1. Migration to the United States
Unit 3 Lesson 3

2. Content Expectations
4 – H3.0.2: Use primary and secondary sources to explain how migration and immigration affected and continue to affect the growth of Michigan.
4 - G1.0.1: Identify questions geographers ask in examining the United States (e.g., Where it is? What is it like there? How is it connected to other places?).
4 - G4.0.1: Use a case study or story about migration within or to the United States to identify push and pull factors (why they left, why they came) that influenced the migration.

3. In the last lesson we explored reasons people migrated, or moved within the United States. In this lesson we will explore immigration, the movement of people to the United States from other countries.

4. What countries have your families migrated from
What countries have your families migrated from? Compare and contrast information with others by looking for similarities and differences regarding why people immigrated and from where they immigrated.

5. Immigration
to the United States
WHEN?
WHO?
WHERE?
WHY?
From
Where? To
Push
Factors
Pull

6. Big Ideas of Lesson 3, Unit 3
Big Ideas Card
Big Ideas of Lesson 3, Unit 3
Both geographers and historians have studied how and why people have immigrated to the US.
Push factors such as a lack of freedom, a shortage of jobs, war, famine, or high cost of living caused people to leave their home countries.
Pull factors such as economic opportunities, freedom, family, or culture of the region encouraged people to immigrate to the US.
Not everybody freely chose to immigrate to the US. Under the system of slavery, Africans were forced to immigrate.

7. Word Cards from previous lessons needed for this lesson:
Movement – Word Card #2 from Lesson 1
Push Factors – Word Card #2 from Lesson 2
Pull factors – World Card #3 from Lesson 2
Slavery – Word Card #4 from Lesson 2 1
immigrate
to move to a new country
Example: Many people immigrated to the hoping to for a better life.
(SS040303)

8. Think about what you learned in third grade about Michigan history
Think about what you learned in third grade about Michigan history. For what reason did some people immigrate to Michigan? What order did they come?

9. Possible examples include the following:
• Early Native Americans moved into Michigan long ago.
• French people, and later British people, moved to Michigan to take part in the fur trade.
• People from different countries in Europe immigrated to Michigan to work in lumber camps and mines.

10. Dear Parents/Guardians,
Home Letter
Dear Parents/Guardians,
In social studies we are studying immigration to the United States. Please share information regarding your own family members who immigrated to our country by completing the chart below.
Family Member
Year they immigrated
From what country
Why did they immigrate?

11. Look at a copy of the “Moving to Michigan” informational article and the “Moving to Michigan” chart. Complete the chart.

12. Moving to Michigan
Informational Article
The population of Michigan is made up of people from many different places. They migrated to Michigan for a variety of reasons and helped Michigan grow and develop.
The French came first in the late 1600s to work in the fur trade. There were not a lot of French people but they did start many early Michigan towns. Later in the middle 1800s, French people came from Canada to work in the lumbering business. Many settled in lumbering towns like Saginaw and Bay City.

13. People of African descent have lived in Michigan from the time of the fur trade. Between 1840 and 1860, many escaped slaves came to Michigan looking for freedom. During the early 1900s, many African Americans left southern states hoping to find jobs and a better life in northern states like Michigan. Many settled in cities like Detroit where they hoped to get jobs in factories. In the late 1900s, Africans from countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, and Ethiopia came to Michigan. Many settled in the metropolitan Detroit area.

14. Germans began to come to Michigan around 1830
Germans began to come to Michigan around Many left Germany because of shortages of food caused by crop failures. There were also political, or governmental, problems in Germany. They settled first around Ann Arbor and the Saginaw River Valley. They started towns such as Frankenmuth.
British people came to Michigan after the French. In the 1830s many people of British descent moved from the New England area to Michigan. They settled in many areas of the Lower Peninsula. Many became farmers. In the 1850s, people from the Cornwall area of Britain came to work in Michigan mines. .

15. In Ireland in the 1840s there was a famine, which meant there was a serious shortage of food. This was caused when the potato crop failed. Many Irish people left Ireland at this time and came to states like Michigan. Here they settled in Detroit and in an area of southeastern Michigan along U.S. 12, which became known as the Irish Hills.
Food shortages were also a problem in Poland in the 1860s. Just after the Civil War, Poles began to come to Michigan looking for better jobs and farmland. They started towns like Posen in the northeastern part of the Lower Peninsula. Later many Poles moved to the Detroit area to work in car factories.

16. In the 1840s, the Dutch government took control of the churches in Holland. This caused many Dutch people to leave their country in search of religious freedom. Many came to Michigan and settled in the western part of our state in cities like Grand Rapids. They also started a town called Holland.

17. After the Civil War, Swedish people settled in the Upper Peninsula to work in mines and lumber camps. They felt the Upper Peninsula was a lot like their native Sweden. They lived in towns like Iron Mountain and Iron River.
Finnish people and Italians also came to Michigan beginning in the 1860s. They came mainly to work in mines. Later people from both these groups settled in the Detroit area to work in factories.

18. Hispanic people came to Michigan in the 1900s
Hispanic people came to Michigan in the 1900s. They were mainly from Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. In the beginning, many helped pick Michigan crops. Later they settled in cities like Detroit, Pontiac, Dearborn, and Allen Park. Many Hispanic people worked in factories.
Chinese people began to settle in Detroit in the 1870s. They settled an area called “Chinatown” located near Third and Michigan streets. Many had left the western part of the United States because of anti-Chinese feelings there. There was little Chinese immigration after this until the late 1990s.

19. After World War II, many Japanese came to settle in Michigan mainly in the metropolitan Detroit area. There was another wave of Japanese immigration in the 1980s. During this time, many Japanese settled in Oakland County. Many were worked for Japanese car part companies.

20. Michigan has more people of Arab descent than most other states
Michigan has more people of Arab descent than most other states. They have come to Michigan mainly from the countries of Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. People came for a variety of reasons including conflict in southwestern Asia. Most Arabic people live in cities near Detroit such as Dearborn and Southfield. Many Arabic people are Muslims and follow the religion of Islam. Others, like Chaldeans, who come from Iraq, are Christians. Most Arab immigration was in the later part of the 1900s.

21. A few Jewish people came to Michigan as early as the times of the fur trade. Many came between 1880 and In the late 1900s Russian Jews immigrated to the Detroit area to escape discrimination in their homeland.
Now, in the 21st Century, people continue to immigrate to Michigan. Recent immigrants include the Hmong and Vietnamese from Southeast Asia and people from Central American countries like Guatemala.

22. Who? When? Why? Where did they settle?
Moving to Michigan Chart
Directions: Read the informational article. Choose 6 of the groups mentioned in the article and summarize what you learned about these groups by completing the chart below.
Who?
When?
Why?
Where did they settle?

23. What are some of the reasons for immigration to Michigan outlined in the informational article?

24. Possible reasons
better job
religious freedom
escaping poor conditions
Historians and geographers talk about “push/pull” factors when they study movement. This means that some things pull immigrants to a new area. Some things push people out of places. Many of these same factors influenced immigration to other parts of the United States.

25. To work in fur trade and lumbering Saginaw Bay City
Moving to Michigan Chart
Who?
When?
Why?
Where did they settle?
French
1600s
mid 1800s
To work in fur trade and lumbering
Saginaw
Bay City
People of African descent
1840s
1900s
Looking for freedom
Looking for a better life
Metro area
cities
Germans
1830s
Food and government problems in Germany
Ann Arbor
Saginaw River Valley
British
1800s
Fur trade
Farming
Mining
Many areas of including the UP

26. Who? When? Why? Where did they settle?
Moving to Michigan Chart
Possible Answers
Who?
When?
Why?
Where did they settle?
Irish
1840s
There was a famine in Ireland
Irish Hills
Poles
After the Civil War
For better jobs and farmland
Towns like Posen
Dutch
Looking for religious freedom
Western part of the state in cities like Grand Rapids
Swedish
To work in mines and lumber camps
The Upper Peninsula

27. To work in mines and later factories UP Detroit
Moving to Michigan Chart
Possible Answers
Finnish
1860s
To work in mines and later factories UP
Detroit
Italians
Hispanic people from places like and
1900s
To pick crops
To work in factories
Pontiac

28. They came to work in car part companies Oakland County
Moving to Michigan Chart
Possible Answers
Chinese
1870s
1990s
Because of anti-Chinese feelings in the western part of the United States
Detroit
Japanese
1950s
They came after WW II
They came to work in car part companies
Oakland
County

29. Many reasons including conflict where they lived Dearborn Southfield
Moving to Michigan Chart
Possible Answers
Arabs
Later part of 1900s
Many reasons including conflict where they lived
Dearborn
Southfield
Jewish people including Russian Jews
1900s
Many came to escape discrimination
Metro Detroit area

30. There have been shifts in immigration patterns. to Michigan
There have been shifts in immigration patterns to Michigan. For example, the French and British were the first Europeans to immigrate to Michigan. Next came the Irish and Germans. Recent immigrants often came from Asia or Latin America. Similar patterns are seen when studying immigration to the U.S. in general.

31. Look at a copy of the “Immigration Data” sheet located in the Supplemental Materials. Work with a partner to draw conclusions about immigration based on the data. Later we will share their conclusions with the whole class.

32. Possible conclusions include:
• In the 1800s most of the immigrants were from Europe.
• Between 1880 and 1900 there was a shift in European immigration. More and more people began to immigrate from countries in Southern and Eastern Europe.
• Not many people from Asia immigrated to the U.S. in the 1800s.
• Between 1920 and 1939 most immigrants came from countries in Europe or from Mexico or Canada.
• In recent times, the majority of immigrants have come from countries in Asia and the Americas.

33. Many authors have written stories of immigrants and their journeys
Many authors have written stories of immigrants and their journeys. We will be reading two different books about immigrants. Listen carefully to each book and be ready to identify push and pull factors affecting the immigration of the main characters. Read The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco and Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say. The first book is the story of a Russian immigrant mother and her family and the second is about an immigrant from Japan.

34. Discuss the two books:
• What push factors were evident in the two books?
• What pull factors were evident?
• How were the two immigrant stories alike?
• How were they different?
• What are some conclusions we can draw about immigration from the two stories?

35. Push and Pull Factors Factors that PULLED people to the United States
Assessment
Factors that PULLED people to the United States
Factors that PUSHED people out of their home countries

36. Push and Pull Factors
Possible Answers
Factors that PULLED people to Michigan
Good farmland
Mining jobs
Lumbering jobs
Jobs in factories
Cities where there were already immigrants from a certain country

37. Factors that PUSHED people out of their home countries
Famine
Political problems
Lack of religious freedom
Discrimination
Conflict in home countries
Hard times in home countries

38. On the next slide are photographs of Ellis Island
On the next slide are photographs of Ellis Island. Many European immigrants entered the U.S. through Ellis Island between the years 1892 and Photographs of these immigrants can be a useful tool for learning more about immigration.
Carefully look at the photographs and write some possible conclusions about immigration in the early 1900s based on what they see.

39. Image #1

40. Analyzing Photographs
Source: Americans in theRaw. Ohio State University Humanities Department. 13 November 2005 <

41. Possible conclusions include:
• People sometimes came with families and sometimes came alone.
• People brought very little with them.
• People wore numbers to identify them.
• People brought things like instruments with them.

42. Most immigrants could bring few things with them.
What Would You Pack?
Activity Sheet
Most immigrants could bring few things with them.
Imagine you are going to immigrate to a new country. You can only take one trunk with you. List the things you would take in your trunk.

43. An inspector that worked at Ellis Island wrote the descriptions on the transparency. Read the descriptions of what two immigrants brought with them out loud to students and define difficult terms. Compare and contrast the items each immigrant brought.

44. What Did People Bring With Them?
Overhead #3
I welcomed Florio Vincenzo when he came over to become one of us. Florio is fourteen. He came from Palermo. He traveled light. When he opened his cheap paper valise, it was apparently empty, except for a pair of discredited and disreputable old shoes. Florio bowed, cap in hand, and his white teeth flashed as he smiled.

45. There was an odor that an old inspector knew
There was an odor that an old inspector knew. He picked up one of the shoes and extracted from it, after some manipulation, a creased and crumpled hunk of Bologna sausage. The other shoe was stuffed with a soft, sticky and aggressively fragrant mass of Italian cheese. These articles and a sum of Italian money equivalent to about $1.80. The clothes he stood in, formed the basis on which Florio expected to rear his fortune.

46. Pietro Viarilli was gray-haired and round-shouldered
Pietro Viarilli was gray-haired and round-shouldered. He, too, had come make his fortune. His belongings consisted of one padlocked canvas case lined with paper. It contained two striped cotton shirts, one neckerchief of yellow silk, one black hat (soiled and worn), one waistcoat, two pairs of woolen hose, one suit of underwear, one pint of olive oil and about half a peck of hard bread biscuits.

47. Another way to explore the kinds of things immigrants brought with them is to analyze artifacts themselves.
Work together to try and identify each object and come up with a reason as to why an immigrant would take the object with them to the United States.

48. Immigrant Artifacts

49. Why do you think an immigrant would bring it with them to the ?
Immigrant Artifact Analysis Chart
Object
What is it?
Why do you think an immigrant would bring it with them to the ? #1 #2 #3 #4

50. Note that the artifacts and their countries of origin are listed below:
• Object 1: an accordion from Italy
• Object 2: a birth certificate from Poland
• Object 3: a candlestick from Austria-Hungary
• Object 4: A cloth apron from Ukraine.

51. Read a few of the short memoirs included in the book I Was Dreaming to Come to America, a book created by the Ellis Island Oral History Project.

52. Immigration Data Immigration 1840 – 1860 Immigration 1880 – 1900 Asia
N. & W. Europe
E. & S. Europe
Americas
Asia
Other
N. & W. Europe
Immigration 1880 – 1900
E. & S. Europe
Americas
Asia
Other

53. Australia New, Zeeland, Oceania
Immigration 1920 – 1939
Europe
74%
Africa,
Asia & Other
Canada
Mexico
Europe
Africa
Australia New, Zeeland, Oceania
Asia 37%
Americans 50%
Immigration 1981 – 1990

54. Image #2

55. Immigrants coming from Asia often entered the U. S
Immigrants coming from Asia often entered the U.S. through an immigration center called Angel Island in San Francisco. Have students read the story of Li Keng Wong who immigrated to the United States from China. The story can be found at this website: If time is short, have students just read the sections entitled “Arriving at Angel Island” and “Detained at Angel Island.” Following the reading, have students compare LI Keng Wong’s experiences at Angel Island with what students have learned so far about experiences at Ellis Island.

56. Teacher Resource
Americans in the Raw. Ohio State eHistory website. 13 November 2008 <
Bode, Janet. The Colors of Freedom: Immigrant Stories. New York: Grolier Publishing, 1999.
Egbo, Carol. Supplemental Materials (Unit 3, Lesson 3).Teacher-made material. Michigan Citizenship Collaborative, 2008.
Ellis Island. 13 November 2008 <
Immigration Data. U.S. Census Bureau. 13 November 2008 <
Immigration Photographs. Library of Congress. American Memory Collection. 13 November 2008 <
Lawlor, Veronica, ed. I Was Dreaming To Come to America: Memories from Ellis Island. New York: Puffin Books, 1997.
Lessons to Accompany “Grandfather’s Journey” by Allen Say. 13 November 2008 <
Photographs of Ellis Island. The Statute of Liberty – Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. 13 November 2008 <

57. Plan of a Slave Ship. Africans in America. PBS
Plan of a Slave Ship. Africans in America. PBS. 13 November 2008 <
Prints and Photographs Online Catalog. Library of Congress. 13 November 2008 <
A timeline of Immigration History. The Statute of Liberty – Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. 13 November 2008 <
You, Whoever You Are.” Immigration. Library of Congress. 13 November 2008 <