The concept of people immigrating to the Americas is older than even the concept of an American nation. Immigrants have been arriving here for hundreds of years. Between 1840 and 1920, an unprecedented 37 million immigrants arrived in this great nation. But were these immigrants treated fairly? Were they discriminated against? Most immigrants came to America to start a new beginning and escape from the oppression that came from terrible rulers of their nations. They came to America to avoid persecution and to be treated fairly. They did not come to this country to be discriminated against. When the “new” immigrants arrived in this nation they faced social, political, and economic hardships. The “new” immigrants arrived around the late 19th century and came predominantly from southern and eastern Europe. They came in numbers unlike ever immigration waves ever witnessed before. They were usually poor, non-Protestant peasants. Immigrants were usually very hard-workers who worked in hard conditions and for little pay. Because many immigrants were discriminated against by people like Nativists, they were encouraged to act more “American.”
Places like settlement houses tried to Americanize the immigrants and they provided social services and a political voice for the neighborhoods. Settlement houses were community centers located in poor urban districts of major cities. Single and young women with college-educations usually ran them. Many people like the settlement house workers attempted to help the immigrants. Such people like case workers who were dedicated to studying and alleviating the conditions of the poor. Because immigrants were having a hard time fitting in to the culture, many