Introduction

The history of American immigration is one that can be categorized as a unique experience for each participant. However, most immigrants encountered very similar situations when immigrating to the United States. Many immigrant groups left their home countries for reasons alike, and also experienced continual discrimination by nativists when they first arrived. To the nativits, immigrants were viewed as stupid, poor, dirty and were tied to many other negative connotations. As immigration continued to rise and more and more foreigners were entering the country, nativists had no choice but to learn to accept the immigrant in America. Despite the vast influx of immigration in the 1800s & 1900s, the way different immigrant groups adapted to American life, and essentially what they did when they got here vary greatly. For example, the Italians and Germans both immigrated to America from Europe nevertheless not all of them had the shared the same experience. Although at times these two immigrant groups shared similarities in the prejudices and negative responses from nativits, it is clear that their experiences within their new world were vastly different.