by Alex Li

Created on: June 29, 2008   Last Updated: June 30, 2008

The United States was struck with a wave of sudden urbanization and migration. The urban population increased sevenfold in the decades following the Civil War. Those who accounted for this vast urbanization were women, those from the east, African Americans and most important, immigrants. Thus, there were various factors that contributed to the great masses of people to the cities of America and the characteristics of the immigrants were somewhat appealing.

In the nineteenth century, the United States faced a growing population in the cities. Many who came to the cities were chiefly in search of better paying jobs and new and more efficient forms of transportation; railroads made simple, quick, and relatively inexpensive journeys from the countryside to the cities. The women left the rural areas in the east and came to search for better jobs since opportunities in the farm economy were limited. However, the population did not increase so rapidly because of natural increase. Since there were high rates of infant mortalities, a declining fertility rate, and high death rates from diseases, cities would have grown relatively slowly, if at all, without immigration.

Those were immigrated to America came from Canada, Mexico, Latin America, China, and Japan. However, the greatest number by far came from Europe. These included the Italians, Greeks, Slavs, Slovaks, Russian Jews, Armenians, and others. These immigrants came either to farm or to work as businessmen, merchants, professionals, or skilled laborers in the Midwestern cities such as St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Milwaukee. Those immigrants who were fortunate enough to have capital had an advantage. Nevertheless most of the immigrants were moderately poor.

"Most of the immigrants of the late nineteenth century, however, lacked the capital to buy farmland and lacked the education to establish themselves in professions. So, like the poor Irish immigrants before the Civil War, they settled overwhelmingly in industrial cities, where most of them took unskilled jobs." (American History: A survey)

The characteristics of the immigrants in America were starting to become a positive stereotype. They were often characterized as poor, but hard working individuals who tried to rid themselves of all vestiges of their old cultures, to become thoroughly Americanized. The second-generation immigrants were even more likely to break with their old ways and continue in their struggle to become truly Americanized. Many immigrant communities

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