living conditions (Ueda). Since Africans were brought in as slaves, one may as well call it to kidnap since they were not given the freedom of choice to move to America. Moreover, it took Africans several years to gain freedom of all sorts.

Works cited

Daniels, Roger. Coming to America. Harper Collins Publishers, 1959.

Martinez Jr, Ramiro. “Coming to America.” Immigration and crime: Ethnicity, race, and violence 6 (2006): 1.

Ueda, Reed, ed. A companion to American immigration. Blackwell Pub., 2006.