Topic of the Month: Immigration History

Every March many Americans celebrate St. Patrick’s Day whether they have Irish ancestry or not. This blending of many cultural traditions from the immigration of various groups to this continent is one of the wonderful qualities I appreciate about the United States. March’s special topic of the month is Immigration History. Immigration history is a broad topic that can begin with the migration of native cultures across the Bering Strait or other means and continues today. This article will not cover it all but will focus on immigration through Ellis and Angel Islands. Picture is Landing at Ellis Island from the Lirbrary of Congress.

In 1840’s the great potato blight struck Ireland driving nearly 1 million Irish to travel to America in just a decade. In this period Castle Garden, one of the first state-run immigration depots, was opened in New York City in 1855 to process these new immigrants. The Homestead Act of 1862 encouraged greater migration as the new law provided any citizen or intended citizen could lay claim to 160 acres.

In 1892 Ellis Island opened with nearly 700 immigrants passing through its doors or the first day and 450,000 coming in during the next year. Prior to WWI immigration reaches all time highs through Ellis Island, but the war severely curbs immigration and new laws are passed such as one preventing children from coming over without adults. However, post WWI immigration surges through Ellis Island and the first Immigration Quota law passed in 1921 restricting immigration by ethnic percentages. Ellis Island officially closed in 1954, became a monument in 1965, and restored until 1990 when it re-opened to the touring public. Visit this site to see if your ancestors’ records are here.

Angel Island provided a similar service on the Pacific coast. However, the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1905 severely limited immigration from Asia and many were housed on this island waiting for entry for nearly two years. The offices closed in 1940 and moved to San Francisco, while the island served as a POW camp during WWII. The island is currently under restoration for an opening sometime this year. You might use this resource to track your geneology.

We are truly a nation of immigrants whose reasons for traveling to this vast land vary but in many ways share similar experiences. The stories of these two islands is not just immigration history but our national history.

Historical Narrative Assignment

Students often evaluate historical events and the people who lived ages ago by today’s standards and what we know now about the outcome. Sometimes this hindsight makes it difficult for students to empathize with people in the past. In this historical narrative writing assignment, students imagine what it would have been like to live in another time. Then they will write from a fictional character’s perspective a set of letters, journal entries, or story. Students completing this assignment will understand the impact of time and space on perspective, develop a narrative structure, identify events, people, groups and cultures, and practice research skills.

First, develop a list of events or people that your students can choose to write their first person narratives about. I like to make these lists about non-famous everyday people. I also allow students to select any gender or race that would be appropriate for that character. For example in a WWII unit, students choose from a soldier of any country on the frontlines, a Jewish person in a concentration camp, or a French citizen in occupied France. Another example, is to imagine they are a Civil War soldier writing a letter home about their experience, and then write a return letter from the soldier’s wife about civilian life in the Civil War.

Before writing, students research what every day life was like for the character. I require a bibliography of three sources. You may also want to point students to certain Primary Sources like autobiographies or diaries. Students should note historical references like dates, places, and events. These real facts will add credibility and interest to the assignment. For example, a soldier might mention a battle that actually occurred or a leader that actually lived. Encourage students to use descriptions that really bring their audience to the moment. What sounds or smells would the character sense in the moment their writing about?

These papers are unique for the students to write and the instructor to grade. The opportunity to plagiarize is less likely, though still possible. Students may struggle if they have not had many creative writing experiences before. Therefore, give students some specific parameters in a rubric to help organize this assignment and write an appropriate amount. You may also provide students some examples or articles to help them get started. Grade students on being as accurate as possible describing their character’s experience rather than how entertaining it is to read. For example, the character would not have modern technology available like phones or computers. The use and sounds of cars and planes might be very new and foreign to the character. Some students may really thrive in this assignment and try to use dialect appropriate for the character but grammar may suffer. I am ok with this because students are exploring a new type of historical writing and exploring character writing. I also encourage students to post their assignment for classmates to read in an optional discussion.

Movie Review Assignment

Historians like to discuss and discredit films for their inaccuracies, but the average person learns a great deal about the past from these cinematic representations. I bet each of us can think of at least one scene from a movie that really affected our understanding of an historical event or time. Movies can excite students about history and teach about the past in a way that draws viewers into the experience. Many great history instructors are also great storytellers, and film is simply another way of telling the world’s story. Directors may take creative license with the facts and characters, but they often are careful to represent dress, life-style, and culture in a way that texts and even great storytellers have trouble doing. After students finish the course they may never actively try to learn history again, but they are likely to watch movies that represent the past. This assignment will encourage students to be critical thinkers as they analyze the film for class and later films they enjoy.

First, students select a movie from a list provided by the instructor to watch. The list should provide a variety of new and old movies and cover a variety of subjects. Since new movies come out all the time and there are many films I am not aware of, I allow students to contact me for approval for a movie not on the list. While watching the movie, students are to consider these questions:

1. Were there inaccuracies in the movie compared to the material in our course which covers that time period or person?
2. What did you learn from the movie that you did not already know?
3. Were there any obvious values or opinions being presented by the director in the way they depicted the main theme of the film or the way they portrayed the heroes and villains of the story?
4. How did the depiction of this event or person compare to reading about the same topic in a textbook?
5. Did you have an emotional reaction to the film, why or why not? How do your own history and experiences affect how you perceive the film?
6. Did the film have an impact at the time of release on society’s perspective of the event and people involved? Did the film change your perspective about the people or event?

After watching the film, students write a concise review of the movie that considers the questions above and summarizes the plot. You may also provide the option for students to share their work in a discussion, so that they can learn from each other and review a variety of films.

Timeline Assignment

Historians use timelines to create a graphical, sequential picture of history. Timelines are linear or comparative. The information in a timeline gives us perspective about the relationships between events and people. Textbooks and Hippocampus.org do this for students regularly to present information in a different and concise format. Below are a couple of timelines on the web you might use in your courses as resources for students.

http://www.historicaltimeline.com/ (This site includes 5 timelines that traces world history, leaders, religion, war, and inventions)

http://www.searchbeat.com/society/History/Timelines/ (This site has a long list of timelines for various topics)

http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmah/timeline.htm (American History Timeline by the Smithsonian Institute)

http://www.mnh.si.edu/Africanvoices/ax/fs/primary_fs.html?history+intro (This is the Smithsonian timeline for African history)

http://www.lkwdpl.org/study/timeline/ (This is a student guide to creating timelines and it also provides links to many useful timelines)

Organizing content and creating a timeline requires students to break information into parts, understand the impact of time and space on perspective, and identify trends. First, create a list of topics related to the unit or course. I provide several topics that have evolved over time and have many key events. For example, students might trace medical advancements in the United States from the Civil War through WWII. Students pick a topic that most interests them, but I am careful to give students specific start and end parameters for the timeline. Students create a time line of at least 15 events using either a word processing program or this really nice web 2.0 tool at http://www.timerime.com/ (you’ll also find some timelines here that you might find useful in your courses.). Each item on the timeline should include a brief description that explains the significance of that date. Students summarize the topic the outline is about in one concise paragraph. Students are encouraged to post their work to an optional Timeline discussion for classmates to use. This student generated bank of timelines can be a useful resource for them as the course progresses.

Primary and Secondary Source Evaluation

Last month I outlined a few different assignments I am using in the Western Civilization class that I am teaching for CCCOnline. In March I will continue to share some assessment and assignment designs, and I encourage you to share your assignments ideas here.

History students should analyze sources that are both Primary and Secondary and compare these documents' roles in history. First, develop a list of primary sources related to a Unit or Course. I started by looking at what was available with the digital text. For US history, Hippocampus.org has a great selection of primary sources associated directly with the content.
Students choose one of these primary sources from the list to study. I request that my students spend a certain amount of time reading the document if it is more than a chapter. Since my courses are lower level college courses, I do try to recognize that some documents in my list are very lengthy and more appropriate for a full read by a master or doctoral level student. To encourage students to still consider these and not be daunted by their length, I suggest putting a page or time limit will encourage them to explore these.

After reading the primary document, students find a secondary source (book, article, essay, etc) which discusses, explains, or comments on the issue or event in the primary source they chose. For example, if the primary source was Darwin’s writing on the origin of the species, students would look for a secondary source which comments on Darwin’s ideas (either positively or negatively). Again the secondary source could be quite lengthy, so for the purposes of this course I request they read a certain number or pages or amount of time.

The students summarize what they learned about the event from both the primary and secondary sources chosen. Then students compare the secondary source’s interpretation of the historical event or topic to the way that event or topic was presented in the primary source. The students must include in their evaluation of the documents the answers to these questions:

Who was the author and who was the audience of each document?
What was the purpose of the document or motive for writing it?
Does the writer have an obvious bias?
When was this document written, and what was the effect of the document on history?
What affect did the document have on the student’s view of this topic or event?

Finally, I encourage students to post their assignment for others to read in an optional study hall discussion. I hope to develop a sense of collaboration there by students sharing their research and having the opportunity to comment and make suggestion on each other's work before submitting it to me.