Intergroup bigotry and late nineteenth and early twentieth century immigrant competition,exploitation and succession in the United States

Using a variety of primary and secondary sources, this study attempts to emphasize the rivalry and tensions between the various ethnic groups in one of the major phases of immigration into the United States. Not only were these immigrants exploited by employers but the divisions between groups, often exaggerated and manipulated by those employers, also helped to build significant barriers to a strong unionism within the workforce. The overall conclusion of the article is an essentially negative evaluation of the economic and social forces immigrants experienced in these years.