Jewish Migration to the United States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jewish Migration to the United States - Essay Example These migrations took place between 1919 and 1924. The Jews from Russia, on the other hand, began their westward foray earlier in 1880 and continued to trickle in towards 1913. This was the time when the Jews from the other Eastern European states began to journey towards the American shores. The Jews from Eastern Europe were close to 20 million, while those from Russia were about 2 million. Most of the Jews came to America through the Ellis Island, only to lay claim over the vast multi cultural terrains of large and crowded cities like New York and the Midwest. (Universiteit Leiden). There are a variety of reasons that have supported the Jewish immigration to America. Primary among these are reasons like political freedom as well as religious reasons. The Jews in general, have been an oppressed lot. Their religious duties bound them to a certain way of life which was soon stifling the slowly modern sensibilities that began to emerge just prior to the first world in communities the world over. There was a sudden surge of new found consciousness which the Jews felt too scared to acknowledge in their present locations. (Parrillo, 2002) The land called America presented them with opportunities galore. ... The land that belonged to the peasants was snatched away from them while children were forced to decide which profession to enter into by the age of 16 in order to ensure that they were not thrown into the torturous Russian army. The Russian army was fast becoming a target of negative publicity with its increasing number of suicide cases. (Universiteit Leiden). Further, in a free land like America, the Jews from Russia as well as Eastern Europe found that they had little need or pressure to affiliate themselves and their entire lifestyles with a certain political way of thinking or political party. This was a refreshing change and helped the Jews breathe in peace. Many Jews came to America temporarily at first, as political refugees, in order to join the labor force and earn a decent living before returning to their homeland in the hope that it will be free by the time they are done with their American tenure. This was the reason why many Jews did not enter into land ownership at the very onset like most of the other migrants like the Irish and Chinese. (Parrillo, 2002) These reasons were vastly different from the Irish, Chinese and Japanese migration experiences. The Irish entered America as a result of the famines that were constantly leaving them in a state of hunger and acute poverty, during 1840 to 1890. The Chinese on the other hand, migrated to America as a result of the Gold Rush in California. These migrations took place during the 1800s and were marked by an air of success and wealth. The Chinese migrants were essentially skilled craftsmen as well as merchants which eventually garnered a lot of discrimination against them. The Japanese, on the other hand, migrated to America in great numbers between 1886 and 1911, in order to make the most of the