came to the United States. Finally, between 1890 and 1914, more than 15 million immigrants came to the United States ( Immigration). The Irish came to escape the potato famine", and religious persecution. Russian Jews came to escape religious persecution also.These immigrants were important to industrialization in the United States. Because these immigrants were willing to work in unsanitary work conditions, and with little pay, American industries were able to hire more of these types of workers. Although they were unskilled, I type of jobs they would have them do were once that didnt require little to no knowledge. Because these families were so poor, everyone had to work. Since there were no child labor laws, children were sent to work in coal mines, and silk mills. Women also had to work- mostly in textiles factories or as seamstresses ( Becoming American: An Ethnic History).This was one of the reasons why the old immigrants disliked the new immigrant. These self proclaimed Americans resented the newcomers mostly because they were different from them and it threatened their idealist, perfect society. These new people dressed differently, ate different foods, had different religious beliefs, spoke different languages, and just plain looked different. Just as with the Native Americans, they wanted to change anything that wasnt American.Many new immigrants lived in tenements when they first came here. Tenements were five to six story buildings with twenty or more families. Between the years of the 1840s the population of New York increased 60 percent ( The Tenements as History and Housing), so this type of housing was essential in to the lives of these immigrants. This type of housing was very unhealthy to live in however. The Council of Hygiene and Public Health reported, Its only because this rate if packing is somewhat diminished by intervening warehouses, factories, private dwellings, and other classes of buildings t...
