In the 1840’s and 1850’s, about 4 million immigrants arrived in the U.S.
• In the 1840’s, over 1 million people died in Ireland due to the Irish Potato Famine.
• As a result, over 1.5 million Irish immigrants came to the U.S. by 1860.
• Most Irish immigrants came to the U.S. poor, settling in either Boston, New York, or Philadelphia.
• German immigrants came to the U.S. to escape war and to better their lives.
• Those with money bought farms in the Midwest.
• Those too poor to buy land stayed in east coast cities, such as New York.
• Immigrants took available jobs in factories and mines, helping the economy.
• Nativists tried to limit immigration, blaming immigrants for “stealing” jobs from native-born Americans and for being criminals.
• Immigrants were also discriminated against for being Catholics.
• In the 1850’s, nativists formed the Know-Nothing Party.
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