Most of these immigrants were Protestant and spoke English; many were drawn to the United States for its economic prospects, freedom of religion, or political asylum. In contrast, there was a significant change in the nations of origin of immigrants to the United States during the New Immigration period, which spanned from the 1880s through the early 1920s. Most immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe made up the New Immigration, which was much bigger than the Old Immigration. These immigrants were primarily driven by political unrest or extreme poverty in their native countries, and the bulk of them was Catholic or Jewish.