Many immigrants came to America in search of a better life and better opportunities. They left their home countries to look for economic opportunity and religious freedom, and to achieve the American dream. The Irish came because of the famine, the Chinese for religious and commercial purposes, and the Italians for job opportunities. They did whatever they could to get here, often leaving their families behind, and then scraping together the money they made in America to send for the rest.
America was expected to be this perfect “land of opportunity” where immigrants could start over and be successful in achieving the American dream. But in reality, life in America was far from perfect. Once here, immigrants were faced with horrible living conditions, and were almost always placed on the lowest rung of the social and economic ladders. They were forced to enter certain fields of work, which eventually led to fierce competition among the lowest classes for the most menial of jobs. I find it disturbing that these immigrants had to fight for jobs that no one else wanted, and were even grateful for the opportunity.
Anbinder notes that many men returned to their home countries to buy land, or returned for the winters when there was no work. But most came back to America a few months later. This doesn’t make sense to me – if they made so much money in America, and took it back home to buy land and make something out of it, why would they come back to face more mistreatment? I find it strange that so many immigrants were desperate to come to a place where they were treated like dirt and had to fight for survival.
These newcomers were all competing for the same things. With such pressure for limited success, it was inevitable that resentment would arise amongst the different ethnic groups. For immigrants in America, it was every man for himself. Collaboration with others besides those within their own cultural ties just seemed to be unreasonable. So was America really a land of opportunity if the immigrants just came to toil in the depths of society, all while competing with other immigrants for jobs, upward mobility, and acceptance into American society?
