The immigrants during 1870 and 1900 desperately wanted to move to the U.S. in search of better life. I am an immigrant as well - my family and I came to the States four years ago, for better education and future. And I know it is better here, but it is not something that is greatly different from South Korea. Like my family, the immigrants must have thought that in this very country, a great prize was waiting for them. Because we are from different timeline, it is possible that there are different reasons as for why they chose to immigrate. Some decided to move for the sake of freedom of religion, or avoiding religious persecution or ban, to stay away from the corrupt government or political persecution, possible failure in business or agriculture, need for new jobs, escaping from famine or taxes, and/or searching for better education. I believe that to those people, America was a symbol for “new life”, mainly because it was a vast land, which had less than 200 years of history. They must have thought that living in a new country would offer them better life and future, which did not turn out to be true.
