What was the role of the industrial revolution in immigration? What forces made the last wave of

Question

immigration very necessary for U. S. expansion? How did this dovetail with the situations in the
originating cultures?

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The industrial revolution brought about a demand for unskilled labor, and drew heavily on
the displaced populations of Eastern and Southern Europe. These populations shared race,
religions, some basic values and cultural norms with already settled workers in U. S. The
language barriers were a problem, but the kind of work the immigrants gained was not
language dependent. There was a great need for workers in industrial cities of the East and
Midwest. Raw materials from mines were extracted by labor intensive means, as was the
building of railroads, canals, large factories, etc. Expansion no longer meant settling virgin
land and forests, but expanding the industrial base of the economy. This situation was very
different from conditions in the originating, more agricultural culture. Settlers were
generally attempting to escape adversities such as over-population, starvation, war,
genocide, or political upheavals. The new land was regarded as an opportunity to start over.
Much of the old culture was made part of the new experience through settlement in
ethnically restricted areas.