Immigration

Martins checks out modern Chinatown in Chicago, Illinois

Immigrants made many valuable contributions that helped make America become what it is today. Immigrants came to America from many different countries in both Europe and Asia. While each immigrant’s story is different, many worked in factories, agriculture, or in mines. In addition, many worked for low pay and lived in harsh, unsanitary conditions.

American settlers in the West stereotyped Chinese immigrants as dangerous and competition for obtaining jobs. Due to growing prejudice against immigrants, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, prohibiting Chinese laborers to enter the country. In 1921, Congress passed the Immigration Restriction Act that further controlled immigration into the United States. Even with restrictions on immigration, the United States was truly becoming a “melting pot.”