The History Cat
The History Cat: Ellis Island
Tells the story of Ellis Island, the first stop for immigrants arriving in New York City beginning in 1890. Describes the process would-be immigrants to America had to go through before being allowed to board a trans-Atlantic ship, the...
The History Cat
The History Cat: The California Gold Rush
Describes the events that led to the California Gold Rush, the lives of the miners, the discrimination faced by Chinese immigrant miners and African Americans, the women who mostly stayed behind when their husbands went west as well as...
Digital Public Library of America
Dpla: Puerto Rican Migration to the Us
This primary source set uses maps, documents, and photographs to tell the story of Puerto Rican migration to the United States.
University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota: Immigration Syllabus: Weeks 1 2
Week 1: Why study immigration? What does the study of immigration reveal about U.S. history and which stories we tell about ourselves as a people? Week 2: Settlers, Servants, and Slaves in British, French, and Spanish Colonial America:...
Other
Peasant Social Worlds: The Other Way Out: Us Migration
This is an article on current migration trends from Mexico to the US. The article discusses the impact of legislation and economic crisis on migration.
PBS
Pbs in the Mix: Teen Immigrants Five American Stories
A companion site to the PBS show, In the Mix. Gives an overview and transcripts from an episode featuring five teens from Russia, the Dominican Republic, Guinea, and Tanzania. Also features a timeline of immigration history and an...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Open Course Ware: The Places of Migration in United States History
MIT provides and extensive list of reading and viewing materials in regard to the migration within the United States. Lecture notes and possible assignments included.
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: Within These Walls
Two hundred years' worth of American history all in one house. Learn what a close examination of a single-family dwelling can tell us about what life was like during five different periods of American history: the colonial era, the...
Immigration and Ethnic History Society
Iehs: Kevin Kenny, "Insiders & Outsiders in 19th Century American Immigration"
This article focuses on the history of who were the insiders (with rights) and the outsiders (without rights) in the early history of the US (prior to the 14th Ammendment. It was largely based on race not citizenship.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Rush of Immigrants
Read about the new wave of immigrants who came to America in the late 19th century. See differences between these groups of immigrants and those who came earlier. Find out where immigrants settled, and read about those who did not...
Digital Public Library of America
Dpla: Early Chinese Immigration to the Us
This set of resources provides photos, documents, and oral histories that help tell the story of this early period of Chinese immigration to the United States. Teaching guide included.
A&E Television
History.com: Hispanic History Milestones: Timeline
The American Hispanic/Latinx history is a rich, diverse and long one, with immigrants, refugees and Spanish-speaking or Indigenous people living in the United States since long before the nation was established. America's Hispanic...
Other
Fargo Public Schools: Immigrant History
Early immigration to North Dakota is surveyed, answering such questions as why immigrants first chose to move to this state, what ethnic groups came, and the like.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Intolerance
The 1920s was a time of intolerance and a return to nativism, a claim to return to American values, defined as those held by white, western European descendents. Read about the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan, restriction on immigration,...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Women in the Gilded Age
The roles available to women increased during the urbanization of America. Find out how the women's sphere of the home expanded into the community. See what new jobs were availabe to single, middle-class women, and read about how...
Country Studies US
Country Studies: Us: A Society in Transition
The 1980s were a time of tremendous change in the US. Computer technology, an increase in service-sector jobs, changing population patterns, homosexuality, AIDS, and changing immigration patterns were just some of the changes Americans...
Siteseen
Siteseen: American Historama: Us Immigration Laws
Provides a timeline, facts, and information about the history of US Immigration Laws with a description of the dates and the purpose of each of the US Immigration laws.
Immigration and Ethnic History Society
Iehs: Jessica Lee, Did Immigrants Cheer a National Tragedy? Rumors Become Policy
This article focuses on immigrants and their reactions to national tragedy such as the assassination of President McKinley in 1901 and the rumored reaction of immigrants in New Jersey after the 9/11 attack. The point is that rumors can...
Immigration and Ethnic History Society
Iehs: S. Deborah Kang, Ins on the Line: Making Immigration Law on the Us Mexico
This article focuses on the history of the immigration on the US-Mexico border. The US-Mexico border has been and continues to be both open and closed as a matter of design. For much of the twentieth century, the Immigration and...
University of Massachusetts
University of Massachusetts: History of Migration and Immigration Laws in the Us
Provides a brief history of the migration and immigration laws starting in 1790, with brief descriptions of each law. Includes court decisions.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Freedom: A History of Us: Whose Land Is This? [Pdf]
A lesson plan, with printable activity sheets, from the producers of the 16-episode PBS series "Freedom: A History of US." Designed to help learners examine the anti-immigrant sentiment that led to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and...
A&E Television
History.com: The Mariel Boatlift: How Cold War Politics Drove Thousands of Cubans to Florida in 1980
After Fidel Castro loosened emigration policies, some 125,000 Cubans landed on U.S. shores over a span of five months. The Mariel Boatlift of 1980 was a mass emigration of Cubans to the United States. The exodus was driven by a stagnant...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Alien and Sedition Acts
A great description of the Alien and Sedition Acts, passed by the Federalist Congress in 1798. See how the Federalists tried to hang on to power by restricting voting privileges and infringing on free speech and freedom of the press.
OpenStax
Open Stax: Contesting Futures: America in 1960s: Lyndon Johnson and Great Society
Read about the reforms and legislation undertaken through Lyndon B. Johnson's concept of the Great Society. These included economic and educational reforms, consumer protection, changes to immigration laws, and the Voting Rights Act of...