[Music] the united states is a nation of immigrants and it always has been the first era of immigration into the land that would become the united states began in 1607 when the first permanent english colony was founded in jamestown virginia in the period between then and the american revolution in contrast to the africans brought here by force this land became home to millions looking for a better life all across the world and over time immigrants have fled their homelands where life is dangerous challenging or hopeless seeking lands that offer safety opportunity and hope the pilgrims and puritans who settled in massachusetts were fleeing religious persecution at the hands of the church of england same with the presbyterians who settled pennsylvania others were motivated to immigrate by poverty over half of the immigrants arriving to colonial america in the 17th and 18th centuries came as indentured servants unable to find work in their home countries between 1841 and 1850 781 thousand irishmen and women came to america fleeing their nation's great famine seeking the plentiful farmland america offered but anti-catholic attitudes boomed in the years that followed similarly following famine floods and political unrest in china over 100 000 chinese immigrants fled to america by 1880 where they found work mining constructing railroads and more but many felt threatened by their foreign culture and competition for jobs the page act of 1875 was the first national law to regulate immigration also known as the asian exclusion act this law banned many asian women from immigrating on the grounds that they might become prostitutes and it banned many asian men who might compete with american laborers in 1882 congress went even further passing the chinese exclusion act a blanket ban on virtually all chinese immigration a law that held for almost 60 years but despite hostility to immigration from the east immigration from the west boomed due to the development of steam-powered ships between 1880 and 1920 over 20 million immigrants came to the united states primarily from europe millions more german irish and british immigrants came to the united states along with swedish and norwegian immigrants but also new groups from southern and eastern europe and they came for the same reasons as those who had immigrated before them the largest of these groups was from italy between 1880 and 1920 5.3 million people arrived in the united states from italy although about half returned to italy after some time working here many who came had entered poverty due to political and social unrest in italy but in america they found work in construction factories agriculture mining and more this era also brought religious diversity between 1880 and 1924 2.8 million jews immigrated overwhelmingly from eastern european countries such as russia poland lithuania belarus and ukraine where they suffered violent mob attacks known as programs in america they became involved in garment manufacturing clothing stores and trade in 1890 the census hit the highest percentage of foreign-born americans on record 14.8 percent life was hard for these immigrants in the cities they lived in overcrowded conditions that spread tuberculosis and other diseases like generations of american immigrants passed they strived through the hardship to build a better future but despite this shared experience another pattern repeated itself with an increase in immigration came increased hostility americans from italy were considered by many to be racially lesser than northern and western europeans their churches were vandalized and in the 1890s more than 20 italian americans were lynched a small number involved in organized crime led to negative stereotypes targeted at the entire community despite the fact that italian immigrants were also the greatest victims of italian-run organized crime the community as a whole was arrested at a rate no greater than other immigrant groups jewish immigrants were perceived as subverting american values one of them leo frank was lynched in 1915 after being falsely accused of murdering a christian girl jews were restricted from joining certain professions and living in certain areas when jews began to succeed in large numbers in getting into universities and becoming lawyers and doctors quotas were put in place to keep their representation down despite the professional success of such immigrants many americans felt that the u.s had become a dumping ground for those without the social or occupational skills to successfully assimilate a 1917 law banned all immigrants who were alcoholics epileptics quote feeble-minded persons idiots illiterates anarchists and more at the same time labor unions were one of the loudest opponents of immigration for fear immigrants had too many occupational skills despite the fact that unions themselves were largely made up of immigrants labor unions were influential in passing numerous immigration laws including the 1921 emergency quota act which decreased annual immigration by nearly half a million people and the immigration act of 1924 which limited annual immigration even further to a two percent quota from each nation of origin and that two percent number was calculated based on the decades-old 1890s census when america's population was much smaller because of the law immigration from italy fell more than 90 percent the law so tightly limited immigration that in 1924 more italians spaniards portuguese czechs yugoslavs greeks lithuanians hungarians poles and romanians left the nation then arrived jews were deeply affected unable to flee nazi germany to america in the years leading up to the holocaust an advisor for the 1924 law even praised it as an adoption of scientific racism in america's immigration policy but despite the enormous hostility to immigrants millions that made it here thrived studies have found that this period of immigration produced substantial long-term benefits one study found that locations with more historical immigration today have higher income less poverty less unemployment higher rates of urbanization and greater educational attainment what we now know as bank of america started as bank of italy founded by amadio giannini to serve the italian immigrant community in san francisco italian immigrants built the lincoln memorial and immigrant italo marcioni invented the ice cream cone americans of italian descent flourished in music and entertainment inventing characters like donald duck casper the friendly ghost and tom and jerry among jewish immigrants levi strauss was the first person in the world to manufacture blue jeans the marx brothers second generation americans developed the foundations of american comedy and began a long tradition of jews in american comedy and film albert einstein who made it to america in the 1930s revolutionized physics and was one of well more than 100 jewish american nobel prize winners over decades restrictions on previously targeted immigrant groups began to relax the chinese exclusion act was repealed in 1943 similar laws targeting indians and filipinos were repealed in 1946 the immigration and nationality act of 1952 finally removed racial categorizations from the immigration code and in 1965 the immigration and nationality act abolished the national quota system in place since 1924 although it still allowed discrimination against gay and lesbian immigrants a provision repealed in 1990 today the immigrant groups that came at the turn of the 20th century have been integrated into the american mainstream few pay attention to the difference among americans of british descent and those of italian german polish irish and russian descent where once they were treated differently in the name of scientific racism today few place much importance on where other people's ancestors came from their cultures have intermixed and integrated a fusion known as the american melting pot as of 2015 the united states had a larger immigrant population than anywhere else in the world 47 million immigrants 14.4 percent of the total u.s population but as before where they came from has shifted in 1970 60 of immigrants were from europe but by 2000 that number had dropped to only 15 now in the 21st century as new groups arrive the same cycle repeats itself immigrants come from all around the world the largest numbers from mexico and latin america they come for the same reasons fleeing violence and poverty and seeking opportunity many today believe their culture is too different from ours that they won't assimilate and that they put american jobs at risk but if we can learn from the past we can know that the integration of immigrants and the flourishing of america's economy and culture can happen as it has every time before learn more about the stories that define and unite us at fairstory.org [Music] you