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Grade 5 Social Studies · World 2: Bigger, Better, Faster · Level 18
Why People Came
Give reasons people immigrated, and from where.
Warm-up, learn, try it together, practice, then a quick check. About 15 minutes.
What children learn in Level 18
- Between about 1880 and 1920, more than 20 million people came to the United States. People who move to a new country to stay are called immigrants.
- Some things pushed people out: no jobs, hunger, war, or unfair treatment for their religion. Jewish families fled attacks in Russia, and Italians left poor farms.
- Other things pulled them here: jobs, land, freedom of religion, and family who had already come.
- Most came from Europe, as this graph from the 1910 census shows. Others came from Canada, Mexico, and Asia.
- Ships from Europe stopped at Ellis Island, in New York Harbor. Many from Asia stopped at Angel Island, near San Francisco. Not everyone was welcome. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 stopped most Chinese workers from coming.
Georgia Standards of Excellence in Social Studies:
- SS5H1.d — Describe the reasons people immigrated to the United States, from where they emigrated, and where they settled.