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Travel to the United States from Europe improved dramatically after 1880. Steam-powered transportation - especially trains- now reached all parts of Europe; steam powered ships crossed the Atlantic ocean in only a matter of days rather than weeks, and conditions aboard ships were much improved especially for passages from Northern Europe. Travel throughout Indiana was rapidly changing as well. Click on the two thumbnail images to compare maps of train routes in Indiana in 1850 and 1897, respectively.
New
factories and mills across the United States created a vast
demand for cheap labor; again, immigrants became the primary
work force to support America's industrial revolution.
While
businesses required a growing supply of skilled and unskilled
workers, as a whole, Americans had at best uncertain attitudes
towards new immigrant laborers. Fear was expressed about the
potential loss of jobs to newcomers, and many politicians were
wary about the influence of foreign attitudes towards religion
and politics. As stated in the Immigration and Naturalization
services history of Immigration in the United States:
people began to ask questions about the effects of immigration on the nation. Who were these immigrants, more of whom came each year? Where did they come from, and where did they settle? Did immigrants harm the United States economy by dominating certain jobs and driving down wages? Could the public be sure immigrants woud not bring epidemics and disease with them from Europe? [These questions] are never permanently answered. As the nation changes over time, each generation of Americans must ask and answer them again. The answers Americans gave to these questions over time shaped United States policy and fashioned immigration law.
Steerage ticket for passage from Great Britain to the United States, ca 1870s.
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