Course: Immigration to the United States 1840-1920

General

Immigration to the United States: 1840-1920

Welcome to Immigration to the U.S.: 1840-1920. This course will allow you to learn about the interesting history of our country, and perhaps even your history.

The United States is an immigrant country. No other land can challenge America’s claim as the ultimate melting pot, although we can argue about whether or not we have really "melted together" to form a cohesive society.

Immigrants have always been a part of the American scene, but in some periods more people have come than in others. Currently, immigration is a hot topic as many immigrants are coming from countries such as Somalia, Laos and Mexico. This course will focus on another period when many immigrants were coming to the United States, from 1840-1920.

Here are some essential questions for you to think about:

1. Why would people leave their homeland and start a new life in a foreign country?
2. What difficulties did they face, not only in their passage to the United States, but once they got here?
3. What contributions did immigrants from various lands make?
4. What factors contributed to making life better or easier for some people, and not others, and why?

Please follow the course in a step-by step manner. In each module there will be some materials to read or view, called Steps, and then an Assignment to complete. Once you finish a module you may continue on to the next one. Good luck!
Assignment: Pre-assessment
Standards alignment sheet (for teachers) File
Download a copy of this course. File 72.8MB Moodle backup

Topic 1

Where are YOU from?

The United States is referred to as a "melting pot" because so many cultures have come together to make America what it is today. The vast majority of people who live in the United States are immigrants or descendants of people who emigrated. Some of those immigrant histories are told as tales of glory and triumph, such as those of the pilgrims and many European immigrants. However, the process of coming to America and assimilating was not always easy. Some immigrant stories contain deep sorrow and loss, such as the journey of those who arrived to be sold as slaves or those who fled war and violence. In this “getting to know you” module, you will have the chance to learn about your own immigration/migration history and the history of others.

Step One Page
Step Two Page
Step Three Page
Where are you from? Choice
Assignment: Share some things about yourself Forum

Topic 2

Resources

Vocabulary: As you read the various materials, you will encounter some important words that you may not be familiar with. You can click below to access a list of vocabulary words that you can refer to as you read. Some materials were written long ago and may include language or words that we do not use today. Do your best to use context clues to help you. Don't worry if you do not understand every single word – just get the main idea.

Sources: Some materials that you will encounter are primary sources, while others are secondary sources.

A primary source is an artifact, a document, a recording, or other source of information that was created at the time something happened. It can also be something written by someone who was present at an event, although they may not write about it until later. Common primary sources include diaries, photographs, letters, autobiographies, news articles, etc.

A secondary source is something that is not from the actual event, or that was written by someone who was not actually there. Common secondary sources include encyclopedias, books, websites, etc.

Step One Page
Immigration glossary Page
Assignment: Primary vs. secondary sources

Topic 3

Why do immigrants come here?

Why would a person leave his or her own home to go and live somewhere far across the world? Traveling to the new country can be dangerous, and once you have arrived, life can be difficult as you do not know the language, customs, etc. What makes someone want to leave what they know for something so risky and unknown?

In this module you will have the opportunity to read and view some primary source documents that may give you some ideas as to why people chose to emigrate to the United States. You will need to use your skills of interpretation and inference (make educated guesses) in order to figure out why they came. Click below and follow the steps in order, leading to the assignment.

Step One Page
Step Two Page
Assignment: Why come to the United States

Topic 4

The Push-Pull Theory

Based on your reading, viewing and prior knowledge, you developed a list of reasons for why someone might immigrate to another country. In 1966, University of Pennsylvania professor Everett Lee developed the Push-Pull Theory of Migration which tried to explain why people move to different places. In this module you will have the chance to learn more about these important factors that not only "push" people out, but "pull" them in to new places. This is a very important concept that forms the foundation of our thinking behind immigration.

Please follow the steps below.

Step One Page
Step Two Page

Topic 5

The Journey

Most immigrants coming to the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s arrived by ship. Passage on these ships was often a terrible experience, as the ships were crowded and disease spread quickly. Many immigrants died aboard the ships, and those that survived suffered terrible hardships and often arrived emotionally and/or physically scarred. You will now have the opportunity to read more about passage to America. Brace yourself -- what you will read can be unsettling.

Step One Page
Step Two Page
Assignment: What would you bring?

Topic 6

Castle Garden and Ellis Island

Many immigrants who arrived from Europe landed in New York City at Castle Garden, and then later at Ellis Island, where they had to be processed for entry into the United States. While the conditions on the ships were difficult, the experience at both places was not much better.

Please follow the steps below to learn more about what it was like to finally arrive in America.

Step One Page
Step Two Page
Step Three Page
Assignment: Interview with a recent immigrant

Topic 7

Immigrant Experience: The Irish

During the last three centuries about seven million people immigrated from Ireland to the United States. Most of these people came after the Great Potato Famine of 1845-50. These first young Irish immigrants, who were mostly male, helped dig America’s first canals, lay the track for the first railroads, pave the first streets and lay the first water lines. However, life was not easy for the Irish in America, and it took many years before they were able to successfully assimilate into American culture.

Follow the steps below to learn more about the Irish experience in America.

Step One Page
Assignment: Comparing three immigrant groups
Assignment Comparison Chart File

Topic 8

Immigrant Experience: The Chinese

The Chinese were the first Asian immigrants to enter the United States. While the first records show that the Chinese began coming to the United States in the 18th century, there have been claims stating that they were in the area now known as America at an even earlier date.

The Chinese made tremendous contributions to American society, but also faced some of the harshest discrimination. In fact, they were the first immigrant group to be prevented from coming to America.

In this module you will have the chance to learn more about the Chinese immigration experience, and will have the opportunity to analyze some political cartoons that show some of the negative feelings towards the Chinese at the time.

Step One Page
Step Two Page
Assignment: Political Cartoons
Political Cartoon analysis sheet File

Topic 9

Immigrant Experience: The Scandinavians

Scandinavian immigrants – the Swedish, Norwegians, and Danish – began immigrating to the United States in growing numbers beginning in the 1840s but the numbers increased dramatically after United States Civil War. This module will give you the chance to learn more about the Scandinavian immigrants, many of whom settled in the upper Midwest, including Minnesota.

Again, please follow the steps. Good luck!

Step One Page
Step Two Page
Assignment: Your thoughts Forum

Topic 10

Final Assessment

Congratulations! You have completed all the modules of this course, and are now ready to take the final assessment. Hopefully you have learned a lot about the importance of immigration to the United States. Good luck!

Final assessment Assignment

Topic outline