IMMIGRATION TO AMERICA: AN INTRODUCTION

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IMMIGRATION TO AMERICA AN INTRODUCTION

• LISA CHAPMAN
• DACUSVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL
• ED 195-FURMAN UNIVERSITY

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FOUR MAJOR WAVES OF IMMIGRATION

• The first major wave took place from the 1600s
  through the time of the American Revolution.
• What do you know about this time period in
  American history?

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SECOND AND THIRD WAVES

• This is the time period that we will focus on in
  our unit of study.
• Second wave- 1820 to 1870
• Third wave- Mid-1800s to 1920s

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FOURTH WAVE
Began around 1965.
Why did immigration decrease between the 1920s
until 1965?
What factors led to this most recent wave of
immigration?
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During the time period following the Civil War
until the early 20th century, approximately 25
million people came to America from other
countries.
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REASONS FOR COMING TO AMERICA VARIED.
Push factors
Pull factors
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Until fairly recently, most immigrants came to
America on ships. Since many were poor, they had
to travel in the steerage part of the ship.
What was steerage like?
Click on the link to see a picture of the
steerage part of a ship.
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After traveling for weeks by ship, immigrants to
America had to be processed.
On the east coast, Ellis Island was the most
common place to arrive.
Picture from Library of Congress, Prints and
Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company
Collection.
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On the west coast, Angel Island was a place where
immigrants arrived to America from Asia.
Click on the link to see a picture of Angel
Island in California.
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When approaching Ellis Island, immigrants could
see the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor.
How do you think the immigrants felt when they
saw this symbol of America?
Picture from the Library of Congress, Prints and
Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company
Collection.
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Immigrants faced many obstacles upon their
arrival to America.
Click here to view an old video of immigrants
arriving at Ellis Island.
Click here to view an old video of immigrants
landing at Ellis Island.
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Immigrants had to undergo screening before they
were free to leave the arrival station.
The most feared part of the screening process
was the medical inspections.
Ellis Island Inspection Room
Picture courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints
and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing
Company Collection.
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Once they were admitted into the US, immigrants
faced hardships and challenges.
As we study this unit on immigration, we will
learn about the challenges faced by these
newcomers to American soil-many of whom were our
ancestors!
We may just discover ourselves in the people we
meet.