Question

push factor or pull factor?
the decision to migrate, whether on a local, national, and international scale, usually results from a combination of push and pull factors.
in the first column, identify whether the event pushed people out or pulled them in. then, in the last column identify which factor caused the migration: economic, social, political, or environmental.

(push) or (pull)?	immigration event	cause factor
	2. early french settlers came to north america to organize a lucrative fur trading network.
	3. more than 79% of italian immigrants to the us settled in the industrial cities of new york, pennsylvania, and new england.
	4. ireland’s potato crop was destroyed by blight disease in 1845 and 1846.
	5. after 1880, harsh discriminatory measures against jews were enacted and pogroms were frequent in russia.
	6. mexico periodically experiences high levels of unemployment.
	7. students from africa often come to study medicine at american universities.
	8. in the 1830s, agricultural workers in germany were displaced by the industrial revolution.
	9. during the 1980s, guatemala, el salvador, and nicaragua were all wracked by civil war.
	10. german immigration, spurred by the homestead act, reached a peak of 1.4 million during the 1880s.
	11. gold was discovered at sutter’s mill in 1849.
	12. south vietnam’s us - backed government collapsed in 1975.
	13. beginning in the 1970s, growing numbers of haitians made their way to america to escape the grinding poverty and political repression of their nation.
	14. families of resettled vietnamese were allowed to be reunited in the united states.
	15. in 1848, an attempt to bring about a liberal resolution in germany failed and many germans fled to the united states.

Answer:

To solve this, we analyze each immigration event to determine if it's a push (drives people out) or pull (attracts people in) factor, and identify the cause (economic, social, political, environmental).

1. Puritans migrate to New World (religious persecution)

• Push/Pull?: Push (persecution drives them out).
• Cause Factor: Social (religious persecution is a social issue).

2. Early French settlers (lucrative trading network)

• Push/Pull?: Pull (trading opportunity attracts them).
• Cause Factor: Economic (trading for profit is economic).

3. Italians settle in industrial US cities

• Push/Pull?: Pull (job opportunities in industry attract them).
• Cause Factor: Economic (industrial jobs are economic).

4. Ireland’s potato crop destroyed (blight)

• Push/Pull?: Push (crop failure drives people out).
• Cause Factor: Environmental (crop disease is environmental).

5. Jews in Russia (discrimination, pogroms)

• Push/Pull?: Push (persecution drives them out).
• Cause Factor: Social (discrimination is social).

6. Mexico’s high unemployment

• Push/Pull?: Push (lack of jobs drives people out).
• Cause Factor: Economic (unemployment is economic).

7. African students study medicine in US

• Push/Pull?: Pull (educational opportunities attract them).
• Cause Factor: Social (education is a social/cultural factor).

8. German agricultural workers displaced (Industrial Revolution)

• Push/Pull?: Push (job loss drives them out).
• Cause Factor: Economic (industrialization displaces workers).

9. Central America civil wars (1980s)

• Push/Pull?: Push (war drives people out).
• Cause Factor: Political (civil war is political).

10. German immigration (Homestead Act)

• Push/Pull?: Pull (Homestead Act attracts them).
• Cause Factor: Economic (land ownership opportunity is economic).

11. Gold discovered at Sutter’s Mill

• Push/Pull?: Pull (gold rush attracts them).
• Cause Factor: Economic (gold mining for profit is economic).

12. South Vietnam government collapses (1975)

• Push/Pull?: Push (political collapse drives people out).
• Cause Factor: Political (government collapse is political).

13. Haitians escape poverty/repression

• Push/Pull?: Push (poverty/repression drives them out).
• Cause Factor: Economic (poverty) and Political (repression) – primarily Economic (poverty is a key driver).

14. Vietnamese families reunited in US

• Push/Pull?: Pull (family reunification policy attracts them).
• Cause Factor: Social (family reunification is social).

15. Germans flee after failed liberal revolution (1848)

• Push/Pull?: Push (political failure drives them out).
• Cause Factor: Political (revolution failure is political).

Final Table (Summarized)

Push/Pull?	Immigration Event	Cause Factor
Pull	2. French settlers seek trading network.	Economic
Pull	3. Italians settle in industrial cities.	Economic
Push	4. Ireland’s potato crop destroyed.	Environmental
Push	5. Jews flee Russian discrimination/pogroms.	Social
Push	6. Mexico’s high unemployment.	Economic
Pull	7. African students study medicine in US.	Social
Push	8. German farmers displaced by Industrial Revolution.	Economic
Push	9. Central America civil wars.	Political
Pull	10. Germans attracted by Homestead Act.	Economic
Pull	11. Gold discovered at Sutter’s Mill.	Economic
Push	12. South Vietnam government collapses.	Political
Push	13. Haitians escape poverty/repression.	Economic (primary)
Pull	14. Vietnamese families reunited in US.	Social
Push	15. Germans flee after failed revolution.	Political

This table classifies each event by push/pull and cause factor, using the definitions:

• Push Factor: Forces people to leave their home (e.g., persecution, disaster, war).
• Pull Factor: Attracts people to a new location (e.g., opportunities, resources, policies).
• Cause Factors: Economic (jobs, resources, poverty), Social (religion, education, family), Political (war, government, laws), Environmental (natural disasters, crop failure).