Daily Life in Immigrant America, 1820-1870

(Hardback)

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Early nineteenth century America saw the first wave of post-Independence immigration. Germans, Irish, Englishmen, Scandinavians, and even Chinese on the west coast began to arrive in significant numbers, profoundly impacting national developments like westward expansion, urban growth, industrialization, city and national politics, and the Civil War. This volume explores the early immigrants' experience, detailing where they came from, what their journey to America was like, where they entered their new nation, and where they eventually settled. Life in immigrant communities is examined, particularly those areas of life unsettled by the clash of cultures and adjustment to a new society. Immigrant contributions to American society are also highlighted, as are the battles fought to gain wider acceptance by mainstream culture. Engaging narrative chapters explore the experience from the viewpoint of the individua, the catalysts for leaving one's homeland, new immigrant settlements and the differences among them, social, religious, and familial structures within the immigrant communities, and the effects of the Civil War and the beginning of the new immigrant wave of the 1870s. Images and a selected bibliography supplement this thorough reference source, making it ideal for students of American history and culture.

Reviews

This well-written title examines the impact of immigration on the broad path of history while also presenting its effects on families and individuals through firsthand accounts that convey experiences and varied degrees of success and failure.The tightly structured narrative moves deftly over time and across oceans, making it easy for students to keep track of the complex subject matter. Fairly extensive passages of historical background provide useful context. Practical details involving everything from lodging conditions to the relative sizes of ships also help make the historical experiences tangible.This is a thorough, balanced, and well-organized presentation offering useful specifics as well as broader, far-reaching concepts. * School Library Journal *
This series provides high school and college students and the general reader with detailed information about people in the United States from the pre-colonial up to the present. Daily Life in Immigrant America, 1820-1870, recreates the world of immigrants from Northern and Western Europe. This volume contains a comprehensive chronology with almost six dozen entries that begins in 1815 and ends in 1871. * MultiCultural Review *
This book is a well-written, encyclopedic guide to the daily life of ordinary immigrants into the United States during the nineteenth centuryBergquist skillfully looks at the small and routine features of daily life that appear to change little over generations. He examines the social, religious, and family structures within the various immigrant communities The author is sensitive to regional, ethnic, racial, cultural, and gender differences when making generalizations about the time period; for that reason, this is a valuable work that can be recommended for all libraries. * ARBA *
The best parts of this book are those that personalize the story with first-person accounts. . . . Bergquist does a fine job of constructing out of disparate materials composite images of life among the immigrants. One comes away with an enhanced understanding that not all immigrant stories are ones of success. * American Catholic Studies *

Author Bio

JAMES M. BERGQUIST is Professor Emeritus of History, Villanova University. He has published dozens of book chapters, journal articles, and encyclopedia entries dealing with immigration and immigration issues in the United States. He is also editor of the Immigration and Ethnic History Society newsletter.