Migration and mobilisation in New York during the First World War

Wilson, Ross J.

Abstract

This article examines the impact of the First World War on immigration into New York from 1914 into the 1920s. From the nineteenth century onwards, New York had become the destination for global migration as individuals sought to settle in the city or the wider United States. Millions had passed through the immigration points in New York by the beginning of the twentieth century but the outbreak of war in 1914 suddenly brought this flow to a halt. Naval blockades, restrictions on civilian movement and mobilisation of economies in Europe ended what had been one of the most significant migration routes in modern human history. The impact on the city of this curtailment brought fear and anxiety to the streets. New York’s population was overwhelmingly made up of first or second-generation immigrants in 1914 and a concern that the war could be ‘exported’ to the United States through New York created anti-immigrant concern amongst the city and federal authorities. This created a wartime culture in New York that – at least for the duration of the conflict – removed its status as a city of immigrants and instilled a sense that the metropolis should be remade as ‘American’.

Citation

Wilson, R. J. (2024). Migration and mobilisation in New York during the First World War. Immigrants and Minorities, 42(3), 361-390. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619288.2024.2414044

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 2, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Oct 17, 2024
• Publication Date: 2024-09
• Deposit Date: Jul 28, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 28, 2025
• Journal: Immigrants & Minorities
• Print ISSN: 0261-9288
• Electronic ISSN: 1744-0521
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 42
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 361-390
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02619288.2024.2414044
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/52159032
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02619288.2024.2414044
• Additional Information: Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=fimm20; Received: 2024-02-29; Accepted: 2024-10-02; Published: 2024-10-17