Like many of my classmates, I was struck by the downright chasmal difference between the respective experiences of the “old” and “new” immigrants.  Sure, many modern immigrants face more than their fair share of hardship, and by no means am I belittling the sorts of xenophobic prejudices and economic difficulties that often plague the so-called “new” immigrants. There is certainly still more than enough strife and suffering to go around, but when it comes down to it, modern immigrants seem to have gotten a much better deal than their “old immigrant” predecessors.

After all most modern immigrants are not fleeing certain starvation or sold into childhood slavery, which I suppose begs the question of why they would come to America in the first place.  Relocating is sort of a no-brainer when the alternative is death-by-potato-blight, but what convinces the skilled and highly-educated foreigners that Foner wrote about to trade their well-established lives for the generally grim occupational prospects of illegality? It’s a pretty puzzling question, and one that I don’t really have a satisfying answer to.  We are so used to thinking of America as the land of opportunity, but I honestly don’t see where opportunity fits in with trading surgeon’s scrubs for a janitorial jumpsuit. Then again, I guess that’s precisely the sort of question we’re trying to answer with this class…

It was really interesting to read these about the different waves of immigration that came in over the years. The Italians, Chinese, Irish, etc all came to America and particularly New York because they were escaping the hardships they were facing in their respective countries. However when they got here, things weren’t perfect either. It just makes me think about how blessed we are to live in such a time where we have the convenience of every single thing. Everything we need is basically handed to us or we can have it by the click of a mouse. Nevertheless, the hardships that new immigrants went through are sometimes looked over but they are definitely significant.

In chapter 2 of Anbinder’s book she talks about how a lot of Five Pointer’s usually came with another family member. However parents would sometimes have to leave their children or other loved relatives back in their country for a period of time. As I read this I was thinking that history really does repeat itself. It might not be Italians, or the Irish immigrating to New York as much today, but I know a lot of South Asian families immigrating here and leaving their families behind just as the former did. The years have gone by and now other groups of immigrants are coming to this country. The same process happens over and over again. The mentality is the same for these people: to make money so that their family back home can benefit and even come to America for a better living. A lot of families I know today have half their families living in New York while the other half is in their native countries, waiting to be sponsored. It’s interesting to see the extent to which people go to just to come to New York City. Although, I’ve asked many new immigrants if they like New York better than their countries and at first they dearly miss their homeland but after a while (a few years) they start to forget their roots and become engulfed in the race for money and power.

Going back to Anbinder, I found it interesting to read about the Italian and Chinese immigrants. Like many of my fellow peers, I find that many former immigrants or 2^nd generations were being hypocritical by denouncing immigrants from countries like Italy or China. Their families had a chance to settle and now they should let other people have the same opportunity. However, when does this “chance for equal freedom” stop? When do we start to limit the amount/types of people coming into this country or state? These questions are still being challenged and discussed in our everyday lives.

One interesting contrast I found between the Italians and Chinese immigrants was who they were bringing along with them. The Italians were mostly bringing their families along with them and in fact their families were also working with the men of the household. The role of women became crucial at this point as Italian and Irish women competed for the same types of jobs. On the other hand, Chinese men were primarily immigrating to New York. They were mostly single and actually found Italian and Irish spouses. It interesting to note the difference of (possibly) culture and family upbringing between these two groups. The young Chinese generation was more independent while a lot of Italians were coming over with families.

I agree with ToniAnn on how amazing it is that waves of immigration keep coming in even today. It will be interesting to see how, in a matter of years, the various cultures will allow America to be more diverse than it seems to be at the moment.

I can’t agree with Rebecca more about how it’s the stories and the narratives that really speak to you as opposed to the charts and numerical statistics. Statistics are good for relaying information but in order to get the feeling and emotion of the situations these immigrants faced, it’s important to look into the first person accounts of the problems they faced at home and in America. After reading all of the accounts the only conclusion I came to about these immigrants, old and new is they had it bad all over. The old immigrants escaped hardships at home to find a land that had been hyped up to be a place where all can “breathe free”, only to face a different set of problems. Also many of the new immigrants thought they could find more opportunities and better lifestyles in America and left prestigious careers at home, only to face struggle and need to get cab driving or labor jobs. While there were some who were able to make it big in America, more often than not immigrants, old and new, left their homes to live in a place that was just as bad. While the physical journey to America might have been easier for newer immigrants, there’s no doubt that both groups faced hardships wherever they wound up.

Like many other people who posted, I also find it interesting how the immigrant factions who were already settled into New York felt they had the right to oppress and antagonize the newer waves of immigrants. While it shows that these people who settled were developing a sense of national pride and unity, it is a terrible way to go about it. As unfortunate as this is I agree with Eden that this is not a problem that is going away anytime soon. There will always be people in each community who find a reason to spread negative ideas about others. It’s interesting to think about how a place like the old Five Points area, where the borders between each ethnic community were pretty clearly defined, has become an area that predominately contains one ethnic group.

In many ways there was similar animosity back in the time of the old immigrants to that which exists today with new immigrants. The idea that immigrants will take economic opportunities from those who have established themselves in an area is just as prevalent now as it was back then. The difference now is that many immigrants are well educated which is even more threatening to “natives”. Back in the 1800’s the Irish, who are considered one of the oldest immigrant group, were afraid that the waves of italian, German and Chinese Immigrants would take the jobs form them.

The old and new immigrants, while facing different specific situations, overall face similar problems. It’s odd that America is this shining example of freedom, opportunity, etc. meanwhile these immigrants are subjected to hardships that rival what forced them out of their home countries to begin with.

Every passing day, I realize how much we take advantage of the things in our lives – whether they be living or material. It’s true how we suddenly value something when it’s gone; most of us have grown up in America, spoiled by its overwhelming opportunities and ethnic variety. After encountering the readings by Nancy Foner and Tyler Anbinder, I’m now awakened to the fact that others in foreign lands would literally put their lives of the line for what I’ve been born into. It’s safe to say that I value my life now more than ever.

Like what William noted, what bothered me most about the readings (Anbinder, in particular) was how early immigrants were assigned to labor that no one else was willing to do. Yes, perhaps these hardships were – in retrospect – less severe than what was experienced in their homelands. Yes, this kind of work was willingly done in order to begin life anew. But, when examining my own life and opportunities, was their past treatment truly just? I suppose that life for immigrants in America has improved, since technology and communication have matured. Foner states that our land is now attractive to those of contrasting classes and educational levels, as well as cultures and religions; that must say something about how we as a country have improved our offerings.

ToniAnn pointed out how immigrants of contrasting origins, although alike in aspiration, displayed animosity towards each other. This does not completely surprise me. Foner repeatedly mentioned the reasons immigrants had for coming to the United States: “America holds out the promise of political and cultural freedom – and material abundance” (26). Furthermore, she elaborated on this fact by stating that once settled, these arrivals strove “to earn higher wages and maintain a better standard of living” (27). These thousands millions of newcomers were all competing for the same desires. With such pressure for limited success, it’s no wonder why resentment would arise (i.e., the Irish against the Italians) in the dog-eat-dog world we call America. Collaboration with others besides those within their own cultural ties just seemed to be unreasonable.

In response to Toni-Ann’s remark about immigrants treating other immigrant groups with a tendency to look down upon them I say: “well of course.”  If an immigrant is coming to this country for a better life, than other immigrants can be seen as a potential opponent in the quest for the grand American life.  When one immigrant group “picked on” another group, it came from the idea that more people meant more competition.  In addition, one can say that certain immigrant groups were probably not used to seeing so many people from other countries.  So because (as described in posts from two weeks ago) America is this giant melting pot/salad bowl all nationalities could be represented and still coexist in one place.  Immigrants identified with their own kind because it was another reminder of their roots and offered the opportunity to feel at home in an unfamiliar place with people just like them.

The trip that “old” immigrants took to Ellis Island was one of hope and hardship.  The passage in a ship filled to the brim with tired, dirty people all wanting the same thing-to reach land and find a new life-is only one step above the slave’s passage to America.  When the slaves were brought to this country it was to be bought and sold as laborers; whereas immigrants suffered the difficult trip with a vision of a better life.  After having read about the Irish prior to their migration to America, it’s easier to understand why they would undergo such a trip; when your choices are try to survive a famine or try to survive a voyage across the ocean, the ocean wins out because at least there’s a hope of what is to come if they made it.  However this hope for a better life is one that was exploited heavily, and it’s a shame that immigrants were and still are only seen as new laborers for the work that others (including other immigrants) didn’t want to do.