Daily Life in Immigrant America, 1820–1870 How the First Great Wave of Immigrants Made Their Way in America

by Bergquist, James M.

• ISBN13: 9781566638296
• ISBN10: 1566638291
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-07-16
• Publisher: Ivan R. Dee

Summary

Early-nineteenth-century America experienced the first wave of immigration after Independence, when Germans, Irish, English, Scandinavians, and, on the West Coast, even Chinese began to arrived in significant numbers. These new settlers had a profound impact on such national developments as westward expansion, urban growth, industrialization, city and national politics, and the Civil War.

Author Biography

James M. Bergquist's chronicle of the early immigrants' experience describes where they came from, what their journey to America was like, where they entered the new nation. and where they eventually settled. He examines life in immigrant communities. particularly those areas of life that were unsettled by the clash of cultures and the adjustments to a new society. He highlights immigrant contributions to American life as well as their struggles to gain wider acceptance by the mainstream culture. This is history with an appealing immediacy, on a level that everyone can understand. With 25 illustrations.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Chronology	p. xi
Overview: Immigration by the Numbers, 1820-1870	p. 3
Leaving Home, 1820-1845	p. 22
Across the Atlantic and into America, 1820-1845	p. 60
Immigration at High Tide, 1845-1854	p. 101
Developing Immigrant Communities, 1820-1855	p. 142
Changing Immigrant Cultures, 1820-1855	p. 186
Political Turmoil and War, 1850-1865	p. 220
Into a New Era, 1865-1870	p. 268
Notes	p. 291
Glossary	p. 301
For Further Reading	p. 307
Index	p. 323
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