European Immigrants Arriving in New York

This calm image of an immigrant ship arriving in New York harbor hardly captures the emotions the immigrants had (as we know from their letters and diaries) on leaving their communities and facing an unknown life in the United States or other parts of the Western Hemisphere. Many came from agricultural regions and would soon be the labor behind the advance of industry; others would become settlers, driving out native Americans and thus becoming agents of empire. (The Granger Collection, NYC—All rights reserved.)