Immigration’s Impact on American Life During the 1890s

Between 1880 and 1920, more than 20 million immigrants arrived in America. Many new immigrants were people anxious to work and earn a decent living. The large number of immigrants entering the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries created political opportunities, promoted economic growth, and opened our borders to different cultures, languages and ideas. Political machines were ordinary in cities with large immigrant populations. A machine was run by a boss who was closely tied to city politicians. Their purpose was to guarantee votes for politicians. They wooed the allegiance of the voters by supplying social welfare assistance including: job placement assistance, help with landlord problems, bail for jailed voters, and contracts to local businesses. Since few government agencies existed to provide this type of help, these political machines received the votes of those they assisted.
America is a nation of immigrants. Our success as a country would not be possible without the generations of immigrants who have come to our shores from every corner of the globe. Immigrants advancing economic maturation is only one of the major contributions they made in our society in the 19th century. They started their own businesses, which in turn, provided jobs not only for Americans but for their fellow immigrants, they developed cutting-edge technologies and companies, they boosted the demand for local consumer goods, and along with regular workers they were also a portion of our engineers, scientists, and innovators.
Immigrants enriched American communities by bringing aspects of their native cultures with them. The immigrant communities brought time-tested traditional practices, customs, and knowledge from their countries that informed and uplifted American culture. They opened up the minds of