Essays

Immigration and Migration

The essays in this section have been written by leading scholars of American history. They provide additional depth on events and ideas referred to in the introductory essay and, in some cases, different interpretations by historians looking at the same events. These essays are particularly useful in introducing your students to one of the most exciting aspects of studying history—understanding the past from a variety of perspectives.

Reader in a cigar factory, Tampa, Fla., by Lewis Wickes Hines (LOC)

Bridging the Caribbean: Puerto Rican Roots in Nineteenth-Century America

Author: Virginia Sanchez Korrol Curriculum Subjects: World History Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Landing at Ellis Island, ca. 1902 (LC-USZ62-12595)

Coming to America: Ellis Island and New York City

Author: Vincent J. Cannato Curriculum Subjects: Economics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Family in Chinatown, San Francisco, CA. (LC-G4085- 0192 <P&P>)

History Times: A Nation of Immigrants

Author: Gilder Lehrman Institute Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Grade Levels: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Essays from Other Sub-Eras

Born Modern: An Overview of the West

Author: Richard White Curriculum Subjects: Geography, Government and Civics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Teenager operating machinery, 1913, by Lewis Hine. (LC-DIG-nclc-04898)

History Times: The Industrial Revolution

Author: Gilder Lehrman Institute Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Oath of Allegiance of Mikael Amerikian, 1931 (NARA ARC # 595054)

Immigrant Fiction: Exploring an American Identity

Author: Phillip Lopate Curriculum Subjects: Literature Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Letterhead from Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, 1910, detail. (GLC)

The Myth of the Frontier: Progress or Lost Freedom

Author: John Mack Faragher Curriculum Subjects: Art, Economics, Geography, Literature Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Panorama of Chicago, ca. 1906, Universale View Co., Philadelphia, PA (LOC)

The Transnational Nature of the Progressive Era

Author: Daniel T. Rodgers Curriculum Subjects: World History Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Detail from a World War I poster. (GLC09522)

Why Immigration Matters

Author: Thomas Kessner Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Athletic Sports, 1887. (Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Div.)

Why Sports History Is American History

Author: Mark Naison Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Justice of the Plains: The Movement Westward, John S. Curry (LC-DIG-highsm-02850

Women of the West

Author: Virginia Scharff Curriculum Subjects: Geography, Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+