Did your family immigrate from Russia? According to the 2000 census, over 11 million Americans claim to have Russian heritage. There were two waves of Russian immigration to America. The first one is called the ‘old immigration’ and the second one is called the ‘new immigration’. The ‘new immigration’ was in 1890-1930. Men often made the journey first and then saved up money for their family to join them. They primarily settled in places like New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Chicago. In order to escape discrimination and poverty, Russians came to America in hopes of a better life. Despite some challenges, America proved to provide a better life.

One reason people left Russia was religious persecution. An example of this is pogroms. A pogrom is an act of violence against Jews because of their religion. Pogroms destroyed homes and stores. They were encouraged by the government. Another type of religious persecution was The Pale of Settlement. The Pale of Settlement was an area where Jews were forced to live. They could not leave unless they had permission, and even if they did leave they were not aloud to own land and were forced into certain jobs. Not only were Jews persecuted, Molokans were as well. The Molokans were a religious and cultural group who completely disappeared after feeling persecuted for their beliefs. The Molokans left Russia in 1906 and 1907 because the other Russians were harassing them for their religious beliefs. Religious persecution was a big factor in Russians coming to America.

Some Russians left Russia because of environmental reasons. Russia had bad Cholera epidemics in the 1800’s and early 1900’s because of lack of water and sewage treatment systems. Millions of people died because of it. Russia suffered from not having an improved sanitation systems or good medical care. Some Russians left because of famine and starvation. The environment in Russia was not safe.

Another reason that people left Russia was because they had an autocratic government. An  autocratic government is a government where people don’t get to vote or elect their administration. People do not have a say in what their government does. This was terrible because the czar had complete control and made decisions because of what brought him wealth or power, not because of what was good for most of the  Russians. The czar was what their leader was called. If you disagreed with the czar you were killed or jailed. Some Russians left because of the Russian Revolution. The Russian Revolution was a violent revolution when Russia became a communist country in 1917. Some Russians left Russia because of the autocratic government and the Russian Revolution.

Some Russians left Russia due to the economic system. The Russians worked long hours, but got low pay. If you were born in lower class, it was not possible to work your way up to a higher part of society. You would stay in lower class for your whole life. A reason that some Russians left Russia was the unfair economic system.

As a result of an autocratic government and the Russian Revolution, some Russians decided to leave Russia. In America, the immigrants hoped to find stability and escape religious and political persecution. They came for political freedom because America does not have an autocratic government. In America they could elect their government.

Another reason that Russians came to America was because it had more job opportunities. They hoped to get employed.  People often got jobs like  tailors, peddlers, miners, and sometimes even professionals like professors or doctors. The immigrants wanted to escape poverty and hunger. You could become wealthy by working hard, saving money, and spending money wisely. Even if you were poor in your old country you could becomes successful in America. Some Russians came to America because it had a better economic system.

Some came to America for environmental reasons. In America there was less fear of disease. The climate and environment were better. Immigrants hoped to find fertile land in America.  The Great Plains were accessible by rail and offered fertile land. The Great Plains also had inexpensive land. Some immigrants came to America to find fertile land.

Once the immigrants left Russia, they still had some problems to deal with. One challenge was the journey. Some immigrants faced robbers who would try to steal all their money and items of value. These robbers made the trip dangerous. Immigrants often had to bribe guards or run across the border to Poland or Prussia. There were also very few roads and automobiles. Most immigrants could only afford steerage class tickets. In steerage class there were no windows and very little air circulation. Many immigrants got seasickness. Once the boat ride was over, the immigrants had to go to Ellis Island. At Ellis Island the immigrants were asked questions about their marital status, financial resources, political and religious ties, country of origin, and destination. If the doctors thought that an immigrant had a contagious disease they would be sent back to their original country. Some immigrants cried so much on the ship that when they arrived in America their eyes were so red and puffy that the doctors thought that they had an eye condition and sent them back to Russia. After all they sacrificed to come to America, some immigrants were rejected and sent back to their home county. For this reason, Ellis Island was known by some as the Isle of Tears.

Even after Ellis Island, there were still some hurdles for the immigrants to overcome. One example of this was the living conditions. Most immigrants lived in crowded and dirty tenement buildings because that was all they could afford. Many of them had to rent a room in their tenement to someone else because they could not pay the rent. America wasn’t perfect, but it was still better than where they came from.

Another challenge for the immigrants was bad work conditions. The immigrants often had difficult jobs like working in a mine or a factory. Some miners got lung disease or injuries due to breathing in coal dust. They often worked twelve hours a day, but they got paid very little amounts. The work conditions for immigrants were unsafe and uncomfortable.

Russians fled Russia due to Anti-semitism and poverty. They came to America with hopes of freedom and a better life. In the end, America proved to have a better situation than where they came from. The immigrants faced struggles like the journey to America, living in tenements, and bad work conditions. Russian immigrants have had great successes, such as George Balanchine and Igor Stravinsky. George Balanchine was a famous dance choreographer, and Igor Stravinsky was a well known composer. The story of Russian immigration is an example of how immigrants can build something out of nothing by working hard and never giving up on a better life.

  -Annabelle

Immigration from Greece to America

Because of unemployment, lack of freedom, and a bad government, many people left Greece to find a better life in America. However, when they got there, things were nothing like they thought. When Greece was invaded by the Ottoman Empire in the 1500s, the Greeks lost all freedom. When they finally regained control of Greece, things did not get much better for them as a result of the new government. Most of the people leaving Greece for America  were young men who thought that they would be in America for only a short amount of time. They believed that they would make some money and then go back to Greece. For most people leaving Greece for America, that was not the case.

There were many economic problems in Greece during the 1800s. Originally, most Greek farmers grew olives, but when the French wanted currants, most Greek farmers cut down their olive trees and started growing currants instead. In 1890, the French refused to buy Greek currants to protect their own currant farmers. Because most Greek farmers had gotten rid of their olive trees, they no longer had a way to make money to feed their families. Additionally, there were some pretty bad living conditions in Greece. Most farm families lived in small farm houses. Entire families,  parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and children, would be crammed into tiny, one room homes. Because of these economic challenges, many people wanted to leave Greece.

Greece had many political issues as well. In 1453, the Turks took over Greece and ruled until 1821. During this time, the Turks banned all Greek culture including the language. Finally, the Greeks rose up and fought the Turks for their freedom. There was a long a revolutionary war in Greece that lasted until 1829. Unfortunately, that was not the end of the political problems in Greece. The new Greek government officials were constantly fighting among themselves. On top of that, the government officials ignored the needs and problems of the Greek peasants. People in Greece felt that they were not free to do what they wanted to because of their government.

Due to the conditions that the people of Greece lived in, they always kept an eye out for a way to improve their lives. Some people in Greece learned about job opportunities in America. Poor Greek farmers heard stories about a Greek man who went to America with a group of friends and easily started a very successful business working at a streetside cart. Some farmers thought that they could go to America and make money there as well. In America, immigrants could have a variety of jobs such as working in candy stores, shoeshine parlors, tobacco shops, theaters, restaurants, grocery stores, and flower shops. In America, immigrants could get jobs that paid better than their jobs in Greece. Not only that, but because of the higher wages in America, people could get better business than they could in Greece.

Some Greeks thought that the government in America would be better than the one in Greece. They thought that they would be able to live their lives the way that they wanted. In America, they hoped that they would be treated better than they were being treated in Greece. Due to this idea, they believed that life in America would be better than in Greece.

Due to the long and difficult voyage to America, potential immigrants had to really want or need to go. Most of the people leaving Greece did not have enough money to pay for the trip. Because of this, most of them had to borrow money from money lenders. Even then, almost all of the people leaving Greece could only just afford a steerage ticket. Steerage was the cheapest kind of ticket. The people leaving were in the lowest, darkest part of the ship. Sometimes over 300 people were crammed into the dark, cramped, wet bottom of the ship. On top of that, ocean storms sometimes delayed the already two to four-week journey. Due to this, many people did not make the journey.

As hard as the trip to America was, the hard voyage was not the worst of the Greek’s problems. The code of conduct for a Greek man was that a Greek man should always have the upper hand. This made Greek men very proud and boastful. It sometimes got Greek men into conflicts with other nationalities. As a result of this, many Greeks faced great discrimination. For example, in the western states, Greeks had to live in their own labor camps because they were not even allowed to live with Americans. Greek men could not live with other men working on railroads or coal mines. Greeks could not even live in some neighborhoods.

To get away from poverty and a bad government, people left Greece in hopes of jobs and freedom in America. The Greeks faced a long trip to America. But instead of being welcomed, they were faced with discrimination. They got jobs and made money despite their troubles. Parts of Greek culture such as the Olympics have survived to this day. The story of Greek Immigration is an example of immigrants fleeing from one country to another in hopes of a better life.

KITAH VAV