CKHG Unit 7: Immigration
NOTE: The resources for this unit are in the first part of The Making of America: Immigration, Industrialization, and Reform.
Focus:
In this unit, students investigate the history of immigration to America in the 1800s and early 1900s, including reasons why so many people left their home countries to better their lives in “the land of opportunity.”
Before the Civil War, many immigrants came from northern and western Europe. Prior to that, thousands of Africans were brought to America against their will and enslaved. After the Civil War, immigrants also came from southern and eastern Europe, Asia, Mexico, and Canada. Students learn that the immigrant experience often included an arduous journey, fear of deportation, and prejudice. Many times, immigrants settled in rural or urban areas near other immigrants. Despite many hardships, these are people who did a great deal of the hard work that led to the growth of the United States. Many immigrants have contributed (and still contribute) aspects of their cultures to a vibrant American culture and have gratefully embraced the American ideals of liberty and self-government.
Number of Lessons: 5
Instruction Time:
45 minutes (Each lesson may be divided into shorter segments.)
Additional Search Terms:
social studies • nonfiction • informational text • geography • map skills • push and pull factors • potato blight • tenement • New Immigrants • Statue of Liberty • Ellis Island • nativism • melting pot • naturalization
