Description

Glossary of Terms and Policies/Laws
Terms

1. Acculturation: Immigrants adapt to a new culture while retaining original identity.
2. Angel Island: West Coast processing center for Asian immigrants, known for strict enforcement.
3. Assimilation: Immigrants adopt new cultural norms, often losing original identity.
4. Chain Migration: Immigrants bring family or friends to join them in a new country.
5. Cultural Pluralism: Valuing coexistence of diverse cultural identities in society.
6. Ellis Island: Major East Coast immigration station (1892–1954).
7. Enclave: Communities like Chinatown preserving immigrant traditions.
8. Ethnic Neighborhoods: Urban areas where immigrants maintain traditions and community.
9. Immigration: Moving to a new country permanently for economic, social, or political reasons.
10. Industrialization: Economic shift to manufacturing, increasing labor demand.
11. Mosaic Society: A diverse society where cultures coexist and retain distinct identities.
12. Nativism: Favoring native-born citizens, opposing immigration for cultural/economic fears.
13. Pogroms: Violent attacks on ethnic/religious groups, targeting Jews in Eastern Europe.
14. Pull Factors: Attract immigrants, e.g., jobs, freedom, family connections.
15. Push Factors: Force emigration, e.g., war, famine, persecution.
16. Tenements: Overcrowded, unsanitary urban housing for immigrants.
17. Urbanization: Growth of cities as people move for job opportunities.

Policies and Laws

1. American Protective Association (1887): Anti-Catholic immigrant organization.
2. Chinese Exclusion Act (1882): First U.S. law banning immigration by ethnicity.
3. Homestead Act (1862): Offered free land to settlers who farmed for five years.
4. Immigration Act of 1917: Literacy test to limit less-educated immigration.
5. Indian Removal Act (1830): Forced Native Americans west, leading to the Trail of Tears.
6. Know-Nothing Party: Advocated restrictions on Catholic immigration.
7. Quota Laws: Limited immigration, favoring Northern/Western Europeans.
8. Statue of Liberty (1886): Symbol of hope, inscribed with Emma Lazarus’s welcoming poem.
9. Trail of Tears (1838–1839): Forced Cherokee migration with significant suffering.
10. Voting Eligibility for Immigrants: Granted after five years, sparking Nativist opposition.