Where were people moving between 1870 and 1900 and why?

There are several different answers depending in the group you are talking about. immigrants moved to the untied states to escape famine, disease and war. United States citizens were moving from the country (more rural areas) to the city in order to find jobs in the growing industrial scene (since this time period is dealing with the industrialization of Europe and America). A lot of people were venturing westward during this time because there was more room to live and build factories in the undeveloped and uncrowded west coast of America. Also during this time, the railroad was just beginning to be big, and many people moved throughout the U.S. and Europe (and other smaller countries that had railroads), because they needed to get to places faster, and they were now able to go farther distances.