Agenda
 Reading Quiz
 Do Now
 Political Cartoons Analysis
 Immigration in the 1900s Notes
 Homework:
 Finish Political Cartoon Paragraph
 Read Call it Sleep and answer the attached questions
Do Now
 Where do you trace your roots back to? How
does your family’s history impact who you are
today?
 Think:
 Hobbies/Interests
 Religion
 Traditions
 Family Structures
Political Cartoon Analysis
 Look at the 11 political cartoons in pairs or groups
 Fill in the chart based on
 Textual evidence
 Visual evidence
 Prior knowledge
 When you finish all 11 cartoons, answer the following question
based on your analysis:
 According to the different political cartoons, what were the
common attitudes and feelings in regards to immigration in the
United States? What were commonalities among antiimmigration sentiments? What were commonalities among proimmigration sentiments?
Immigration in the 1900s
December 15, 2014
American History
Objectives
 By the end of this lesson, I will be able to:
 Identify immigrant’s countries of origin
 Describe the journey immigrants endured
and their experiences at United States
immigration stations
 Examine the causes and effects of the
nativists’ anti-immigrant sentiments
 The year is 1880. New York City’s swelling
population has created a housing crises. Immigrant
families crowd into apartments that lack light,
ventilation, and sanitary facilities. Children have
no where to play except the streets and are often
kept our of school to work and help support their
families. You are a reformer who wishes to help
immigrants improve their lives…
Discussion: Turn and Talk
 1. What would you do
to improve conditions?
 2. What skills do
newcomers need to
make it?
 3. How might
immigrants respond to
help from an outsider?
 4. How do you think
you would react?
Why Did the Immigrants Come Here?
 Between 1870 –1920 about 20 million Europeans
immigrated to the U.S.
 Escape religious persecution
 Improve their economic situation
 Jobs
 Birds of Passage
 Experience greater freedom in the U.S.
 Escape difficult conditions
 Famine
 Land shortage
A Difficult Journey: Turn and Talk
 What main issues do you think the immigrants faced when
coming into the USA?
 Which of these do you think would be most difficult for you
if you were an immigrant?
 How do you think they were treated?
 What do you think was the overall American view on
immigration at this time?
 Similar or different from today?
Arrival at Ellis Island
Ellis Island
 Most European
immigrants to the U.S.
arrived in New York and
had to pass through the
immigration located on
Ellis Island in New York
Harbor
 Immigrants were carefully
health screened and could
only bring 100lbs of
belongings
Passing Inspection
 Officials at Ellis Island
decided whether the
immigrants could enter
the country
 Check for serious
health problems
 Document checks
 What do you think the
requirements for entering the
country should have been?
 Immigration Scene
Requirements for Admission?
 Proving they had never
been convicted of a
felony?
 Demonstrating that
they were able to work
 Showing that they had
some money
 At least $25 (1909
standard)
Exact Questions Used
1. What is your name?
2. Have you ever been to America before?
3. Do you have any relatives here? If the answer was yes, then asked
where they lived.
4. Is there anyone who came to meet you at Ellis Island?
5. Who paid for your passage?
6. Do you have any money? (If the answer was “yes” then the
immigrant was told to show it)
7. Do you have a job waiting for you in America?
8. Do you have a criminal record?
Edward Ferro: An Italian Immigrant
 “The language was a problem of course, but it was
overcome by the use of interpreters…It would happen
sometimes that these interpreters – some of them –
were really softhearted people and hated to see people
being deported, and they would, at times, help the
aliens by interpreting in such a manner as to benefit
the alien and not the government.” (I Was Dreaming to
Come to America)
Angel Island
 Not all immigrants came
through Ellis Island

Angel Island –
Immigration station for
the Asian immigrants
arriving on the West
Coast – San Francisco
 Inspection process was
more difficult than on
Ellis Island
 Filthy conditions
 Harsh questioning
Cooperation For Survival
 Think about
finding…
 A place to live
 A job
 Understanding the
language and culture
 Many immigrants
settled in communities
with other immigrants
from the same country
Immigration Restrictions
 America started to be
called a MELTING
POT
 Many cultures and races
had blended
 Many immigrants refused
to give up their culture
The Rise of Nativism
 Some Americans didn’t like
so many immigrants living
in the U.S.
 NATIVISM – preference for
native-born Americans

Gave rise to antiimmigrant groups

Led to a demand for
immigration restrictions
Anti-Asian Sentiment
 Chinese immigrants worked
for low wages

This took jobs from native
born Americans
 Labor groups pressured
politicians to restrict Asian
immigrations
 Chinese Exclusion Act – 1882
Banned all but a few Chinese
immigrants
 Not lifted until 1943