Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants

president Theodore Roosevelt

Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants
Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th American President who served in office from September 14, 1901 to March 4, 1909. One of the important events during his presidency was the Immigration Act of 1907 which established the Dillingham Commission Report which raised the issue of Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants.

Definition and Summary of the Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants
Summary and Definition: The Immigration Act of 1907 created the Dillingham Commission to review U.S. immigration policy. In 1911 the Dillingham Commission produced a report that highlighted the differences between Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants and the effect on the social, cultural, physical, economic, and moral welfare of the nation. The Dillingham Commission Report favored the "old immigrant" who had come from North Western areas of Europe as opposed to the "new immigrant" who came from South Eastern areas of Europe and other parts of the world. The argument of Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants concluded that immigration from southern and eastern Europe posed a serious threat to American society and should therefore be greatly reduced.

     
   

Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants for kids: Ethnic Groups
Ethnic groups tend to be associated with shared cultural heritage, history, language and ancestry and include shared aspects such as religion, rituals, customs, cuisine and similar styles of dress. For many additional facts and information refer to Push and Pull Factors of Immigration.

Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants Chart for kids
The Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants chart provides a fast overview that details and defines the differences between the two groups of immigrants to the United States of America. The chart details the differences between their countries of origin, their connections in America, religion, symbols and traditions, levels of literacy, physical characteristics, customs and lifestyles, culture, clothes, politics, affluency and adaptability.

Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants Chart

Old Immigrant Chart - New Immigrant Chart

Origination: Northern or Western Europe - Southern or Eastern Europe or Asia

Countries of Origin: Holland, Germany, France, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Scandinavia - Russia, Slovakia, Hungary, Russia, Poland, Croatia, Italy, Greece, Lithuania, Serbia, China, Japan and Korea

Connections: Often had friends or family established in America - No connections to America or existing Americans

Religion: The majority of Old immigrants were Protestant - The New immigrants were Jewish, Catholic or non-Christian religions

Symbols and Traditions: Shared religious symbols, rituals and traditions - Different symbols, rituals and traditions

Literacy: Literate and skilled - Illiterate and unskilled

Physical Characteristics: Tall and fair with similar hairstyles - Short and dark with different hairstyles

Customs and Lifestyles:  Similar foods and jobs to existing Americans - Different to existing Americans

Culture:  Similar tastes in literature, music and art - Different tastes in literature, music and art

Clothes: Similar clothing - Different style of clothes

Politics: Adhered to democracy - Were used to autocracy or radical politics

Affluency: Many came to America with some money - Most were penniless and destitute

Adaptability: Able to quickly 'fit in', adapt and adopt the ways of another culture - Slower to change

Old Immigrant Chart - New Immigrant Chart

Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants Chart for kids

Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants for kids: The Gilded Age
Concerns about immigration during the Gilded Age had led to the rise in Nativism in America and the fear of the growing numbers of immigrants. Industrialization in the Gilded Age, the mechanization of industry and the emergence of the factory system, had resulted in the ever increasing demand for cheap labor which fed the surge in Immigration. This in turn led to the rapid Urbanization in America during the Gilded Age and the massive influx of immigrants to the cities. The problems in the cities during the Gilded Age fuelled the movement to place restrictions on Immigration, the Immigration Act of 1907 was passed and the Dillingham Commission was established. 

Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants for kids: The Dillingham Commission Report
The Dillingham Commission was politically motivated to restrict immigration to America. The Dillingham Commission produced a report containing 41 volumes on the subject of Immigration in the United States and kicked off the debate surrounding "Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants" in the United States. The 1911 Dillingham Commission Report detailed information about immigrant occupations, living conditions and education.

Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants for kids: The 'Dictionary of Races of People'
One volume of the Dillingham Commission report provided 'A Dictionary of Races of People' which classified immigrants in racial terms in an attempt to discover whether to discover:

 "whether there may not be certain races that are inferior to other races... to show whether some may be better fitted
for American citizenship than others."

Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants
The Dillingham Report made distinctions were made between the "old immigrant" and the more recent "new immigrant". The report favored the "old immigrant" who had come from North and West of Europe and opposed "new immigrant" who came from the east and south of Europe and other parts of the world.

Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants for kids: The "Old immigrant"
The "Old immigrant" was defined as follows:

 ● They were from Anglo-Saxon or Nordic races
● ● They came from the West Northern areas of Europe such as Britain, Ireland, Scotland, Holland, Germany, France and Scandinavia
● ● They shared similar ethnic and cultural backgrounds and it was these people who initially populated America
● ● The very foundation of America was built upon the ideas, skills and culture they brought with them

Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants for kids: The "New immigrant"
The "New immigrant" was defined as follows:

● They included Asian, Slovak and Jewish races
● They came from countries in Asia and South eastern European countries such as such as China, Japan, Korea, Slovakia, Hungary, Russia, Poland, Croatia, Italy, Greece, Lithuania, Serbia and Russia
● ● They had no connections to America or existing Americans
● ● Many had totally different physical characteristics and were easily identifiable as "New immigrants"
● ● Many had non-Christian religions and adhered to different beliefs and had experienced totally alien environments
● ● They wore completely different clothes, had different hair styles, spoke strange languages, had different tastes in music and art and ate different food

Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants Debate: The Dillingham Flaw
The contents of the Dillingham Commission Report was given a huge amount of publicity in the newspapers that gave rise to the Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants Debate. The report was presented as a scientific argument to meet the political agenda of restricting immigration to America and contained racist stereotypes within immigrant ethnic communities. This established an artificial and totally biased view of "old immigrant" and "new immigrant". This highly prejudiced view is referred to as the 'Dillingham Flaw' that made unfair comparisons of the "old" and the "new" immigrant. Although the report contained many statistics and information it failed to take into account that the new immigrants were recent arrivals to America. It failed to take into account the short time the "New Immigrant" had spent in America compared to the "old" immigrant. This clearly impacted the "New Immigrant" in terms of occupations, education, finances, environment, and the rate of assimilation.

Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants: "A Serious Threat to American Culture and Society"
The 1911 Dillingham Commission Report concluded that the "New Immigrants" to America were inferior, unskilled and uneducated workers who failed to integrate with Americans. The Dillingham Commission Report further concluded that the "New Immigrant" posed a serious threat to American culture and society. It recommended that immigration to America should be restricted.

Push and Pull Factors
For visitors interested in the subject of immigration refer to our website on Push and Pull Factors of Immigration which provides details of why people left their homes in various countries and moved to the United States.

Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants - President Theodore Roosevelt Video
The article on the Old Immigrant vs New Immigrant provides detailed facts and a summary of one of the important events during his presidential term in office. The following video will give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 26th American President whose presidency spanned from September 14, 1901 to March 4, 1909.

Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants for Kids

Facts about the Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants for kids
Definition of the Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants chart
The Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants, the Dillingham Commission
● Immigration in America for kids
Fast, fun facts about Immigration to the United States
The differences between the Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants
Theodore Roosevelt Presidency and Old Immigrants vs New Immigrants debate for schools, homework, kids and children

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