America: A Nation of Immigrants Educational History Posters
for the social studies classrooms and home schoolers.

America: A Nation of Immigrants -
The Caribbean

• Hispanic and Latinos posters
• Black History posters
• Julia Alvarez posters

America: A Nation of Immigrants -
Mexico and Central America

America: A Nation of Immigrants -
East Asia Wall Poster

• Outstanding Asian American posters
• Asia posters

Eastern Europe-

Some of the first settlers in America were from Eastern Europe. In 1608, several Poles came to help establish the timber industry in Jamestown, Virginia. Although few Eastern Europeans would immigrate for many years, some outstanding figures emerged from that small population. Among them was Thaddeus Kosiusk]zko, a Polish soldier who helped America gain its independence.

The large waves of immigrants from Poland, Czechoslavakia, Hungary, Russia, the Ukraine, and other Eastern European states did not come until after America's Civil War. The United States had opened up the West and promised cheap land to homesteaders, and was begging for laborers. American railroads and mining companies advertised for workers in Eastern Europe.

Because conditions were desperate there, millions of workers came. During the 19th century, the populations of many European countries increased sharply, but food production did not. A potato blight and other crop failures made the situation worse. Wars in Eastern Europe destroyed farms and villages. To many of these battered people, America was the land of opportunity.

But most immigrants did not find an easy life in the New World. Some worked in the "sweatshops" and factories of New York and other large cities. Others went to the coal mines of Pennsylvania. Many Czechoslovakians settled in the Midwest and the newly opened territories farther west. Russians brought a sturdy winter wheat to the Great Plains and turned that region into America's breadbasket.

Some immigrants came because of religious restrictions in their native lands. Jews, for example, were persecuted in many countries. Beginning in the 1880s, mob vilence and organized attacks called "progroms" terrorized most Jewish communities in Russia. Thousands of Jews escaped to the United States. In America, they started businesses and worked in factories. Many found work in the clothing industry. When unions began to organize in the early 1900s, Jewish immigrants were often at the forefront of the labor movement.

Other Russians fled their homes when the communists took over after World War One. As Eastern European countries fell to the Nazis before World War Two, many refugees – Jews and non-Jews alike – escaped to America. After World War Two, Eastern Europeans fled as the communists seized their homelands. And many performers, artists, and writers defected from the Soviet Union because the communist government strictly controlled what they could do or say.

Eastern Europenas have contributed much to American culture. They brought delicatessen food – like meats and pickles – as well as bagels, paprika-seasoned foods, and many types of pastries to America. They introduced lively dances like the polka. Vladimir Horowitz, the great pianist, defected from the Soviet Union to the United States. Joseph Pulitzer came from Hungary and built an American newspaper empire. And the American descendants of Eastern Europeans have become Nobel prize winners, famous sports figures, acclaimed artists and writers, and prominent politicians.

Southeast Asia America: A Nation of Immigrants Wall Poster- no longer available

America: A Nation of Immigrants -
Southeast Asia

• Outstanding Asian American posters
• Asia Posters

South Asia and the Middle East-
The silk industry around Mount Lebanon in Syria prospered for many years. This region, which is now Lebanon, is rugged and mountainous. Many Lebanese people earned a living by cultivation silkworms and weaving the delicate threads into cloth. The Lebanese were also potters, craftsmen, and farmers. Then in 1869, the Suez Canal in Egypt opened, proving a shorter route between Europe and the Far East. Europeans started to buy their silk from China instead of Lebanon. The loss of the silk trade was only one problem the Lebanonese faced at that time. By the last half of the 19th century, the population of Syria had greatly increased, and the amount of arable land had decreased. Lebanese people looked to the United States as a land of opportunities. Lebanese families often combined their resources to send promising young people to America. These immigrants, in turn, sent part of their earnings back to their families. Lebanese immigrants did not want to work in factories or mines. So many took up a completely new profession. Both men and women became peddlars. For a small investment or for credit, peddlars filled backpacks and suitcases with small items, such as laces, tools, and kitchenwares. Each day, they trampled many miles carrying their heavy packs. They sold their products to housewives and people who worked all day in factories and could not always get to stores. Lebanese peddlers met many other Americans every day. They quickly learned English and American culture.

Some immigrants from Iraq, Palestine, and other countries did find jobs on farms and in factories here. A large number settled in Detroit to work in the automobile industry. In the 1960s and '70s, Iran experienced a "brain drain" when thousands of Iranian students and professionals took up permanent residence in the United States. Iranians immigrated for better jobs and education, and to escape political turmoil. Most of the immigrants from Turkey were Armenians who came to America to escape horrible conditions in their native land. Some were professionals or merchants, but in the United States, most had to start as unskilled laborers. Later, they opened shops and restaurants.

In the early 1900s, a drought in the Punjab region in India hurt many farm families. Some Indian families then sent their sons to America to earn mony to send back home. In America, some of these East Indian immigrants became successful farmers and business owners. When U.S. immigration restrictions were relaxed in 1965, many highly trained Indians and their families came to America. The new law also opened the door to immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. In America, some East Indians have worked hard to retain their culture. Sikh Indians still wear distinctive turbans. Young East Indian girls attend schools where they learn traditional dances. And East Indians philosophy, music – which features the sitar and the tabla – and religions principles of nonviolence have made their way into American culture.

• Middle East posters
• Asia posters

America: A Nation of Immigrants -
West Africa (slavery)

• Black History posters
• Africa & African Cultures poster

Diagram Showing the Number of Immigrants Entering the U.S. Since 1890, Photographic Print

• numbers posters

Immigrants Waiting Inspection in the Great Assembly Hall at Ellis Island, New York

• New York posters