Oklahoma Academic Standard 1. The student will analyze the transformation of the United States through its civil rights struggles, immigrant experiences, and settlement of the American West in the Post Reconstruction Era, 1865 to the 1920s.

Objective 1.3 Analyze the impact of westward expansion and immigration on migration, settlement patterns in American society, economic growth, and American Indians.

A. Summarize the reasons for immigration, shifts in settlement patterns, the immigrant experience at immigrant processing centers such as Ellis Island and Angel Island, and the impact of Nativism and Americanization. 

B. Analyze the creation of federal immigration policies including the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Gentlemen’s Agreement, federal court decisions, the Supreme Court’s application of the 14th Amendment and the Immigration Act of 1924. 

In a Nutshell

During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, America experienced an influx in immigration. Immigrants were pushed from their homelands by religious persecution, conflicts, and economic woes, drawn to America for job opportunities, safety, and freedom. Students should understand that many Americans resented these new citizens and felt that “new immigrants” were inferior to earlier arrivals. This nativism culminated in widespread prejudice and even anti-immigrant legislation. Understanding these historical roots of prejudice toward newcomers to our nation will help prepare students to resolve contemporary issues related to immigration.

Teacher Action 

Student Action 

• Provide students with multiple and routine opportunities to analyze information from visual, oral, digital, and interactive texts (maps, charts, images, political cartoons, videos) in order to draw conclusions and defend arguments both for and against immigration policies of the past and present.  

• Assist students to investigate and evaluate plausible answers to essential questions that reflect enduring understandings across time and all disciplines.  

• Ask and answer geographic questions by acquiring, organizing, and analyzing multiple sources of data and information about the world’s past and its present conditions in regards to immigrant settlement patterns. 

• Evaluate the impact of perspectives, civic virtues, democratic principles, constitutional rights, and human rights on addressing issues and problems in society.

   

Key Concepts 

Misconceptions 

• diversity, national identity, push and pull factors for immigration, concept of America as a "melting pot", symbolism of the Statue of Liberty 

• "new" versus "old" immigrants, fear of change in "American" identity and culture from acculturation

• role of immigration inspection centers, such as Ellis and Angel Islands

• anti-Asian sentiments resulting in restriction of Chinese immigrants

• Nativism as a political policy of promoting the interests of native inhabitants against those of immigrants 

• Americanization as a government and private organization's design to educate and prepare foreign-born residents for full participation in citizenship through commitment to principles of American culture, life, and values

• One misconception students may possess is that immigrants came to America and abandoned the culture of their origin. Students should understand that each immigrant group contributed to the greater American culture while acquiring new cultural norms from their adopted nation.  

• Another misconception is that most immigrant groups were considered and treated the same; when in reality, Asian immigrants at Angel Island and European immigrants at Ellis Island received different treatment.

Instructional Resources