Immigration-The+New+Century+II

Letters from America- An Immigrant’s Letter Home American History Mr. Sontheimer Leaving your home to go off to a new place is very difficult. Immigrants that came to America between 1885 and 1914 were seeking betters lives but had very little understanding of the country that they were going to relocate their lives. In the case of many immigrants earlier waves of their fellow countrymen (or women!) were already in America and helped them to make the transition to a new life. You are going to put yourself in the place of one of these experienced immigrants and write a letter back to your home country to try and encourage more members of your family or community to join you(or not come!). Your final letter will be FIVE PARAGRAPHS LONG and follow the format that I have provided. All research materials will be available to you and may choose many of the details in your letter on your own. The following writing guide must be used for this assignment. You will also include 3-5 pictures to illustrate your letter. __ Circle Your Country of Origin __  Ireland Russia Poland Italy China Japan Africa Mexico Germany
 * All of the following details should be included in your opening paragraph. (Paragraph 1) **

 Circle the reasons you left your home country __ Religious Freedom Political Freedom Economic Opportunity Rejoin Family Curiosity Taken Forcefully Others ___  __ Circle the methods and include the route that you used to travel here __  Ship from Europe Ship from Asia Ship from Africa

 

Circle the city where you have settled (or closest if you decide to be a rural dweller __  New York City Philadelphia Charleston Harrisburg San Francisco Salt Lake City Other __  What do you to support your family? Immigrants had a wide variety of jobs depending on their destination. Choose one occupation below (it must make sense for example you cannot be a fisherman in Salt Lake City) and include details from research about your job. Circle One  Coal Miner Steel Worker Garment Worker Slaughterhouse Farmer Fisherman Other_  **__Improvements- __**** All of the following details should be included in your 3rd paragraph. **  How is life in America better? What do you like about living here compared to the place that you came from? Do you have more freedom? Do you have better food? What types of material possessions have you acquired? What else would you like to have? (remember all of these should be appropriate to the time period. You cannot have a plasma screen tv!) **__Obstacles- __****All of the following details should be included in your 4th paragraph. ** What is hard about being an immigrant? Do you pay high rent? Is your home crowded? Do you face discrimination at work? What types of wages are you paid? Do you have to food available that you like?
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Work __****<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"> - All of the following details in this section should be included in your 2nd paragraph. **

<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"> Finish your letter back to your native country by trying to convince someone else to either join you or stay home. Promote the benefits of immigration or warn your compatriots back home about the dangers of coming. Remember to summarize some of your key arguments from earlier in the letter to complete the task. __<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Pictures- __<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Your letter should be illustrated with 3-5 pictures that show aspects of your journey to America and the life you are living as an immigrant. If you need help inserting or finding photos please see me.
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Conclusion- __****<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"> All of the following details should be included in your 5th paragraph. **

Terms to Define- Click on Links to research what these terms mean. Please create a summary for each one and place it in your wikispace. I suggest that you do this first in order to learn more for your letter. [|The Huddled Masses], [|The New Immigrants], [|The Chinese Exclusion Act] [|Contract Agreement] [|Immigration Restriction] [|United States's Changing Face] cut_ __Grade Criteria-Please attach to final paper draft.__ __/15 Letter contains five well-written paragraphs that are joined together with a logical introduction and conclusion. Must include completed writing guide.__ __/ 15 Letter contains AT LEAST three relevant and plausible details about immigration and the immigrant experience__ __/ 10 Letter demonstrates creativity and enthusiasm for the assignment.__ __/ 10 Required terms are displayed in wikispace with letter and pictures.


 * Immigration Notes:**

Statue of Liberty__- Tallest metal structure (151 feet high). Gift from French Republicans. Modeled after Roman Goddess Libertas. Originally intended to express oppostion and slavery. Eventually became a symbol of American might (after Spanish-American War of 1898). 20th century- "Lady of Hope" for immigrants.

__The New Immigrants__- About334,203 immigrants came in 1886. In 1900, 14% of American's were foreign. $10 to cross Atlantic in steerage. European immigrants increased after Civil War. Between 1882-1914, 20 million came. By 1900, New York had as many irish residents as Dublin, more Italians than any city outside of Rome, more Poles than any city except Warsaw, and more Jews than any city in the world. Largely catholic and jewish. Came from Balkans, Italy, Poland, and Russia.

__Chinese Exclusion Act__- From 1882-1943, most Chinese were barred from entering. Nations first law to ban immigrants by race or nationality. Chinese couldn't become naturalized. Smuggled over because US needed workers. Geary Act (1892) required Chinese aliens to carry residence certification. "Paper families" got amnesty in 1950's.

__Contract Labor__- 19th century: demand for laborers rose. Bad contracts and long days with little pay. Alternative indentrue- "credit ticket system". Indentured laborers="coolies". "Surplus" labor.

__Immigration Restrictions__- In 1882- restricted people who they thought would become insane. Prohibited contract workers/Asians/illiterates. Afraid foreign immigrants were dangerous. Xenophobia= hatred of foreigners and immigrants. Nativism= the policy of keeping a society ethnically homogeneous.

__US Changing Face__- Nine million undocumented immigrants between 1900 and 1910. South has fewest foreign immigrants. Greatest diversity is in America.


 * Immigration Essay:**

3/12/1909  Dear Mamma, Ciao from America! I am happy to say that both Papa and I are safe here in the wonderful United States of America. It is beautiful here! I miss Italy very much, especially you and baby brother Giovanni, but living in this country of great opportunity and freedom has changed my life for the better. Yes, there are downsides and a few unfortunate moments, but for the most part this land is great! Italy, of course, is not in the best of shape since the earthquake and I hope you have made yourself at home at Nonna’s house. You understand very well why Papa and I immigrated here and I think it was the best decision we have ever made. The earthquake affected our home and farmland, we needed to make a living in a place that had actual jobs, and we needed to find a place to reside that is better than the little suburb around Messina. Papa and I made a safe trip across the Atlantic Ocean on a ship where we finally landed weeks later in Ellis Island. Mamma, you cannot imagine how beautiful the Statue of Liberty is. When we arrived, we made our way through all of the tests to be able to come into New York City. A little girl beside me coughed when a man was smoking a cigar. When she coughed, the guards took her aside and told her she needed to go back to Italy. They thought that she was sick so they didn’t let her enter; it was very sad. Me and Papa made it out alright and walked to Mulberry Street where we now share an apartment with the Tivoli’s. There are 7 of us and it is a little cramped, but it’s not as horrible as what happened to our house after the earthquake. There are a lot of Italians here, it feels very welcoming. Papa and I both got jobs within our first week of arriving. He works in a coal mine and often comes home as black as night! I work as a garment worker from the comfort of our very own apartment. I have to work at home so that I can also watch over the Tivoli’s daughter Caprice who is 2 years old. I sew buttons onto men’s suit jackets. My hands get tired and my wrists feel like they are going to fall off by the end of the day, but I get fairly good pay. Combined, me and Papa bring in about $5.20, which is good enough to buy food and other necessities. Papa complains about his lungs hurting after work and I’m worried the coal mines are making him sick. We can’t afford a doctor right now, but he should be fine until we can. I like working in America better than Italy because I feel like I have more responsibility and can work more at my own pace. My job could be worse and I am very thankful that I got one where I don’t have to commute. Everything I could ever need is right here on Mulberry Street and I get to work from home. Men come and pick up my garments after I have finished and sell them on the street right outside our door. It’s a great feeling watching your garments be admired and sold (even though all I do is sew on the buttons). Mamma, freedom isn’t anything I could describe to you in a letter. Here, we can say what we want to without being put to shame about it. Here, we can be women and still have a job that pays. Here, the government listens to what the people have to say. There are a lot of different racial backgrounds here that I am not used to, but they are all very nice people. The food here isn’t as good as your cooking, but we still eat a ton of Italian food! Some people on Mulberry Street have automobiles and Papa says that maybe someday soon we can buy one. That would be a dream come true! Our apartment is smaller than our farmhouse in Italy and there are more people, but there are a lot of people to be around all of the time. I have made a lot of new friends who are around the same age as me and also from Italy. Nicolaas is 19 and from Sicily. Someone told me he liked me but I don’t know if I believe them yet… On the voyage across the Atlantic, Papa and I tried to picture what America would be like. We pictured streets full of happy people and a land full of opportunity. Our picture may have been more dream-like than realistic, but so far America is more like a dream than anything! The rent is low since there are a lot of people chipping in to help pay it. New York City is the most amazing place in the world. There aren’t too many obstacles that I can’t overcome here. In Italy, it was hard to be a woman and try to participate in the world. That is why I adore America. I can have a say in things and I don’t get discriminated against at work. There is one problem though; I have to look after the children a lot. Since I am an 18 year old lady, I get stuck with having the watch over the young ones a lot while everyone is working. I love the littlest daughter very much. She makes me want to start a family of my own someday. Wouldn’t that be exciting, Mamma? Having a family in America? What a miracle that would be. Overall, I cannot wait for you to come overseas and live with us. Me, you, Papa, and baby Giovanni can maybe buy a house of our own in New York and all be happy together. I miss you very much and hope you at least get a little feel for how wonderful it is here in America. Don’t be afraid to come to the United States at all. I know before you said that you were scared before of the long journey and being turned away because some call Ellis Island “L’Isola dell Lagrime “or “land of tears.” Don’t believe them Mamma, this land is perfect. The work opportunities here are worth the trip alone. Yes, the Italians here are among the lowest paid in the country, but we still get by very well and at least we are getting paid at all. The city is a great place to meet new people and try new things. There are many different backgrounds and cultures here to learn about. I have even tried some food made by a Chinese family! Life here is better than I could have ever imagined. Our family could be very happy here and we could prosper more than ever. I cannot wait for you to join us in the land of the free! Love, Sofia Devito P.S- Be very careful when you come through customs when you first arrive. The guards can be a little scary. Just act healthy and happy and you should be just fine.