The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in the years 1760 to 1840. This transition included going from hand production methods to machines, new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes, improved efficiency of water power, the increasing use of steam power and the development of machine tools. With industrialization came a total switch in the types of jobs people performed. Jobs increased and the economy was increasing rapidly which is how industrial immigration began. The industrial immigration was the immigration that had people from other continents migrate into the US in 1880 to 1920 in search of better lives. The industrial immigration is now over but modern immigration has replaced it. Modern immigration is the immigration that happened recently or continue happening in the present time.
The industrial and modern immigration are both processes that created cultural diversity in the United States. They both introduced and continue introducing many people to America. The industrial immigration happened as a result of the industrial revolution. Immigrants from Europe and other countries came to America for different reasons. An example of the immigrants would be the Irish who came into the US because of the potato famine in Ireland in the nineteenth century caused by the failure of successive potato crops in the 1840s, violence due to catholic religion which are both push factors and for more job opportunities which is a pull factor. While during the industrial immigration immigrants were mostly from Europe, modern immigration has immigrants that come from all over the world. An example would be Mexican immigrants who have the highest number on the map of US immigrants. Their main reasons for immigrating are to get better jobs, better living conditions and for better education which are all pull and push factors.
Billions of the Irish immigrants settled in New York and the neighboring states. With such a high Irish Protestant and Catholic presence in American society, along with the diversity, they brought some of their customs into American culture t. Some examples are the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day which is a very important figure in the Irish history. This holiday has influenced American culture through the symbolism in the holiday. Four-leaf clovers, leprechauns, rainbows, pots of gold - all of these are Irish symbols brought into American culture, generally shown on St. Patrick’s Day to indicated good luck, wealth, and prosperity. Another example the Irish influenced American culture by means of the Gaelic and Celtic languages. The immigrants created little communities which allowed them to continue speaking those languages. Also, by looking at many of the surnames in American society such as MacDonald or McColly the prefix “Mac” or “Mc” are Gaelic contractions that indicate ‘the son of …’ The Mexicans as well have influenced America’s culture. Though most settle in California and Texas their influence in the US is undeniable. They are having a profound effect on American food, music, sports, beauty products, fashion, politics and much more. Two examples are