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Civics Political Cartoon Activity

Attitudes Toward Immigration

Culver Pictures, Inc.

UNDERSTANDING POLITICAL CARTOONS Study the political cartoon and then answer the questions below.

1. What does the sign on the building and the number of people on the large boat tell you about what some Americans thought of Irish immigrants?

2. What does the cargo of the small boat say about how the average American wanted the immigrants welcomed?

3. If you were the owner of a large factory in New York, would you be more likely to welcome these immigrants? Why or why not?

ACTIVITY Imagine that you are a 13-year-old child of immigrants who just arrived in the United States. You are from a village of less than a thousand people. Write your first letter home to your best friend. Describe your feelings, living conditions, and how the United States of America is different from your home, and how you are being treated by Americans. Also describe your hopes and dreams for your life in this country.

Copyright ? by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

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Discussion Guide and Answers

Attitudes Toward Immigration

Discussion Guide

Between 1750 and 1900, the population of Europe expanded faster than any other region of the world except that of North America. From 150 million in the mid1700s, the population of Europe exploded to more than 400 million in 1900. Consequently, this large population exceeded the ability of the agricultural system to support it. Urban areas found it difficult to maintain sanitation and keep the population relatively disease-free. The resulting famines and plagues drove many to seek a new homeland. In the first half of the 1800s, Germans, Russians, Irish and many other nationalities formed a tidal wave of immigrants flowing into North America. In 1850 alone, more than 300,000 immigrants entered the United States. This number represents more people than the population of any U.S. city of that year except New York.

At first, even if they were not necessarily welcomed with open arms, the immigrants were met by open borders. No papers were required to enter the United States until well into the 1800s. A person could get on a boat in Ireland, land in New York, walk down the pier, and go anywhere in the United States without meeting a single barrier. Only when the United States was suffering through hard economic times did immigrants meet resentment. The cartoon reflects an attitude that was held primarily by the working classes toward the tide of new workers. Immigrants usually worked for lesser wages than American workers. Notice the overcrowding of the boat used by the immigrants. A lack of sanitation on the vessels and the poor health of immigrants due to famine and disease in their native countries contributed to the death of thousands from typhus each year. For example, all 47 immigrant ships sailing up the St. Lawrence River in May and June of 1847 carried people with typhus. As many as 10,000 of these immigrants died shortly after reaching land.

Answers

UNDERSTANDING POLITICAL CARTOONS 1. Americans saw the Irish immigrants as being poor and coming in large numbers from

Ireland. 2. The cargo of dynamite from New York would indicate that Americans wanted the immigrants

to be stopped before they reached the U.S. 3. Yes. An influx of poor, but able, workers would help keep the labor costs in your factory low.

ACTIVITY The student should begin with his or her feelings about how they would feel being in a strange country. They should then describe the food, clothing, and shelter available to immigrants, either from the student's own knowledge and/or research. The student also may describe the difference in the pace of life in America, the games American children play, the differences in material goods, and the contacts they have with citizens of the United States. They should close with their hopes and dreams for the future.

Copyright ? by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

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