Immigration - A Summary for Grades 5-8

HISTORY OF IMMIGRATIONHISTORY OF IMMIGRATION

The Population of The U.S The Population of The U.S

Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

The Population of The U.S The Population of The U.S

• The United States is made of people from many ethnic groups.

• Often times the people coming here were the poor from their own countries

QuestionsQuestions

Where did the immigrants come from?When did they arrive?Why did they leave their home countries?Where did they settle?Where did they work?

FACTSFACTS

Due to potato rot which began in 1845, the potato crop in Ireland began to fail. From 1845 to 1850 there were famine conditions in Ireland. More than one million people died of starvation. One-fourth of the Irish population moved to the United States.

FACTSFACTS

Farming became easier due to the better technology. So as the amount food in Europe increased so did the number of people living there.These improvements reduced the need for farm workers so many peasants were forced off land that they had lived on for generations

FACTSFACTS

The trip to the United States in ships took about three months in the early 1800s. In the mid-1800s steamships shortened the journey to 10 days.

FACTSFACTS

The Russian government began to carry out organized attacks against the Jews of eastern Europe. A Norwegian worker could earn up to 4-5 dollars a day in the United States. This was more than triple the wage that the same person could have earned in Norway at that time.

FACTSFACTS

In 1864 congress decided that businesses and companies could lend money to workers to help pay for coming to America. After the workers arrived, they were required to pay the money back out of their wages.

Three great waves of immigration Three great waves of immigration

1815-1860: 5 million immigrants - mainly English, Irish, Germanic, Scandinavian, and others from northwestern Europe

1865-1890: 10 million immigrants - again mainly from northwestern Europe

1890-1914: 15 million immigrants – mainly from Eastern Europe

Reasons for immigration - 1607-1830 Reasons for immigration - 1607-1830 Political freedom ReligionEconomic Opportunity

People want a better life - better job - more money

Political refugees - feared for their lives in their home countriesSlaveryFamilies being reunited

Reasons for immigration – 1830- 1890 Reasons for immigration – 1830- 1890

Land plentiful, and fairly cheap. Jobs were abundant, wages high. America was the country that was «with the times»Notion that in America, the streets were "paved with gold" Religious and political freedom.

Reasons for immigration 1890-1914 Reasons for immigration 1890-1914

Jews came for religious freedom Italians and Asians came for work Russians came to escape persecution America had jobs America was hyped up in many countries as "Land of Opportunity"

Views on ImmigrantsViews on Immigrants

” The ones who come here are usually the most stupid of their nation. Few understand our language, so we cannot communicate with them.. It has been reported that young men do not believe they are true men until they have shown their manhood by beating their mothers. They do not believe they are truly free unless they also abuse and insult their teachers.

And now they are coming to our country in great numbers. Few of their children know English. They bring in much of their own reading from their homeland and print newspapers in their own language. In some parts of our state, ads, street signs, and even some legal documents are in their own language and allowed in courts.

Unless the stream of these people can be turned away, they will soon outnumber us so that we will not be able to save our language or our government. However, I am not in favour of keeping them out entirely. All that seems necessary is to distribute them more evenly among us and set up more schools that teach English. In this way, we will preserve the true heritage of our country.”

Benjamin Franklin about German immigrants in 1751

More Recent ImmigrationMore Recent Immigration

Cuba → 1950’s – settled mainly in FloridaSouth America → Legal/Illegal immigrants → CaliforniaAsia

Melting Pot vs Salad BowlMelting Pot vs Salad Bowl

Melting Pot→All immigrants mixed together form the ”American”

Salad Bowl →All immigrants are American, yet keep their cultural heritage from their ”home”

Which group did your

family come from?

Which group did your

family come from?

Immigration stories1234

Immigration stories1234