The Immigrant Experience in America

The Immigrant Experience in America


Introduction

The United States witnessed an influx of new immigration between 1880 and 1920, sparking the largest and most prolonged period of immigration in its history. Many of these immigrants sought opportunities in the American Dream, but faced numerous challenges in the rapidly industrializing nation. In this activity you will research the experience of immigrants and analyze the challenges they faced to integrate into American society.


Writing Assignment:

Write a paper that is 500-600 words in length (2 pages double spaced) that contains all of the following:

  1. Introductory paragraph that introduces the topic, and contains a THESIS statement that answers the question: What can modern students learn from the experience of immigrants to America in the late 19th century?

  2. Body paragraph 1 that discusses what factors brought immigrants to America.

  3. Body paragraph 2 that discusses what challenges immigrants faced upon coming to America, and how did Americans react to immigrants coming to America?

  4. Body paragraph 3 that analyzes the past and the present: What can modern students learn from the experience of these immigrants? What modern issues does the United States have with immigration and Americans’ responses are similar or different?

  5. Closing paragraph that concludes your paper, and can discuss your views of the American Dream.

**You paper will be scanned for plagiarism and AI/ChatGPT usage, both of which will result in a zero (so don’t do it). You must cite all of your sources on a WORKS CITED PAGE.

Possible Resources:

You can use the following resources to get started, but you are not limited to using these:

Ellis Island Interactive Tour

US Immigration in the 1800s

Immigration, Urbanization, and Identity

Immigration from 1851-1900 (Library of Congress)

America the Story of US: Cities