Immigration to America (1830-1860)
Between 1830 and 1860, Immigrants to the United States came mainly from countries like Ireland and Germany. During the early 1800's, Ireland was in the midst of its potato famine. The Irish survived greatly on their potato crops, and when the majority of the crops fell to disease, many of the Irish decided to migrate to America to start a new life. The Germans started coming to America after the Napoleonic Wars left their country and economy in ruin. Once the Immigrants survived their journey, they had to pass through New York's Ellis Island, where they were physically checked over for diseases and fitness. Once passed, many of the Immigrants remained in the Eastern Cities along the coast.
With the rapid infusion of immigrants into the United States, many political parties formed to rally against the new American Citizens. Part of the opposition was political, but a lot of it was economical and political. Americans did not want the new immigrants to steal their already poor jobs, and immigrants joined the democratic party because it represented the working class. A new political party formed, called the Know-Nothing Party. This party opposed Roman Catholics and wanted to extend the time that it took for immigrants to become Citizens.