Brief Highlights of U.S. Immigration History 1820-1920 U.S. encouraged European immigration; not Chinese or unskilled workers At start of 20th Century U.S. began to regulate migration with passports, visas, etc. 1920 began national quota system 1965 opened to those immigrants sought by employers; Asian and Latin American immigration boomed 19th and early 20th Century immigration was mostly from Europe. From 1820-1920 the U.S. encouraged immigration – though beginning in the 1880s it barred Chinese and unskilled workers. In 1920, the U.S. began a system of quotas. A major shift in U.S. immigration policy in 1965 opened to include immigrants that U.S. employers wanted to hire. Immigration from Latin America and Asia boomed Source: PRB, "Immigration: Shaping and Reshaping America," Population Bulletin 58.2, pp. 5-6. [Normally, the students would be asked to read a few pages from the above publication before graphing immigration statistics and embarking on the following discussion. So, this slide provides a few tidbits to help aide the coming activity and discussion.]

U.S. Immigration Patterns Who are the immigrants to the U.S.? How have they changed over time? Assignment: Part A : Construct a line graph of immigrants from specific regions to U.S. between 1850-2000 The brief highlights only partially tell the story. What more can we learn by looking at the numbers of immigrants to the United States from various world regions? Divide the room into groups (2-4 people per group). Distribute the first handout, “Immigration by Region of Last Residence,” to each participant. Pass out graph paper (one piece for small groups or a couple of pieces for large groups), pencils, and erasers. Assign a region to each group (each region could be assigned to more than one group). [Note: Encourage the participants to quickly create the graphs, rather than making them perfect.]

Graphing Instructions Set up a graph with decades 1850-2000 on the horizontal axis For the vertical axis, the scale should be 0 to 5 million (setting the unit at 250,000) to keep all graphs on the same scale Graph the number of immigrants for your assigned region* * Europe, Asia, North and South Americas, Africa, Oceania Presenter Instructions: Ask everyone to follow these graphing instructions The scale has been established so that we can more easily compare the graphs of immigrants from each region. Europe is an exception, as its greatest number is just over 8 million. That group should be sure to leave space above the graph to note this data point. Oceania includes Australia, New Zealand, and island nations of the South Pacific (see PRB’s World Population Datasheet for more details).

REMEMBER (from the previous PP) IDENTIFIED Patterns of Immigration 1. What was the main source of immigrants in the 19th century? 2. What changes in immigration source regions have occurred in the last several decades? 3. What might account for the shift in immigration source regions? 4. How might this shift in source regions affect the composition of the United States population? Presenter Instructions: Have each group briefly describe the graph of their region and point out any significant pattern(s) that they noticed. Then, conduct a full group discussion (main answers follow): Europe A switch from predominantly European to mostly Asian and Latin American immigrants The 1965 major policy change This has the potential to change the ethnic, racial, and religious composition of the U.S., bringing in more Asian influences (yoga, Tai Chi, Buddhism, Hinduism) and Hispanic influences (Catholicism, Cinco de Mayo, soccer)

Population Structure Consider: How are immigrant populations changing the structure of the U.S. population? Assignment: Construct population pyramids for: Total U.S. population U.S. immigrant population Hispanic U.S. population Presenter Instructions: Show participants the next slide so they can visualize what they are constructing. Divide participants into pairs or small groups of up to 4 people. Distribute a copy of the blank age-sex graph handout to each pair of participants (or small groups up to 4). Distribute copies of the handout U.S. Population Data by Age Group to each participant. (Note: Columns are totaled to speed the exercise. Slide 12 is an example of this handout.) Assign each pair/group to work on one of the pyramids (either Total U.S., U.S. Immigrants, or Hispanic). Groups will need to convert population numbers into percentages (divide each subgroup into the total population). If possible, provide calculators. Note: You can use Excel to complete this exercise if computers are available.

Sample Population Pyramid Presenter Instructions: On this version, over 75 goes in 70-74 category. Note: You can use Excel to complete this exercise if computers are available. Just plug in the raw numbers into the file. It will calculate percentages and put them into the generic chart above. Label it, and it’s ready.

Blue box is Note 1 at bottom: figures are combined for these years. Population totals at bottom have been added. Teachers can provide these to students or not as they choose.

Blank Population Pyramid

Discussion: Population Structures Compare the three pyramids: How do the two minority populations differ from the general population in terms of structure? How do you explain the differences? What is the impact on the United States population overall? Have each group share their population pyramid with the full workshop session. On the Total U.S. population graph, have them locate the “baby boom.” (You might also mark the “boomlet” – the children of the baby boomers.) Next conduct a discussion amongst everyone in the workshop: Compare the three pyramids. How do they differ? [A: Immigrants and Hispanic population is younger.] How do you explain the differences? [A: Who is likely to pick up and move to another country, the young or the old? Family size correlates with income, education, and profession.] What is the impact on the U.S. population overall? [A: It is still growing, and will continue to do so as the children of these subgroups have children. Asian and Hispanic population will continue to grow as a proportion of the overall population (just like with the baby boomers and their children). ]

Activities Population Movement to the United States Research and discuss background Graph changing rates of immigration to U.S. Map countries of origin and states of destination Immigrants in the United States Create population pyramids Compare and discuss differences People Without a Place to Call Home Research refugee groups worldwide The activities we carried out today came from the first two student activities of the Global Migration lesson plan. The third activity, “People Without a Place to Call Home,” is an excellent research exercise on refugee populations worldwide. I recommend you consider using it in your classrooms.

About Making Population Real Free, on-line curricula utilize up-to-date real-world data and articles from a variety of web-based resources: United Nations (UNICEF, UNHCR, WHO, etc.) U.S. Census Bureau National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration PRB research and publications Lead author Martha B. Sharma, a teacher Recipient of the 2006 Geographic Excellence in Media Award from National Council for Geographic Education www.prb.org/educators “Making Population Real”: is available free on-line utilizes current information from expert sources Population Reference Bureau worked with Martha Sharma in developing these curricula. She is a retired geography teacher and instrumental in designing the AP Human Geography curricula Making Pop. Real was the recipient of the 2006 Geographic Excellence in Media Award from National Council for Geographic Education