Immigrants

- Why did people leave Europe to go to America in the late 1800s? What was their 'American Dream'?

The Europeans including the Norwegians immigrated to The United States by the promise of free land. Many people were tempted by the opportunity to get a better life. If the immigrants were farming the land, they were granted around 600 acres of soil and a farm much bigger and better than any farm in their native land.

The immigrants “American Dream” was to get a better life by getting a bigger farm with more acres of fertile soil.

The immigration was a result of many push and pull factors.  Some main push factors that drove the immigrants from their country was religious persecution, poverty and political oppression. Some pull factors that attracted the immigrants to the U.S. was civil rights, freedom of expression, religion and a good economic opportunity.

The Irish immigrants were pushed from their country because of a bad potato breeding with an illness.  The potatoes were quite important for the Irish people, therefore many died and some decided to move.