Immigration

 Letters from America- An Immigrant’s Letter Home  American History Mr. Sontheimer  Leaving your home to go off to a new place is very difficult. Immigrants that came to America between 1885 and 1914 were seeking betters lives but had very little understanding of the country that they were going to relocate their lives. In the case of many immigrants earlier waves of their fellow countrymen (or women!) were already in America and helped them to make the transition to a new life. You are going to put yourself in the place of one of these experienced immigrants and write a letter back to your home country to try and encourage more members of your family or community to join you(or not come!). Your final letter will be FIVE PARAGRAPHS LONG and follow the format that I have provided. All research materials will be available to you and may choose many of the details in your letter on your own. The following writing guide must be used for this assignment. You will also include 3-5 pictures to illustrate your letter. __ Circle Your Country of Origin __  Ireland Russia Poland Italy China Japan Africa __Mexico __ Germany
 * All of the following details should be included in your opening paragraph. (Paragraph 1) **

 Circle the reasons you left your home country  Religious Freedom Political Freedom __Economic Opportunity__ Rejoin Family Curiosity Taken Forcefully Others _  __Circle the methods and include the route that you used to travel here__  Ship from Europe Ship from Asia Ship from Africa __Land Passage from the South or North __ <span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Other_ <span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">

Circle the city where you have settled (or closest if you decide to be a rural dweller <span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">New York City Philadelphia Charleston Harrisburg __San Francisco__ Salt Lake City Other <span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">What do you to support your family? Immigrants had a wide variety of jobs depending on their destination. Choose one occupation below (it must make sense for example you cannot be a fisherman in Salt Lake City) and include details from research about your job. Circle One <span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Coal Miner Steel Worker Garment Worker Slaughterhouse __Farmer__ Fisherman Other_h <span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">How is life in America better? What do you like about living here compared to the place that you came from? Do you have more freedom? Do you have better food? What types of material possessions have you acquired? What else would you like to have? (remember all of these should be appropriate to the time period. You cannot have a plasma screen tv!) <span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">What is hard about being an immigrant? Do you pay high rent? Is your home crowded? Do you face discrimination at work? What types of wages are you paid? Do you have to food available that you like?
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Work __****<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"> - All of the following details in this section should be included in your 2nd paragraph. **
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Improvements- __****<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"> All of the following details should be included in your 3rd paragraph. **
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Obstacles- __****<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">All of the following details should be included in your 4th paragraph. **

<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Finish your letter back to your native country by trying to convince someone else to either join you or stay home. Promote the benefits of immigration or warn your compatriots back home about the dangers of coming. Remember to summarize some of your key arguments from earlier in the letter to complete the task. __<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Pictures- __<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Your letter should be illustrated with 3-5 pictures that show aspects of your journey to America and the life you are living as an immigrant. If you need help inserting or finding photos please see me.
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';">Conclusion- __****<span style="font-family: 'Californian FB','serif';"> All of the following details should be included in your 5th paragraph. **

Terms to Define- Click on Links to research what these terms mean. Please create a summary for each one and place it in your wikispace. I suggest that you do this first in order to learn more for your letter. [|The Huddled Masses], The Statue of Liberty is the tallest metal statue ever constructed. In the time that it was build it was the tallest building in New York. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French Republicans to the United States of America. The Statue of Liberty became a symbol of hope and liberty. [|The New Immigrants], In 1900, 14 percent of the population of the United States was born outside the country. Passports were not necessary and crossing the Atlantic Ocean only cost $10. European immigration to the United States increased greatly [|The Chinese Exclusion Act], From 1882 to 1943, most Chinese immigrants were not allowed to enter the country. The Chinese Exclusion Act was the nation’s first law to band immigration by race or nationality. In 1892, the Geary Act was passed. This act required Chinese to carry a residence certificate with them at all time or they could get deported. [|Contract Agreement], The 19th century, demanded for manual labors to build railroads, raise sugars, mine precious metals, construct irrigation canals and many more. The credit ticket system was that a broker advanced the cost of passage and workers repaid the loan plus interest out of their earnings. This system was widely use by Chinese immigrants. Between 1830 to 1920, about 1.5 million laborers we recruited from India, one million from Japan, and half of million from china. [|Immigration Restriction], During the late 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the United States imposed some more restrictions on immigration. Some acts restricted the entry of criminals, people suffering from some diseases. [|United States's Changing Face] Grade Criteria-Please attach to final paper draft. __/15__ Letter contains five well-written paragraphs that are joined together with a logical introduction and conclusion. Must include completed writing guide. __/ 15__ Letter contains AT LEAST three relevant and plausible details about immigration and the immigrant experience __/ 10__ Letter demonstrates creativity and enthusiasm for the assignment. __/ 10 Required terms are displayed in wikispace with letter and pictures.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; msobidifontsize: 11.0pt; text-align: center;">Letters From America – An Immigrant’s Letter Home Jorge Zarate My dear Family, I hope you are all good in Mexico. I am doing really well in America. I’m working really hard so I can bring you all to live with me. I miss you a lot but you know that I had to come for better economic opportunities. It was a long and tiring ride to America. I had to ride for a day in a train hiding so we wouldn’t get caught by immigration. I am living in a farm close to San Francisco, California. <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes; msobidifontsize: 11.0pt; msonoproof: yes;"> I work in a farm picking lettuce. I take care of the plants and I do other jobs that the farmer asks me to do. I make 14 cents an hour. I usually work 40 hours so I make $5.60. It is not that much money but I have to buy me food and some other things. I have also worked with this other farmer working grapes. I sometimes make more money but I have to work harder and longer. It is all worth it. I am saving so I can bring you to live with me. Life in America is really good. I went to San Francisco and I was amazed with what I saw. There is big building everywhere. There are a lot of horse buggies and big steam engines trains. There are a lot of people in San Francisco. There are a lot of Latin Americans in California. Most of them are Mexican immigrants. I have really good food but I really miss your cooking and all the traditional Mexican foods. I also miss all the different traditions we celebrated back in Mexico. I bought a bike so I could from my job to my house and also to go to see around. I will like to buy more fancy things that rich people have. It is really hard to be an immigrant in this country. People don’t accept you because you are different. It was really hard for me to communicate with people in the beginning because I didn’t speak English. Now I can communicate with them because I am learning the language really fast. Another thing that is really hard about being an immigrant is that you have to watch out for immigration. The house I live in is crowded. There is like 15 persons living in the same house. There is only one bathroom and one kitchen. That is really hard to live with. I sometimes see discrimination in my job but not that often because it is mostly Hispanic workers. I don’t like some of the food found in this country but I have to deal with it. I want to bring you all with me. The life here is way better than back in Mexico City. There is way more opportunities in this country. I want my kids to have education. I will never put my kids to work. You never have to worry about not having food or money. There is a lot of different jobs that anybody could work in. It is a really dangerous to come to this country. There is a new movement to help farm workers gain more right. People have died trying to cross the desert or on the way there on trains. You will also get to see all the great things that this country has like the technology and architecture. You can say what you think and express yourself. I miss you a lot. I will write to you soon, take care. Sincerely, Guillermo Ochoa