1
10
20
-
Newspaper/Magazine
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
<p>Thousands of immigrants of poor physique are recorded as such by the medical inspectors at Ellis Island, and a card to this effect sent to the registry clerk or immigrant inspector with the immigrant, but this mere note of physical defect carries little significance under the present law, and the vast majority of them are admitted by the immigration authorities, because it does not appear that the physical defect noted will make the immigrant a public charge. . . . </p>
<p>The real danger to the public health from immigration lies in that class of immigrants whose physique is much below American standards, whose employment is in the sweat-shop, and whose residence is the East Side tenement in New York City. The Mediterranean races, Syrians, Greeks and southern Italians, who are unused to a cold climate, and who often have insufficient clothing, also establish in their crowded quarters splendid [centers] for the dissemination of disease. The Hebrews, Syrians, Greeks, and southern Italians invariably crowd the most insanitary quarters of the great centers of population. And the various filthy and infected, though perhaps picturesque, foreign quarters constitute to-day the greatest existing menace to the public health.</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
A Doctor Decries the Public Health Danger of Immigrants
Language
A language of the resource
English
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Description
An account of the resource
Starting in the 1890s, many Americans feared that the arrival of large numbers of immigrants from countries in Eastern and Southern Europe was bad for society. They claimed that immigrants could not easily assimilate, or fit in, and that they were willing to work for very low wages. Some people also believed that these immigrants brought diseases with them and were a threat to public health. Doctors inspected immigrants entering the U.S. through Ellis Island for specific diseases, such as tuberculosis and trachoma (an eye disease). The doctor who wrote this article, however, believed that this was not enough to protect the public from immigrants.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Allan McLaughlin
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Dr. Allan McLaughlin, “Immigration and the Public Health,†Popular Science (January 1904), 232, 236-237.
Relation
A related resource
1862, 1867
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1904
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Immigration and Migration
Immigration Quota Laws
Italian Immigration
Jewish Immigration
-
Article/Essay
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
<p>Between 1880 and 1910, almost fifteen million immigrants entered the United States, a number which dwarfed immigration figures for previous periods. Unlike earlier nineteenth century immigration, which consisted primarily of immigrants from Northern Europe, the bulk of the new arrivals hailed mainly from Southern and Eastern Europe. These included more than two and half million Italians and approximately two million Jews from Russia and Eastern Europe, as well as many Poles, Hungarians, Austrians, Greeks, and others.</p>
<p>The new immigrants’ ethnic, cultural, and religious differences from both earlier immigrants and the native-born population led to widespread assertions that they were unfit for either labor or American citizenship. A growing chorus of voices sought legislative restrictions on immigration. Often the most vocal proponents of such restrictions were labor groups (many of whose members were descended from previous generations of Irish and German immigrants), who feared competition from so-called “pauper labor.â€Â </p>
<p>After the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 barred Chinese immigration and made it nearly impossible for Chinese to become naturalized citizens, efforts to restrict European immigration increased. In the same year, the Immigration Act for the first time levied a “head tax†(initially fifty cents a person) intended to finance enforcement of federal immigration laws. The act also made several categories of immigrants ineligible to enter the United States, including convicts, "lunatics" (a catch-all term for those deemed mentally unfit) and those likely to become “public charges,†i.e., those who would place a financial burden on state institutions or charities. A second Immigration Act in 1891 expanded these categories to include polygamists and those sick with contagious diseases, and established a Bureau of Immigration to administer and enforce the new restrictions. In 1892, Ellis Island opened in New York Harbor, replacing Castle Garden as the main point of entry for millions of immigrants arriving on the East Coast. In accordance with the 1891 law, the federal immigration station at Ellis Island included facilities for medical inspections and a hospital. </p>
<p>While business and financial interests occasionally defended unrestricted immigration, viewing a surplus of cheap labor as essential to industry and westward expansion, calls for measures restricting the flow of the new immigrants continued to grow. Although President Grover Cleveland vetoed an 1897 law proposing a literacy test for prospective immigrants, further restrictions on immigration continued to be added. Following the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901 by the anarchist Leon Czolgosz, xenophobia and hysteria about political radicalism led to the Anarchist Exclusion Act, which excluded would-be immigrants on the basis of their political beliefs. </p>
<p>In 1907, immigration at Ellis Island reached its peak with 1,004,756 immigrants arriving. That same year, Congress authorized the Dillingham Commission to investigate the origins and consequences of contemporary immigration. The Commission concluded that immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe posed a serious threat to American society and recommended that it be greatly curtailed in the future, proposing as the most efficacious remedy a literacy test similar to the one President Cleveland had vetoed in 1897. Ultimately, the Commission’s findings provided a rationale for the sweeping immigration laws passed in the years after World War I.</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Article/Essay
Title
A name given to the resource
Background Essay on Late 19th and Early 20th Century Immigration
Language
A language of the resource
English
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Description
An account of the resource
This summary of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century immigration describes the "new immigration" that originated from Southern and Eastern Europe. The essay also outlines American responses to the new wave of immigration, including some of the laws designed to restrict immigration that were adopted between 1880 and 1910.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2008.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
<div><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</div>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2008
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Immigration and Migration
Chinese Immigration
Italian Immigration
Jewish Immigration
-
Teaching Activity
Objectives
<ul><li>
<p>Students will analyze how earning wages created opportunities and challenges for young immigrant women. </p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Students will dramatize the conflict between immigrant parents and children over working children's wages. Â Â </p>
</li>
</ul><p>This activity supports the following Common Core Literacy Standards in History/Social Studies:</p>
<ul><li>
<p>RHSS.6-8.1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.</p>
</li>
</ul><p>This activity also supports the following Common Core Speaking and Listening Standard for grades 6-8:</p>
<ul><li>
<p>SL.7.4. Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with pertinent descriptions, facts, details, and examples; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>SL.6.3. Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims, distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are not.</p>
</li>
</ul>
Materials
624, 1996, 1288, 507, 1995, 891, 1994, 1712
Historical Context
Between 1900 and 1920, more than 20% of women in the United States, the majority of them unmarried, worked for wages. One major employer of working-class women in New York City was the garment industry, where a workforce that was almost exclusively immigrant, heavily female, and largely Jewish and Italian worked in small shops to create ready-made clothing. The young unmarried immigrant women who worked in the garment industry did so both to help support their families and to gain a measure of security and independence for themselves. Many working-class immigrant families in New York City's Lower East Side experienced conflict over whether daughters should hand over their wage envelopes unopened to their mothers.
Lesson Plan Text
<p><strong>Step 1: </strong>Divide the group into two equal groups: one group to play mothers and one group to play daughters. Pass out copies of the Pay Envelope worksheet describing the situation and go over the parts of the role play carefully. </p>
<p><strong>Step 2:</strong>Â Pass out copies of the character planning worksheets to every student, as well as the primary and secondary documents and accompanying worksheet. (For some students, it may be more appropriate to use the Background Essay and Worksheet on Immigrant Working Women, which is a shorter, more scaffolded version of the <em>Immigrant Women in the Land of Dollars</em> reading.) In each group, either daughters or mothers work together to prepare for the role play, which will develop as follows:Â </p>
<div>
<ul><li>
<p>The daughter arrives home from work with her pay envelope and speaks first, telling her mother she will no longer turn over her entire paycheck. Â The mother then responds, and give-and-take follows. Â </p>
</li>
</ul></div>
<p>In preparing for the role play, students should review the readings and select evidence and information they wish to include in this exchange. Students should consider the arguments and evidence the character would use, and how she would counter the arguments of the opposing family member. Â </p>
<p><strong>Step 4:</strong>Â The groups of mothers and daughters should each choose one member to play the role for the group. Â The designated mother and daughter present the role play to the class. Pass out the Scene Assessment Rubric and go over directions for completing it as they actively listen to the role play; as students watch the role play, they should take notes about the main points of each character and the sources the actors used to create their dialogue. Â </p>
<p><strong>Step 5:</strong> After concluding the role play, members of the group should be prepared to comment to the class on the mother's and daughter's perspectives. (These questions are also on the Scene Assessment Rubric, which may be completed prior, during, or after the class discussion.) Â </p>
<div>
<ul><li>
<p>How did they see the issues differently, and why? Â </p>
</li>
<li>
<p>How did the perspectives of individual group members vary, depending on what role they played and how they interpreted the role and readings? Â </p>
</li>
</ul></div>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Language
A language of the resource
English
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Title
A name given to the resource
The Pay Envelope: A Role Play
Description
An account of the resource
In this activity students perform a role play of immigrant mothers and daughters arguing over who should get to keep the daughter's wages. This activity is used to teach with the film <em><a href="http://ashp.cuny.edu/ashp-documentaries/heaven-will-protect-the-working-girl/" target="_blank">Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl</a><span style="font-style:normal;">, but can be completed without the film. Â </span></em>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2009.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
<div><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</div>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2009
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Immigration and Migration
Work
Common Core Reading
Group Work
Italian Immigration
Jewish Immigration
Role Play and Debate
-
Teaching Activity
Objectives
<ul><li>
<p>Students will analyze debates over immigration in the early twentieth century to understand the tension between the need for labor and anxiety over immigrants' political and cultural qualifications for citizenship. </p>
</li>
</ul>
Materials
782, 649, 781, 1707
Historical Context
<p>As the 20th century began, millions of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe poured into Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and other U.S. cities. In New York, the nation's largest city, more than half of the population was foreign-born. Many immigrants came in search of economic opportunity, fleeing depressed economies, high land prices or prejudices in their old countries. </p>
<p>Immigrant labor powered the rapid industrialization of the late 19th and early 20th century. Employers were eager to hire the new immigrants and happy to pay them less than most American-born workers would accept. Many politicians wooed new voters with favors and jobs in exchange for votes; consequently, political machines exercised great power in urban areas with large immigrant populations. </p>
<p>Other native-born Americans, however, were wary and often hostile towards new immigrants. They worried that cheap labor undercut their own economic security. They feared their diminished political power. And they were often prejudiced against the darker complexions and unfamiliar religions--the great majority of "new" immigrants were Catholic or Jewish--of the newcomers. Â </p>
<p>Debates for and against immigration played out for decades, finally culminating in a nativist push to restrict immigration from southern and eastern Europe. U.S. Congress passed quota laws in 1921 and 1924 that remained in place until 1965. Â </p>
Lesson Plan Text
<p><strong>Step 1:</strong> (Optional: The teacher may want to introduce the topic by reviewing current immigration debates and push/pull factors for immigrants, documented and undocumented, to the United States today.) Pass out copies of the cartoon analysis worksheet and the cartoon. Also project the cartoon on overhead or Smartboard. Ask a volunteer to read the description of the cartoon out loud and the title/caption. Ask for volunteers to read each of the quotes from the cartoon (typed out on the worksheet in Part I) from each of the various characters: contractor, politician, etc.</p>
<p><strong>Step 2:</strong> Allow students to work individually or in pairs to complete Part II of the worksheet by analyzing the cartoon. After students have had time to complete the worksheet, lead a share-out and discussion of the cartoon, making sure that everyone understands its content. Before moving to Step 3, review the key points:</p>
<ul><li>
<p>In the early twentieth century, people did not agree about whether immigration was good or bad for the United States.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>In the early twentieth century, people were unsure whether or not new immigrants were "fit" for citizenship. </p>
</li>
</ul><p><strong>Step 3:</strong> <span style="font-weight:normal;">Now pass out the two written documents, the anti-immigration pamphlet and the speech from President Cleveland. Ask students to underline or highlight specific arguments for and against immigration in each document. (The teacher may vary this portion by giving half the students one document and half the other, or by reading both documents aloud with students as they highlight arguments.) Ask students to share out what pro and con arguments they found. After reading the documents, discuss:</span></p>
<ul><li>
<p>Given that there were so many objections to immigration at the time, why do you think it took legislators until 1924 to restrict immigration?</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>How was the immigration debate of the 1900s different than the immigration debate today (especially considering today's idea of "illegal" or "legal" immigrants)? Â </p>
</li>
</ul><p><strong>Step 4:</strong> <span style="font-weight:normal;">After reading and discussing the documents, ask students to individually respond to the question on the back of the worksheet (Part III): Given that there were so many objections to immigration at the time, why do you think it took the U.S. Congress until 1924 to restrict immigration from Europe?</span></p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Language
A language of the resource
English
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Title
A name given to the resource
Immigration Debates in the Era of "Open Gates"
Description
An account of the resource
In this activity students analyze a political cartoon, a presidential speech and an anti-immigration pamphlet from the early 20th century. After analyzing the documents, students write about why the United States passed immigration quotas in the 1920s.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2008.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
<div><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</div>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2008
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Immigration and Migration
Immigration Quota Laws
Italian Immigration
Jewish Immigration
Lessons in Looking
Using Political Cartoons
-
https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/files/original/chart-of-first-generation-immigrant-women’s-occupations_5bb5c7deb6.pdf
7657fff79e6e24c3156bfaba95574951
Quantitative Data
Statistics, Census Data
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Chart of First Generation Immigrant Women's Occupations, 1900
Language
A language of the resource
English
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Description
An account of the resource
In 1907, Congress formed the Dillingham Commission to investigate the origins and effects of the massive wave of immigration then underway. The Commission compiled a variety of data about immigrants and their children. This chart shows the percentage of working immigrant women ages 10 and older in different kinds of jobs. Not all immigrant women worked, however. For example, Irish immigrant women were twice as likely to be breadwinners as Italian women. Although the Commission gathered statistics on many ethnic groups, only six are shown here. Sometimes the Commission’s reports included Jews as a separate category, while at other times it grouped Jews with Russians, since most immigrants from Russia during this era were Jewish.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Source: Adapted from <em>Abstracts of Reports of the Immigration Commission with Conclusions and Recommendations and Views of the Minority, Vol. 1 </em>(Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1911).
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning <br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.
Relation
A related resource
1857
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1900
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Immigration and Migration
Irish Immigration
Italian Immigration
Jewish Immigration
Reading Supports
-
https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/files/original/chart-of-first-generation-immigrant-men’s-occupations_55e32b5ae9.pdf
0ed8cb1c97708e043ede04f211ee8bbb
Quantitative Data
Statistics, Census Data
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Chart of First Generation Immigrant Men’s Occupations, 1900
Language
A language of the resource
English
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Description
An account of the resource
In 1907, Congress formed the Dillingham Commission to investigate the origins and effects of the massive wave of immigration then underway. The Commission compiled a variety of data about immigrants and their children. This chart shows the percentage of immigrant men ages 10 and older who worked in different kinds of jobs. Although the Commission gathered statistics on many ethnic groups, only six are shown here. Sometimes the Commission’s reports included Jews as a separate category, while at other times it grouped Jews with Russians, since most immigrants from Russia during this period were Jewish.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Adapted from Abstracts of Reports of the Immigration Commission with Conclusions and Recommendations and Views of the Minority, Vol. 1 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1911).
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.
Relation
A related resource
1857
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1900
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Immigration and Migration
Irish Immigration
Italian Immigration
Jewish Immigration
-
Teaching Activity
Objectives
<ul><li>
<p>Students will synthesize data presented in charts, tables, and graphs to write a narrative about the immigrant experience in the Ellis Island era. </p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Students will develop skills for reading and understanding quantitative data. </p>
</li>
</ul><p style="text-align:left;">This activity supports the following Common Core Literacy Standards in History/Social Studies:</p>
<ul><li>
<p>RHSS.6-8.7. Integrate visual information with other information in print and digital texts.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>RHSS.9-10.7. Integrate quantitative or technical analysis with qualitative analysis in print or digital text.</p>
</li>
</ul>
Materials
1855, 1852, 1848, 1850, 1854, 1853, 1851, 1849, 1860, 1858
Lesson Plan Text
<p><strong>NOTE: </strong>The directions for this activity include modifications for elementary students. "MS/HS" denotes when sources or strategies are suggested for middle school and high school students only.  "Elementary" indicates that the strategy or source is designed for elementary students. Depending on the level of the students, the teacher may want to use some or all of the charts and strategies conveyed, regardless of grade level. </p>
<p><strong>Step 1: </strong>Tell students that today they will be using graphs, charts, and tables to understand the lives of Ellis Island immigrants in the first decade of the 20th century. All of the information that they will be using is taken from the 1910 census and a special Congressional report compiled in 1911. (As needed, explain what the census is and what types of information it records.) At that time in U.S. history, the largest proportion of the population was either foreign-born or the children of foreign-born residents (about 1/3 total; by comparison, in 2010, about 23% were immigrants or children of immigrants). </p>
<p>Begin by passing out "Immigrants by Nationality and Gender." Note with students the color-coding of the charts (German=orange, Irish=green, etc.) Read the description out loud and then discuss the following:</p>
<div>
<div>
<ul><li>
<p>What information in conveyed in these charts? Â <em>(Which groups were arriving between 1899 and 1910, the relative number of men and women arriving in five different immigrant groups)</em></p>
</li>
<li>
<p>What observations about this wave of immigration can you gain from this chart? What were the biggest groups arriving? Which groups had more men than women? More women than men? What is new or surprising? Â </p>
</li>
</ul><p><strong>Step 2:</strong> Next students will learn more about the immigrants who arrived here.  Pass out "Immigrants' Connection to the United States" and "Money Shown on Admission to the United States" <em>(MS/HS only). </em>Examine charts together and discuss the following:</p>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<ul><li>
<p>What information do these charts convey? </p>
</li>
<li>
<p>What is surprising or new information from these charts? What other observations can you make? </p>
</li>
<li>
<p>What do these charts convey about the challenges and opportunities for Ellis Island immigrants? </p>
</li>
</ul><p><em>MS/HS only:</em> Pass out "Immigrant Household Relationships by Gender and Ethnicity" and discuss:</p>
</div>
<div>
<ul><li>
<p>What information do these charts convey? What is new or surprising? Other observations?</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>How does work and family account for the differences between different ethnic groups and genders? (Polish and Italian men arrived by themselves and thus were more likely to live as boarders; Jews tended to migrate as families and so did not live as boarders; Irish women were much more likely to live as servants in someone else's home; etc.)</p>
</li>
</ul><p><strong>Step 3:</strong> Next students will look at the types of jobs immigrants worked. Pass out "Chart of First Generation of Male/Female Immigrant Occupations." Discuss the following:</p>
</div>
<div>
<ul><li>
<p>What kind of information is being conveyed in these charts? </p>
</li>
<li>
<p>What is new or surprising information from these charts? Other observations?</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><em>KEY IDEA: Many immigrant women did not work; this chart only measures the occupations of working women.</em></p>
</li>
<li>
<p><em>KEY IDEA: Workers in the 1910 census were anyone ages 10 and older.</em> How would this be different today? Â </p>
</li>
<li>
<p>What factors might have accounted for such stark concentration among certain groups in certain industries? <em>Â (Chain migration and family/friend connections to help getting a job; immigrants' skills or lack of skills for an industrial economy; niche markets)</em></p>
</li>
</ul><p><strong>Step 4:</strong> Finally, students will look at educational attainment. For MS/HS, pass out "Comparison of School Enrollment..."; for elementary, pass out "Percentage of Teens Ages 14-18 Enrolled in School." Discuss:</p>
</div>
<div>
<ul><li>
<p>Who was most likely to attend school? Who was least likely?</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>How does immigrant educational attainment compare to native-born white Americans?</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>What factors might account for these differences? <em>(Need to work, different ideas about the necessity of educating women, etc.)</em></p>
</li>
</ul><p><strong>Step 5:</strong> Now students will synthesize this data.</p>
</div>
<div>
<ul><li>
<p><em>For MS/HS:</em> Pass out "Immigrants by the Numbers Situation" sheet. Read through the directions together. Randomly pass out immigrant identity cards to each student and assign them to write a narrative (length depending on level of students) in the voice of their character based on the information gleaned from the charts. Teachers can modify this activity by asking lower-level students to answer only some of the items listed under "The Task" and limiting the charts the student works from. When finished, ask students to share their narratives with a partner or with the whole class. </p>
</li>
<li>
<p><em>For elementary:</em> Pass out the "Immigrants by the Numbers I Statements" sheet, the immigrant characters sheet, scissors and paste to each student. Students should read each statement and decide for whom it was true. Students then cut out that immigrant's picture and paste it under the statement. Teachers may want to tell lower-level students how many "correct" answers go with each statement. </p>
</li>
</ul></div>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Language
A language of the resource
English
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Title
A name given to the resource
Immigrants by the Numbers
Description
An account of the resource
In this activity, students work with quantitative data (charts, graphs, and tables) from the 1910 census and the 1911 Dillingham Commission Report to understand the lives of immigrants in the Ellis Island era. The activity includes an option designed for middle school and high school students, as well as a suggested strategy for elementary students. After studying the data, students write a narrative in the voice of an immigrant in 1910, incorporating the information gleaned.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2011.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
<div><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</div>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2011
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Immigration and Migration
Gender and Sexuality
Common Core Reading
Delving into Data
Irish Immigration
Italian Immigration
Jewish Immigration
Reading Supports
-
Teaching Activity
Objectives
<ul><li>
<p>Students will identify ways that women participated in movements for social change before they earned the right to vote</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Students will explain the ways workers challenged the effects of industrial capitalism</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Students will analyze differing conceptions of womanhood in the early twentieth century</p>
</li>
</ul><p>This activity supports the following Common Core Literacy Standards in History/Social Studies:</p>
<ul><li>
<p>RHSS.6-8.2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>RHSS.6-8.7. Integrate visual information with other information in print and digital texts.</p>
</li>
</ul>
Materials
1947, 1946, 1948, 1945, 890, 1944, 1943, 1997
Historical Context
During the early twentieth century, millions of immigrants flooded into U.S. cities. In New York City, where the garment industry dominated the local economy, 70% of the workforce was female, and about half of those women were under the age of 20. Jewish and Italian women comprised 90% of the workers. In 1909, immigrant shirtwaist workers led a major strike – the “Uprising of the 20,000†– that revealed to the public the low pay, harsh supervision, and unsafe conditions that plagued garment workers. The Triangle Shirtwaist Company was one of the largest employers of garment workers in New York City. In 1911, a fire at the Company claimed the lives of 146 people, mostly young women, and brought renewed attention to unsafe industrial working conditions. Thus, through strikes and tragedy in the early 1900s, women laid the groundwork for further reform movements that would continue to change the workplace, and a woman’s place in it, during the course of the twentieth century.
Lesson Plan Text
<p><strong>Step 1:</strong> Split students into two groups and hand out <em>Heaven</em> Vocabulary sheet.</p>
<p><strong>Step 2:</strong> Explain that we will watch the first clip twice; the first time students should take "mental notes" and the second time they should take actual notes. Hand out "Setting the Scene" Active Viewing worksheet.</p>
<p><strong>Step 3:</strong> Play the introduction to Heaven (2 minutes 30 seconds). Lead a quick discussion of the students' impressions.</p>
<p><strong>Step 4:</strong> Play the introduction again and have students take notes on the "Setting the Scene" Active Viewing worksheet.</p>
<p><strong>Step 5:</strong> Write the following questions on the board and instruct students to keep them in mind as they watch the next chapters of the video.</p>
<ul><li>
<p>What makes the job hard and unfair?</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>How does the fact that the girls are earning their own money create conflict for them and also give them new opportunities for freedom?</p>
</li>
</ul><p>Play chapters 2-5 (2:45-16:20).</p>
<p>As a group discuss the two preview questions. To reinforce the topic of factory working conditions, you can use Working Conditions for Factory Girls: Matching worksheet.</p>
<p><strong>Step 6:</strong> Have students read Progressive Era Activists Call for Trade Unions and complete the accompanying worksheet. As a group, discuss what the Women's Trade Union League saw as the best way to solve the problems of factory girls and how the document's language conveys its point of view. </p>
<p><strong>Step 7:Â </strong>Hand out and/or project the Seal of the National Women's Trade Union League and lead students in a discussion of its language, concepts, and symbols: Â </p>
<ul><li>
<p>Note that the WTUL was founded in 1903; could women vote in 1903?  </p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Review key vocabulary, ex. trade union [an organized group of workers who work in a factory or have a specific skill; they work together to protect their common interests and improve working conditions.]</p>
</li>
</ul><p>Ask students to identify and discuss what images they see:</p>
<ul><li>
<p>What do the two women represent (fighter with armor; mother with baby; two different kinds of power that women can have.)</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Factory in the background</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Rising sun (optimism; new day is coming)</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Shield with the word victory</p>
</li>
</ul><p>Discuss the WTUL's goals:Â </p>
<ul><li>
<p>eight hour day</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>living wage</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>to guard the home</p>
</li>
</ul><p>Discuss:</p>
<ul><li>
<p>How do the words and images in the seal express the organization's reform goals?</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>What ideals does it communicate about womanhood?</p>
</li>
</ul><p><strong>Step 8: </strong>View the last 2 chapters of <em>Heaven</em> (16:21-27:00). As a group, revisit the Women's Trade Union League seal and review how the image communicates ideals about womanhood and work. Contrast that view to the ways that male representatives of the government (i.e., the judge and the police) viewed the strike. Refer to the following quotes:</p>
<div>
<ul><li>
<p>"To them a working girl's just another tramp."</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>"You are a criminal…. Your strike is a strike against God."</p>
</li>
</ul></div>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Language
A language of the resource
English
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Title
A name given to the resource
Active Viewing: <em>Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl</em>
Description
An account of the resource
In this activity, students watch the documentary <a href="http://ashp.cuny.edu/ashp-documentaries/heaven-will-protect-the-working-girl/"><em>Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl</em></a> in sections, with documents and exercises designed to support and reinforce the film's key concepts: workers challenging the effects of industrial capitalism, the impact on immigrant families of young women earning money in the garment industry, and the methods used by women to improve working conditions in factories during the Progressive Era.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2012
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
ASHP
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2012
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Gender and Sexuality
Work
Active Viewing
Common Core Reading
Group Work
Italian Immigration
Jewish Immigration
Progressivism
-
Article/Essay
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
<p>By 1900 America’s industrial growth had transformed the U.S. into a world power. The nation’s wealth and population were growing rapidly. Yet poverty, corruption and economic instability were widespread. Responding to these problems, Americans created a new and more active form of government that would shape American life for the next 100 years.</p>
<p>The importance of reform efforts from the 1890s through the 1910s has led historians to call this period “the Progressive Era.†History texts often focus on Presidents and exceptional individuals who sought to “clean up†the cities and modernize government. Immigrants are usually shown only as passive recipients of – or even obstacles to – reform and change, but recent research suggests that immigrants also played active roles in reform campaigns. Collective action between immigrants and middle-class activists created new solutions to social problems, and thereby changed the way in which the government related to society.</p>
<p>Framed by the 1909 New York shirtwaist strike, the documentary <em>Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl</em> presents a panoramic portrait of immigrant working women in the turn-of-the-century city. A series of vignettes explores the experiences of young Jewish and Italian working women, and addresses issues of immigration, intergenerational conflict, courtship, ethnic tension, racial discrimination, industrial conflict, and the creation of a new consumer and entertainment culture.</p>
<p>Ida and Angelica, the film’s fictional co-stars, are representative of the millions of immigrants who flooded U.S. cities in the early 20<sup>th</sup> century. In New York, where the garment industry dominated the local economy, 70% of the workforce was female, and about half of those women were under the age of 20. Jewish and Italian women comprised 90% of the workers.</p>
<p>In 1909, immigrant shirtwaist workers like Ida and Angelica led a major strike – the “Uprising of the 20,000†– that revealed to the public the low pay, harsh supervision, and unsafe conditions that plagued garment workers. The Triangle Shirtwaist Company was one of the largest employers of garment workers in New York City. In 1911, a fire at the Company claimed the lives of 146 people, mostly young women, and brought renewed attention to unsafe industrial working conditions. Thus, through strikes and tragedy in the early 1900s, women laid the groundwork for further reform movements that would continue to change the workplace, and a woman’s place in it, during the course of the 20<sup>th</sup> century.</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Background Essay on Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl
Description
An account of the resource
This essay explains the significance of young female immigrants in the labor upheavals that helped define the Progressive Era.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Gender and Sexuality
Labor Activism
Work
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
ASHP
Italian Immigration
Jewish Immigration
Progressivism
-
Fiction/Poetry
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
<strong> CHILD OF THE ROMANS</strong><br /><br /><p>THE dago shovelman sits by the railroad track<br />Eating a noon meal of bread and bologna.<br />A train whirls by, and men and women at tables<br />Alive with red roses and yellow jonquils,<br />Eat steaks running with brown gravy,<br />Strawberries and cream, eclaires and coffee.<br />The dago shovelman finishes the dry bread and bologna,<br />Washes it down with a dipper from the water-boy,<br />And goes back to the second half of a ten-hour day's work<br />Keeping the road-bed so the roses and jonquils<br />Shake hardly at all in the cut glass vases<br />Standing slender on the tables in the dining cars.</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Type
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Fiction/Poetry
Title
A name given to the resource
"Child of the Romans"
Language
A language of the resource
English
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
Description
An account of the resource
The poetry of Carl Sandburg often documented the lives of ordinary working people in his adopted city of Chicago. Here he contrasts the backbreaking work and simple lunch of a railroad laborer with the comfortable lives and fine food enjoyed by the passengers on a first-class dining car rushing by. Despite the use of the pejorative term "dago" (an ethnic slur for Italians), the poem's title and Sandburg's sympathetic portrayal suggest a loftier lineage for the humble worker.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Carl Sandburg
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Carl Sandburg, "Child of the Romans," from <em>Chicago Poems </em>(H. Holt, 1916).
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1916
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Modern America (1914-1929)
Subject
The topic of the resource
Work
Italian Immigration