Immigration and Urbanization 1865-1900 (U.S.)

The growing economy of the Gilded Age attracted immigrants from Europe and Asia. They settled in cities, with the exception of a few groups that settled in the farmlands of the Midwest and Southwest. The living conditions couldn't keep pace with the demographic changes, leading to filthy cities later to be exposed by people like Jacob Riis. Worst of all, immigrants were met with nativist attitudes, and, in the case of the Chinese, legislation was passed to exclude them from settling in the land of milk and honey.

Source

Enduring Understanding
People move to and from places with various consequences.

Essential Question
How does migration change societies?

Objectives
Analyze the impact of immigration in the late 19th Century United States.
Describe the role of political machines and analyze how they were portrayed in Thomas Nasts cartoons.
Explain the reasons for the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Content
Urbanization, migration (internal and external), nativism, political machines, Chinese Exclusion Act, Angel Island, Ellis Island,

Activities

1. Analyze excerpts from How the Other Half Lives 
2. Note-taking and summarizing with cartoon and image analysis (Slides)
3. Chinese Exclusion Act document analysis – This can be done individually or as a jig saw. 
4. Current events – find a news story about a recent government response to illegal immigration (external migration) in the United States. Answer the "W" questions at the bottom of Why is it news?

Assessment
Vocabulary practice (Quizlet)
Selected response Immigration and Urbanization (sample quiz)
Constructed response: Write a four- to six-paragraph essay responding to the following question.

How did internal and external migration change American society in the late Nineteenth Century?

TIP: Be sure to address change by including what society was like before and after, as well as the events that caused the changes.

ELL accommodations:

• Sentence stems for historical analysis (change / causation)
• Vocabulary instruction (i.e., What word does "exclusion" remind you of? Use thesaurus to look up synonyms for "act" as in Chinese Exclusion Act. Follow same exercise for "nativism")
• Use Google images to develop conceptual context for idioms that do not translate well from native language to target.

Time: 155 minutes (including assessment time). Classes with lesser writing skills would need closer to 200 minutes.