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Why People Came to Chicago
People from western Europe started to move to America. Eventually, some of them ended up in Chicago.The people from the east of the United States began to move west towards Chicago and into Chicago. Some of those people became the first political and business leaders as Chicago grew from a marshy wilderness to a city.
Settlers from outside of the U.S. were very poor and came to Chicago in large groups in the 1840's. They came so they could find better jobs and a better home for their families.
Immigrants heard that the streets of America were lined with gold, but they found out that to get that gold, they would have to work hard. Chicago was like most other cities at this point, still growing like today.
There was plenty of work in Chicago. People worked long hours and got paid little. They kept at it, and finally did get better jobs, and got paid more. That is how Chicago got on its feet, and started up. People came to the city for money, better jobs, food, transportation and better quality of life.
They came from Asia, Russia, and many other countries. They also came from some of the countries in Europe like France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Greek, Denmark, Norway, and Ireland. Slavic groups came, too. There are newcomers still coming to Chicago like East Indians, Russians, more Greeks, Koreans, Vietnamese, and others. One of the religions that has been brought from overseas is the Jewish religion.
Immigrants are still coming to Chicago today.