Final answer:
During the late 19th and early 20th century, most new immigrants, especially from southern and eastern Europe, settled in East Coast urban areas. They were key labor for the Northeast's industrial cities due to their inability to afford westward migration. The Great Migration also brought African Americans to these regions for similar economic reasons.
Step-by-step explanation:
Many of the new immigrants during the wave of immigration at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, primarily those from southern and eastern Europe, settled in East Coast urban areas. These newcomers were drawn to the burgeoning industrial cities of the Northeast and around the Great Lakes, spurred by the need for labor in the manufacturing sector. Unlike their predecessors who migrated westward, these immigrants lacked the funds to buy land in the West and therefore concentrated in urban centers where they sought work in factories and businesses, particularly in cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.
The Great Migration is also significant in this context, referring to the movement of African Americans from the rural South to the industrial cities of the North and Midwest to escape racial discrimination and seek better employment opportunities.