492 Chapter 18 American Society in the Industrial Age
for immigration remained the desire for economic
betterment. “In America,” a British immigrant
reported, “you get pies and puddings.”
While immigrants continued to people the
farms of America, industry absorbed an ever-
increasing number of the newcomers. In 1870 one
industrial worker in three was foreign-born. When
congressional investigators examined twenty-one
major industries early in the new century, they dis-
covered that well over half of the labor force had not
been born in the United States.
Before 1882, when—in addition to the Chinese—
criminals, and persons adjudged mentally defective or
liable to become public charges were excluded, entry
into the United States was almost unrestricted. Indeed,
until 1891 the Atlantic coast states, not the federal gov-
ernment, exercised whatever controls were imposed on
newcomers. Even when federally imposed, medical
inspection was perfunctory. Public health officials
boasted that with “one glance” at each arrival, the
inspectors could “take in six details, namely the scalp,
face, neck, hands, gait and general condition, both
mental and physical.” Only those who failed this “test”
were examined more closely. On average, only one
immigrant in fifty was ultimately rejected.
Private agencies, philanthropic and commercial,
served as a link between the new arrivals and employ-
ers looking for labor. Until the Foran Act of 1885 out-
lawed the practice, a few companies brought in skilled
workers under contract, advancing them passage
money and collecting it in installments from their
paychecks, a system somewhat like the indenturedNorthern and
western EuropeSouthern and
eastern Europe
Asia, North America,
and South AmericaThousands of Immigrants186010008006004002000
1870 1880 1890 1900 1910
Immigration, 1860–1910In this graph, Germany is counted as a
part of northern and western Europe. Note the new immigration
from southern and eastern Europe in the early 1900s.
ATLANTIC
OCEANL.Su
pe
rio
rL.
Michigan
L.
Hu
ro
nL. ErieL.
OntarioMICHIGANWISCONSIN CANADAINDIANAOHIOILLINOISNORTH CAROLINAVIRGINIAWEST
VIRGINIAKENTUCKYTENNESSEENEW
YORKPENNSYLVANIAN.J.CONN.MASS.VERMONTN.H.MAINER.I.
MD.
DEL.Washington
DCBaltimorePhiladelphia New York
Brooklyn ProvidenceNewarkJersey
CityAlbanyPittsburghCleveland Buffalo RochesterDetroitCincinnati
LouisvilleChicagoMilwaukeeBostonMain area of German
settlement (over 5 per
sq mile)
Main area of Irish
settlement (over 5 per
sq mile)
Main area of German
and Irish settlement
(over 5 of each per
sq mile)
Urban settlement in towns
of over 25,000 inhabitants:
German
Irish020,00040,000German and Irish Settlement in the Northeastern United States, 1870In 1870, New York was the greatest
immigrant city; its Irish population dwarfed that of Philadelphia or Boston. Its German population, too, greatly
exceeded that of “German” cities such as Milwaukee and Chicago.