Ethnic Group Assignments
 Each group with a topic will have an ethnic group that they may choose to represent. As part of your report, you will explain who you are, why you are coming to America, what your new life will be like. The assignments are listed below:

German Immigrants
1. The Journey and Passage Across the Atlantic
2. The Arrival and the Gateway

Irish Immigrants
3. The Baggage Room and what it was like
4. Stairways to the Great Hall

Greek Immigrants
5. Medical Exam
6. The Great Hall

Italian Immigrants
7. Legal Inspection
8. Money Exchange and The Kissing Post

Russian Immigrants
9. The Journey's End and Free to Land

African or Asian Immigrants
10. Timeline

German Immigrants

    "Of all the immigrant groups who have come to America, more people claim German ancestry than any other group. The Lower East Side of New York became a popular place to settle. Others opted for farmlands in the Midwest. Many Jewish people from Germany, who had been badly treated, arrived at Ellis Island between 1880 and 1900.

Related Internet link:
Immigration: The Germans
http://library.thinkquest.org/20619/German.html


Irish Immigrants

    "The Irish Potato Famine of 1845-1849 caused many people to leave Ireland for a better life. The famine left over a million people dead, with another million people coming to the United States seeking better living conditions and employment opportunities. The Irish immigrants were usually very poor, and without any belongings. Many Irish men became "muscle" laborers in railroad construction, using pick, ax, and shovels.

Related Internet link:
Immigration: The Irish
http://library.thinkquest.org/20619/Irish.html


Greek Immigrants
    "Although the first documented Greeks came to America in 1768, the next wave of Greek immigration came in the early 1900's. The immigrants were mostly men, as fewer than one in five immigrants was a woman. When the Greeks arrived in America, they settled in different parts of the country. Some went west to railroads or mines. Some stayed in New England mill towns to work in textile and shoe factories, while others worked in factories and restaurants in New York and Chicago.

Related Internet link:
Greek-American Oral Histories Timeline
http://chnm.gmu.edu/greekam/timeline.html


Italian Immigrants

    "Between 1880 and 1920, more than 5 million Italians came to America through Ellis Island. Many skilled workers from Italy's north came to America because of widespread unemployment in their home country. Always loyal to their town or village, these immigrants settled in large numbers in the same commnunities in the United States. These communities were often known as "Little Italys".
    Southern Italians were largely farmers with very little money. In New York, many southern Italians worked along side of Jewish immigrants in the garment industry. These immigrants had to adjust to living in tiny crowded apartments on dirty, treeless streets on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Related Internet link:
Immigration: The Italians
http://library.thinkquest.org/20619/Italian.html


Russian Immigrants

   "In the mid-to-late 1800's, violent attacks on Jews in Russia caused a large number of Russian Jews to flee their own country. They endured a long journey in ships steering class, sometimes with little food or chance to see daylight. The poor travel conditions were nothing compared to the terrible treatment these Jewish immigrants faced back in Russia. Russian Jews arriving at Ellis Island were provided with an opportunity to live with dignity and peace.

Related Internet link:
Russian Immigrants
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAErussia.htm


African or Asian Immigrants

Related Internet links:
Cindy List: African American - has many links to follow!
http://www.cyndislist.com/african.htm
WorldBook: African American History
http://www2.worldbook.com/students/feature_index.asp#aahistory
Historical Perspective of Asian Immigration
http://www.abetterdesign.com/LK-HAI.HTM
 

Bibliography
Rice, Rodney, V. Immigration. Part I: Historical Immigration (1820-1920). Capacity Learning, Inc.

Special thanks to Mrs. Murage for providing resource information for this page.

Mr. Brown
Last update: November 7, 2002 1