Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
Chapter 7, Lesson 4, The Next Wave of Immigrants (pp. 210-215)
I. A New Generation of Europeans Arrives
B. German immigrants sought political freedom and the chance for economic independence.
C. Irish immigrants came to America to escape a famine caused by a potato blight.
II. Immigrants Establish Themselves in the New Country
B. Because Irish immigrants were usually poor and had few specialized skills, they could not afford to move west and had to
take whatever jobs were available.
III. New Americans Perceived as a Threat
B. The rise of strong feelings against immigrants was part of a social movement called nativism.
C. A number of organizations and political parties arose to glorify American culture
and condemn and control immigrants.
Lesson at a Glance Outline
A. In the 1850s, 2.7 million Europeans emigrated to America.
A. Because German immigrants often arrived with some savings and skills, they found it easier to buy land in the
west and set up a secure livelihood.
A. Some native-born Americans feared that immigrants, especially the Irish Catholics, would take their jobs, or become to powerful politically.
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