Life in America for ImmigrantsLife in America for Immigrants

Objective

•By the end of the lesson, students should be able to describe what life was like for immigrants when they first came to America.

Where did they settle?

•Immigrants came to America from all over the world!

•In the early 1900s, most immigrants came to America from Europe or Asia

Where was the first stop for immigrants?

•The immigrants from Europe came to Ellis Island in New York

•The immigrants from Asia came to Angel Island in California and other places on the West Coast

Ellis IslandImmigrants from Europe went to

Ellis Island.

Angel IslandImmigrants from Asia went to Angel

Island.

Life in America•Life in America was really hard for

immigrants.

•Many of them were really poor, and had to live in bad conditions.

•Many immigrants lived in Tenement Housing

•Tenement Housing - Apartments that were in really bad condition. Also, a lot of people may have lived in one apartment.

Tenement Housing

Tenement Housing

Neighborhoods

• Many times immigrants would live with people that spoke the same language, and had the same cultural background as themselves.

• For example, if you were Italian, you would have most likely moved to an area called “Little Italy.”

• If you were Chinese, you would have most likely moved to an area called “China Town”

Neighborhoods

•Why do you think immigrants moved to neighborhoods that matched their culture?

Neighborhoods

• This is a modern map of New York, but there are still areas called Chinatown and Little Italy - the areas where the Italians and Chinese would have settled at the turn of the century

Jobs for Immigrants

•Because many immigrants did not speak English, and were not that well educated, they had to find low paying jobs that did not require a lot skills.

•Many immigrants got jobs in factories, coal mines, farms, and as maids.

Jobs for Immigrants• A lot of times, immigrants were paid lower

wages then people that were born in America.

• Also, many times immigrants were forced to work in really bad conditions

• example: long hours and unsafe working conditions

• Finally, many children born in immigrant families had to work in factories to earn money for their family so they could buy supplies to survive.

Child Labor

QUICK REVIEW!

•In what ways was life hard for many immigrants in America?

Conclusion

• Immigrants came from all over the world in the early 1900s and landed at either Ellis Island (New York), or at Angel Island (California)

• Many immigrants lived in Tenement housing

• Immigrants had lowing paying and tough jobs