What pushed people away from their homelands during the period of new immigration 1890-1924

Total Immigrants: 22.3 million

The population of the USA increased from 63 million in 1890 to 106 million in 1920, as immigration hit its peak. For three decades after 1890, an annual average of 580,000 immigrants arrived on American shores, and 1907 set a record of 1.3 million newcomers in a single year. On the eve of World War I, the foreign-born had swollen to 15% of the US population. With 75% of Third Wave immigrants coming through the Port of New York, the old state immigration center, Castle Garden, was overwhelmed. This led to the construction of the first federal immigration center, Ellis Island, which served as the main port of entry for American immigration from 1898 to 1924.

Where Third Wave Immigrants Came From

The character of immigration also changed with the Third Wave. Whereas in 1880, 87% of immigrants had been from Northwestern Europe (the British Isles, Germany, and Scandinavia), by 1900, over 80% were from Southern and Eastern Europe (Italy, Russia, Austro-Hungary). The size and greater cultural diversity of the Third Wave would give rise to a great new Xenophobia (fear and hatred of foreigners) that would slam the door to new arrivals in the 1920s.

The Third Wave: The “New Immigrants”

Many factors increased the numbers and diversity of immigrants after 1890:

“Push” Factors drove Southern and Eastern Europeans to leave their native countries:

High population growth in Southern and Eastern Europe.
Lack of jobs and food.
Scarcity of available farmland.
Mechanization of agriculture, which pushed peasants off the land.
Religious persecution of Russian Jews, who fled their villages after pogroms.

“Pull” Factors attracted immigrants to the USA:

Democracy.
Freedom of religion.
Available land.
Other forms of economic opportunity.
Booming industries like steel and railroads advertised for workers in Hungary and Poland. These new immigrants helped build new railroads and took jobs in steel mills.