Immigration

What is an immigrant?• An immigrant is a person who leaves his or her country

to live in another country.• Between 1880-1920 many immigrants came to the

United States from Europe. The country they came from was called the Old Country

• They came in search of a better life.

How did they get here?• Today if you were going to go to Europe you

would take a plane.• Back then immigrants traveled by ship.

What was that like?• Their trip was a voyage. A voyage is a long trip on a boat.• Many immigrants had little money.• They saved for a long time to afford the voyage.• They had to leave their friends, family and most of their

possessions behind.• These immigrants could only take the things they could carry.

If all you could take with you had to fit in this one suitcase, what would you bring?

What was the ship like?• Poor immigrants stayed in the bottom part of the ship, called

steerage. • This is an example of what the steerage part of the ship looked

like.• What words would you use to describe it?

• The steerage section had no shower, lounge or dining room.• Food was served to passengers out of huge kettles into

buckets that passengers got from the steamship company. • Because of the noise of the engines and the crowded

conditions in steerage, many passengers spent time on the deck of the ship.

Quick Quiz• Where did most immigrants come from?• Europe• What was the name of the part of the ship where they

stayed?• Steerage• Name one word to describe that part of the ship?• Crowded, dirty, noisy• What could immigrants bring?• Only the things they could carry• Why did they come?• For a better life

Where did immigrants go first in America?

• The first place immigrants stopped was Ellis Island.• After leaving the ship they were inspected by doctors. • This is what it would have been like if you were an

immigrant who did this.

• If they were sick, they could be sent back, possibly without their family.

• That is why another name for Ellis Island was Heartbreak Island.

• If they passed the doctor inspection, they were interviewed by officials working at Ellis Island.

• Immigrants were asked, “What is your name?” What is your nationality? What is your occupation? Can you read? How much money do you have? Have you been in prison? Where are you going?”

• Many immigrants became confused and could not answer.

Life for immigrants in America.• Immigrants often lived in areas with other immigrants from

their country. This is because they would then live near people who shared the same customs.

• Customs are peoples way of life (holidays, celebrations, music and food).

• Living with immigrants from the Old Country made life easier. The people in their neighborhood would speak the same language, eat similar foods and celebrate the same holidays.

Where did they live?• Many immigrants live in buildings called tenements.• A tenement was the name for where many immigrants lived, like an

apartment.• Tenements were often small and crowded. Sometimes immigrant

children slept 3 or 4 to a bed.• Some had no running water. Often the bathroom were in the hallway

and were shared by more than one family.

Check out these pictures of tenements from this time period!

Quick Quiz

• What was the first thing that happened to immigrants at Ellis Island?

• They were inspected by doctors.• Why was Ellis Island also called Heartbreak

Island?• Some immigrants were sent back.• Where did immigrants live?• In buildings called tenements.

Where did immigrants work?• Many immigrants worked in laundries, stores, factories and

warehouses. • Many immigrants worked in tenement buildings called

sweatshops.• Sweatshops were often crowded. Immigrants were not

always treated nicely or paid well.

Immigrant Children

• Immigrant children worked too! • Many had to work to get money for their families.• Almost all children older than 14 were employed and

worked 10 hours a day.• Working conditions were not great for immigrant

children.• They worked long hours and were paid very little.• They often worked on machinery and got hurt. • Check out these pictures of immigrant children at

work!

Pictures

Immigrant Children and School

• In school immigrant children learned American History, penmanship and spelling.

• Classrooms were often crowded.

• When the early immigrant kids arrived, schools had no English classes.

• If an older child went to school and did not speak English, they were put in classes with children who were much younger.

• This was very embarrassing for the children.• After a while, schools began teaching English.

What else did they do at schools?• Back then schools did not have gym. Instead, children

exercised at their desk in the morning. • Schools also did not have playgrounds behind the schools like

we do. • Instead, children often played on the roof of the school.

Quick Quiz

• Where did immigrants work?• In sweatshops.• True or false, children had to work?• True! Often 10 hours a day!• Why did children have to work?• To help their families get money.• Where did children play at recess?• On rooftops.• Did children play gym?• No they exercised at their seats.

Where did immigrant children play?• Immigrant children often played on the streets.• They played games like baseball, which was America’s

national pastime. • The streets gave the children an idea of what America

would be like because they played American games and talked with children from other countries.

What else happened on the street?• There were peddlers on the streets.• A peddler is a person who sold goods on the

streets. • You would have also seen newsies. A newsie was a

child who sold newspapers.

Do immigrants still come here?

• Yes. Immigrants enter our country everyday!• Their journey here is different now.• Many of Americans can trace their family’s

arrival to the United States to Ellis Island