What did immigrants come to America for besides economic opportunity?

Answer 1

There were and are many reasons immigrants have come to America. Even though economic opportunity is one of the more prominent reasons, many immigrants came to escape both religious and political persecution in the country of their origin. For example, some of the earliest immigrants came to America on a small ship named the Mayflower in 1620 A.D. Most of those on the ship came to escape religious persecution in England.

One very important group of immigrants came from Ireland to escape the effects of a severe famine. Between 1845 and 1852 over a million people died in Ireland of starvation and the associated diseases and over a million more immigrated into the United States. Proceeding both World Wars, many European and Eastern European immigrants came to America for political freedom or because they feared for their lives. This is still a major factor for immigrants seeking asylum in the United States today.

We must also remember that between 1525 and 1866 over 10 million Africans survived being impressed into slavery to arrive on the American continents, although only a much smaller percentage, about 450,000, were forced to come to the United States. Many more slaves went to Brazil and other Latin American countries.