After doing this week’s readings, I think of how exaggerated Emma Lazarus’ poem “The New Colossus” was for immigrants during the 1800s. One line that we all probably heard of is the one that is engraved at the bottom of the Statue Liberty; this famous line shows how America is a place that welcomes the “poor” and the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free” ( Foner,9). I think of the different groups of immigrants that came to the United States and I wonder if these group of people were truly able to “breathe free” once the immigrants arrived on American soil. Nancy Foner, explains these groups of immigrants very well; she distinguishes the peopling of New York between the old immigrants, who arrive in crowded ships to Ellis Island, and the new immigrants, who enjoy an airplane flight and arrive from JFK airport.
When I think of the term Old immigrants, I think of certain ethnic groups who struggled for many reasons in order to achieve a better life in America. Foner describes these groups of immigrants who arrived in Ellis Island as “dirty and bedraggled, after a long ocean journey in steerage” (Foner 10). This era of immigration had people who did whatever they could to arrive in America because of the tremendous hardship they suffered in their homeland; most were not educated and suffered poor wages back at home that they tried to make a better living for themselves and their family. There were several different groups that wanted to achieve this goal but the main ones were the Irish, Italians, Germans, and the Chinese. Each of these groups wanted a new start to their life and they believed that America was the place for them; they were not only yearning to breathe free but they were yearning for a better income, life and opportunity.
What struck me about the Old Immigrant era was how they went through so much just to experience a new life. They were willing to take in the horrendous stench of crowded ships in order to one day reach the American soil; in fact some risked their lives and unfortunately died on the journey to the United States. For these groups, it was a journey that was tiring and overwhelming for them but it was all done to achieve their dream. For example the Irish during the potato blight did not want to live a life any longer where they needed to gnaw off the remaining food on bones . The Italians and Chinese wanted to make a living and income greater than the minimal amount they received in their homeland which is why they turned to the land of the free.
After the struggle these group of immigrants took to reach America, I am sure they had countless joys for finally arriving here. However, what struck me was how they wanted to “breathe free” in America but ironically they were suppressed and exploited by others. One example is when the Italians took the jobs that the Irish no longer did in New York in which one of these nativists said that they needed someone to do the “dirty work” for them (Anbinder 370). It is so sad to see that these groups were only used to do work that no one else wanted to do. They were manipulated to do these jobs but the immigrants did not mind; they were thankful because these jobs still offered more wages than they could make at home. With these jobs, they could send for the families they were longing to see and finally could see after some time.
I think that the Old Immigrants that arrived in New York City were able to have a better income, but they were still suppressed because they were different. I could not stand reading that natives would say about the Chinese that they have a religion that is good but would not get them further; if the natives had a superior religion, than why do they treat different ethnic groups so terribly. Just because some of them were not educated does not give natives the right to deny them opportunity, citizenship, or put quotas on certain groups. I am so glad that this era of immigration is over and now New Immigrants arrive to JFK with college degrees and more opportunities than others had in the past.
