...Immigrant Economic Opportunities in the Gilded Age At the dawn of the Gilded Age, America had been a land divided by the depredation and bloodshed of the Civil War. In its aftermath a promising new light edged over the horizon and America found new economic hope in the expanded development of the railroad. The railroad system began to developed and expand across the land, linking every state. It altered our great nations landscape, as well as its economy. America feverishly developed the most elaborate, extensive and advanced railroad system in the world. And as the railroad workers tirelessly laid tracks so that locomotive engines could roar, the industrial economy exploded. Americans found ourselves producing goods by machine and losing the art of crafting our goods by human hands, as the rails made way for goods and materials to be produced and transported farther and in quantities never before conceivable. This lead to an unprecedented growth of capitalism and gave way to the Gilded Ages capitalist entrepreneurs such as Rockefeller, Carnegie and Vanderbilt. These advancements in transportation and industrialization meant a surplus of immigrants venturing to the U.S in search of gainful employment, in a time of plentiful labor. In the booming American economy immigrants could find positions as skilled workmen, including blacksmiths, carpenters, cigar makers masons and mechanics. Or other miscellaneous jobs including farmers, laborers, merchants and servants...
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...Introduction Canada boasts about being a multi-cultural mosaic, a land of opportunity, with a vision to build “a stronger Canada – a safe and secure country with a shared bond of citizenship and values; a country that continues to support our humanitarian tradition and draws the best from the world to help build a nation that is economically, socially and culturally prosperous” (Government of Canada, 2011). Yet a look at the income statistics for Canadian immigrants makes one wonder whom is prospering economically. Are Canadian immigrants given equal economic opportunity when they arrive here, or are they subject to economic inequality? To answer this question, one can first look at earnings statistics and reports from Statistics Canada. This information can provide basic earnings information on immigrants, which will show how much Canadian immigrants earn in comparison to their native Canadian counterparts. A few drawbacks of using this information are that the statistics haven’t been updated since 2006, so the numbers may not be completely accurate, and numbers alone do not tell the whole story. As such, peer reviewed research articles and papers on the subject of economic inequality in Canadian immigrants can be used. These articles and papers provide both qualitative and quantitative information that paints a clearer picture of the situation. However, many of these papers are usually biased towards writer’s point-of-view, so there may be a lack of complete information...
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...been called the land of opportunity, but for whom For a long time America has been called the land of opportunity. However, who is the opportunities for? Are they for the immigrants coming into the country, or for American born citizens? In America you have the opportunity to be or do whatever you desire. If you are determined and have a drive to do something, then it is possible. Some people have the drive to be rich and successful. Being rich means you are successful and you do not have to worry about debt. Some immigrants just have a desire to be successful so they don’t have to live in poverty. [Thesis] America offers different opportunities for citizens such as what they want to become, what kind of lifestyle they choose, and what welfare benefits they receive. To start off, America offers many opportunities for many people. No matter what career choice you are interested in, there is an option to pursue it. There have been a few people who have pursued their ambitions and had great success. Andrew Carnegie arrived in 1848 with barely a dollar to his name. By...
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...Portes and Zhou’s article, “Should Immigrants Assimilate?” addresses a question that immigrant academics and immigrants have been argued for a long time about the consequences of second generation immigrants assimilating into American society. Portes and Zhou’s main claim suggests the vulnerabilities and resources second generation immigrants have determines the effectiveness of their selective assimilation. Mary Waters’ article, “Debating Immigration: Are We Addressing the Right Issues?” asserts that Americans have a precedent view and expectation that second generation immigrants have to follow. When these articles are put together in conversation, Portes and Zhou’s main claim that selective assimilation for second generation immigrants is...
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...The United States is a land of prosperity and opportunities. Immigrants from all over the world migrate to America to achieve the American dream. The American dream, for every person living in America, is having an equal opportunity to be successful and the success is achieved by all the hard work and dedication Americans do throughout their lifetime. Success has different meanings for different people as we all do not have the similar needs and have a different point of views to life. Success for some people is achieving financial stability while others see success as happiness and love. Immigrants take the courage to step out of their motherland and move to America to achieve their desired goals and live a healthy and wealthy life....
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...is completely against it, things might escalate even more over the next few years. The reason why immigrants come to the United States is easy to understand, America is the land of opportunity and everyone in the U.S. were all once immigrants when their ancestors came to this wonderful land for their own chance at the opportunity to do something great. Although, it may seem alright for immigrants coming into our country for some people, but to others even just the thought of immigrants coming to the U.S. make them cringe. This is why this topic is easy to be with or against immigrants because there are many roles that come into factor that act negatively...
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...system. He had decided that if an illegal immigrant had been living in the United States, since 2010 or earlier, and had a child who had been born in America, they would be eligible to gain legal documentation. Immigrants will also have to pay their fair share of taxes and pass a criminal background check. Unfortunately, this law does not apply to immigrant children under the age of 18 unaware of the fact they had been crossing the U.S. border illegally with their family. The children that were brought here illegally by their parents should be granted a path to legal citizenship to be able to study and soon work legally in America. Back in November of 2014, Republicans in congress had not supported the decision President Obama had made with reforming the immigration law. Although, they were not the only ones who had not supported the President’s decision. Some citizens in America don’t see past the dozens of myths about immigrants. For example, some Americans believe immigrants come to the United States to not pay taxes and take job opportunities away from Americans. If the children are granted legal status, then they will soon be paying their fair share of taxes as they become older and find employment because they will be capable of obtaining a work permit. Studies find that immigrants pay between 90 and 140 billion dollars a year in federal, state, and local taxes (immigrationfourm.org). As for the myth that thousands of job opportunities will be taken away from Americans, many...
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...Given an opportunity Immigrants should stay “More than 11.7 million immigrants from Mexico resided in the United States in 2014, according to the ACS, accounting for 28 percent of all U.S. immigrants.” I’m arguing to let immigrants stay in the united states. My reasons is based on the information I have gathered to explain why I’m writing this so immigrants can stay in the U.S. The more deportation that happens keeps happening the more families are being ripped apart and leaving children in foster care. The total cost for each child is about close to 26,000 per year to be in foster care. They’re more organizations are that willing to help out immigrants dealing with immigration problems by the basis that all immigrants matter. There are economic...
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...the author Anzia Yezierska writes about a Russian girl that comes to America to take advantage of the opportunities that were stripped away from her in her homeland. She believes that taking these opportunities will give an actual chance to become successful. The Russian immigrant and many other immigrants who migrate over to America believe that it is the land of opportunity, where dreams become reality. She came to America to pursue the so called American dream. Her dream was to be able to do the things she was not able to do in Russia, and to take advantage of opportunities that her family members were not offered. According to the Narrator, “America was a land of living hope, woven dreams, aflame with longing...
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...Economics Opportunities Paper University of Phoenix US History 1865 to 1945 HIS/120 Alison Cundari Economic Opportunities Paper As the America experienced changes and progressed economically the demand of immigrant labor has become popular. With this in mind as a promoter I would like to seek new immigrant labor from Europe to fulfill the requirements and demand of workers in our country. Better opportunities, economic growth, immediate employment as well as other incentives will be given to all interested immigrants that would like to come from Europe to the United States. First for individuals that are interested in immigrating to the United States from Europe many opportunities will be offered that would improve the lifestyle that was previously encountered in his or her country. All immigrants will be provided with a better life as better opportunities will be given not only for working situations but also personal lives. Some examples would be living in a non-slave country, granting housing and having available land to farm freely. Similarly, political and economic freedom will be given to all immigrants coming to our country without discrimination. The most important incentive would be to have immediate employment presented to all immigrants. With this employment immigrants will come across better opportunities as he or she will be able to purchase food, clothing or supplies needed for survival. At the same time, new...
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...one of the leading countries to accept immigrants from all over the world. The United States government has had many opinions on this subject. Although controversial, immigration has shown to be beneficial to both the immigrant and the country. There are many laws that have been passed concerning United States immigration. One law of many concerning immigration is the Immigration Act of 1891, which creates the Bureau of Immigration...The act also calls for the deportation of people who entered the country illegally, and denies entry for polygamous, the mentally...
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...help in adjusting immigrants to American life and making them feel accepted. The research that I did and the piece of information that I have found has helped build my knowledge in becoming socially aware of society around me. It has opened my eyes to the lack of knowledge most of the world has on immigration and it shows me that something needs to change. The items that I have collected have helped me understand more about African immigration specifically compared to other ethnicities that are coming to America. The first week I looked at the difference between Africans and African-Americans. The article I found was very interesting because it talks about the stereotypes African people are forced onto because of their skin color, and how they are treated by Americans in a very unfair and unequal way. African immigrants feel as though they are looked down upon and automatically thought to be of a lower class because of their skin color. This article helped me understand the difference between the two types of immigrants, because often times they are looked at as being the same. The second week I looked at the reasons why African immigrants are coming to the United States, because I think the history behind the transition is important to this topic. I looked at sources from the Library of Congress, and African immigration stems from escaping brutal treatment with the hopes of living a more healthy and successful life filled with many opportunities in America. It is...
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...this country. For instance, certain businesses and corporations seek out to hire immigrant workers. Coming here, the men need a job to provide their family and will take any decent job available for them. Businesses hire immigrants without looking whether or not they are illegal because they are willing to...
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...countless backs of undocumented immigrants. Beginning with the first settlers emigrating from England in hopes of finding freedom from religious persecution, to the countless South American immigrants only hoping to look and find a way for a better life for themselves and their children. President Obama’s illegal immigration reform is not celebrated but applauded by its many supporters in that it not only holds illegal immigrants accountable for years of unpaid taxes, not only helping the national economy but also giving immigrants a chance in citizenship presented that they pay off all their taxes, also keeping the American dream alive in guaranteeing immigrants who have been in the U.S for longer than five years, in ensuring no deportation given a clean background check and also keeping these hard working American Immigrants families alive. In his most recent national address, President Obama argued that this nation’s immigration system is “broken” and further proposed a strengthening of our border security, streamlining legal immigration, earned citizenship, and the exploitation of the undocumented worker by hiring employers. Although I agree with President Obama’s ideas of addressing the outdated and dysfunctional migratory system, I believe his proposal will bring forth more harm than good. It imposes stringent requirements on illegal immigrants without providing any defined guarantee of citizenship. The reform proposes that all illegal immigrants register with the U.S. government...
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...presence of foreign-born workers in the United States. Some stories in the popular press suggest that immigrants lower wage and diminish the job opportunities of workers born in the United States. Others portray immigrants as filling essential jobs that are shunned by other workers and expand job opportunities. Immigration effects on employment, income, and productivity vary by occupation, job, and industry. One recent research by Peri (2009) and Peri and Sparber (2009) examining the impact of immigrants on the broader U.S. economy. These studies systematically analyze how immigrants affect total output, income per worker, and employment in the short and long run. Consistent with previous research. According to study, immigrants help to create new jobs, stabilize or strengthen the housing market, increase income per U.S.-born worker ,and make once-declining areas more attractive Immigrants create jobs. Research on how immigration impacts U.S. workers often focuses on how immigration affects the wages of native-born workers. Equally important, however, is how immigration affects employment opportunities for the native born. Research shows that increased immigration does not displace U.S. workers for many of the same reasons that there are not negative wage effects. Another reason that immigrants do not displace U.S. workers from their jobs is that many immigrants create their jobs by starting their own business. In fact, according to the 2011 Current Population Survey...
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