With the advent of newspapers, Americans were given the information they craved on a daily basis. With papers covering politics, economics and social events, citizens of the 50 states were fed the valuable information they craved. Yep, immigrants too!
With periodicals starting to gain a large following in the late 19th century, newbies to the U.S. had to find a way to gain their much needed news as well. Thus, the immigrant press came to light. With the innovation, those who had traveled overseas chasing the “American Dream” were able to read the highlights from their communities and their homelands in their native languages. By WWI, over 1,300 non-English newspapers were available to the masses of immigrants. They catered to more than 34 groups including the Germans, Chinese, Italians and Polish.
Immigrant and ethnic newspapers opened a door for a new voice in a new country. The “melting pot” of a nation truly melted together when written word was finally able to spread across cultures. .
Photo courtesy of Indiana University
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