The new immigrants had a large impact, both negative and positive, on the United States. The negative aspects of the new immigration were more visible in the short run while most of the positive aspects of it are still visible today. In a similar way, the first new immigrants suffered more than they succeeded and were not often able to improve their lives but their children and grandchildren were able to benefit from the immigration.
New immigrants tended to live more in the cities than the old immigrants did. They often lived in neighborhoods with other people of similar ethnic origins. Many of the new immigrants lived in crowded tenements. Most of these neighborhoods were crowded and unsanitary, leading to a rise in disease, infant mortality, and death rates. The crowded slums also lead to an increase in prostitution and crime rates.
The new immigrants tended to take the jobs of the working class Americans because they settled in the cities and were unskilled. The new immigrants were often willing to work for less than the American workers, leading to lower wages. Many of the new immigrants were also willing to break strikes to work, weakening the labor unions. Many of the working class Americans were hurt by the arrival of the new immigrants. American workers lost their jobs, got paid less, or had their labor unions weakened.
The arrival of the new immigrants gave rise to feelings of xenophobia in Americans. The new immigrants were more visible than the old immigrants because they lived in cities and didn't speak English. They were ridiculed by Americans because of their different values, beliefs, and customs. The treatment of the new immigrants demonstrates that Americans during that time weren't very tolerant of people from different cultures.
Americans made their feelings towards the new immigrants clear when they created new immigration quotas, severely limiting the number of new immigrants allowed into the country.
