The Immigrants Experience In America
             1. During the peak period of the pre-Civil War immigration, from 1847 through 1857, 3.3 million immigrants entered the United States; 1.3 million were from Ireland and 1.1 million came from the German States. Most immigrants came essentially because of poor economic conditions in Europe and prospects for a better life in the US. In the 19th century poverty was the main spur to movement. The industrial and agricultural revolutions brought such profound changes in Europe that large numbers of people were forced by circumstances beyond their control to leave their hometowns and move to where they could find jobs. Variety of other impelling reasons like religious intolerance, demeaning social gradations, political upheavals led to mass immigration.
             Industrial revolution: People, who worked and had different levels of authority, now were on the same level. Machines were doing the jobs for everyone.
             Agricultural revolution: Farmers who did everything with there own hands now had machines working instead of them.
             Demeaning social gradations: Oldest son inherited everything, the rest of the family members had to support themselves with other means.
             Political upheavals: Revolution of 1848- Intellectuals wanted Europe to have more democratic government. They tried and failed.
             a) The Irish were first of the Europeans to leave to the United States. The Irish Poor Law of 1838, the enclosure movement on the land, and finally the great famine at the end of the 1840's together with potato blight brought the increase to emigration. As the conditions improved in Ireland in the middle of the 1850s, emigration subsided, but another potato rot in 1863 and still another famine in the 1880s increased the Irish emigration statistics. Almost 4 million Irish came to America in the 19th century.
             b) Along with the Irish came Germans. They were the largest ethnic group arriving in three years between 1854...