6.7 Immigration and Migration in the Gilded Age

The Gilded Age was defined not only by industrial expansion but also by unprecedented demographic transformation. Millions of immigrants arrived from Europe and Asia between 1865 and 1898, reshaping the cultural and economic landscape of the United States. The earlier wave of immigrants from northern and western Europe—primarily Irish, German, and Scandinavian—was now joined by a new immigration including Italians, Poles, Russians, and Jews fleeing poverty, persecution, and political unrest. These newcomers settled primarily in urban centers, where they provided the labor that fueled the nation’s industrial economy. In the factories, mines, and railroads, immigrant workers endured low wages and dangerous conditions, often facing discrimination and hostility from nativism who viewed them as competitors for jobs and as cultural outsiders.