Instructional module: “Coming to America, 1880-1924.”
Images and Information
1. Independence Mall from the National Museum of American
Jewish History. Courtesy of the U.S. Park Service.
Additional information on the Independence Mall is available here:
http://www.nps.gov/inde/index.htm
2. “Liberty Enlightening the World” Root & Tinker, New York, ca.
1884. Library of Congress
The colossal statue by Bartholdi [Frédéric Bartholdi (1834-1904)].
Presented by the French People to America. As it will appear on its
pedestal on Bedloes Island in New York Harbor.
This particular image shows the Statue of Liberty standing on its
pedestal designed by Richard Morris Hunt. Behind the statue, ships and
sailboats in the harbor and a cityscape of New York City can be seen.
Live view from the camera placed on the Statue of Liberty torch is available
here http://www.ellisisland.org/TorchCam/
3. Rosh Hashanah Card, Segment, 1909,
Hebrew Publishing Co.
National Museum of American Jewish History. 1982.20.1
Gift of Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett. (embossed chromolithograph)
The practice of sending New Year’s cards became popular in the late
19th and early 20th centuries. The segment of the pop-up Rosh
Hashanah card shows “Matron America" (traditionally known as
Columbia) opening gates to immigrants. Columbia is at left, dressed in
red/white striped long skirt and blue/white starred blouse. She wears a
hat with Unites States flag motif. The hat is decorated with a ribbon
inscribed with a word “America” in Hebrew/Yiddish. Above Columbia
flies brown eagle with a shield of the U.S. flag, arrows and olive branch
in talons. She is opening gates to let in immigrants (man, woman, and
two young boys) who have arrived on shore. Steam ships and sailboats
are visible in the background. At the bottom Hebrew text reads: "the
gates opened for the new righteous to enter” and “the gates of
righteousness have opened for me.”
Additional example of a pop-up card is available here:
http://www.jhsgw.org/collections/objectofthemonth/2010-sept.php
4. Immigration Map
Between 1880 and 1924, more than 20 million immigrants from around
the globe came to the United States in a great migration that included
over 2 million Jews.
American authorities did not begin counting Jewish immigrants until
1899, when officials started to collect data on race and nationality in
addition to country of origin. It is estimated that Jews made up about
10 percent of the European immigrants who came between 1880 and
1924. This period of mass migration ended when the Johnson-Reed Act
in 1924 placed strict quotas on immigrants by country of origin.
5. Final Discharge, Ellis island, New York, 1902 Library of Congress
Between 1855 and 1890, immigrants landed at lower Manhattan’s
Castle Garden, operated by New York State. After the U.S. government
assumed responsibility for overseeing immigration, it opened Ellis
Island in 1892. At its height, Ellis Island’s staff of 700 could process
5,000 arrivals per day through a barrage of procedures.
An interactive tour of the Ellis Island is available here:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/immigration/tour/index.htm
6. Inspection Card of Anna Sherman
National Museum of American Jewish History 1996.66.2
This was an Inspection Card used by the U.S. Immigration Service for
immigrants which indicated that they were vaccinated, disinfested and
passed daily health inspections during the voyage across the Atlantic.
On the back side the following instruction was written in seven
languages (English, German, French, Dutch, Spanish, Polish, and Czech):
"Keep this Card to avoid detention at Quarantine and on Railroads in
the United States."
7. Fold-out Yiddish/English map of United States pasted inside
back cover of the Guide to the United States for the Jewish
Immigrant. John Foster Carr, New York: The Connecticut
Daughters of the American Revolution, 1913. National Museum
of American Jewish History 1991.6.1.2
Arriving with a mix of hope, fear, and uncertainty, Jewish immigrants
encountered daunting challenges as soon as they set foot on shore.
Most spoke little or no English, dressed in foreign garb, and did not
understand American habits. Something as simple as a banana, a food
unknown in Eastern Europe, could evoke mystery. In spite of these
unfamiliar surroundings, Jewish immigrants found apartments and
looked for work, tackling new obstacles almost daily.
The book, "Guide to the United States for the Jewish Immigrant," by
John Foster Carr, appeared in Yiddish, printed by the Daughters of the
American Revolution, Connecticut in 1912. Advising Jewish immigrants
to be proud of their cultural heritage, the D.A.R. guide also offered tips
for gaining social acceptance in America. "A Jew, like any other
foreigner, is appreciated when he lives the American social life...Try to
adapt yourself to the manners...and habits of the American people."
The guidebook includes chapters about employment, public education,
and the importance of good health and thrift. Translated from the
Italian version; was referred to as "The Little Green Book," was given
free to immigrants at Ellis Island and other ports of entry, but sold at
cost to educators and teachers desiring it for text-book use.
The scanned "Guide to the United States for the Jewish Immigrant," is
available here:
http://archive.org/details/guidetounitedst00revogoog
8. Kishinev Massacre by Herman S. Shapiro, 1904. National
Museum of American Jewish History 1989.20.121. Myrna & Ira
Brind Purchase Fund.
Herman S. Shapiro Kishineff Massacre music folio was published in New
York in 1904. The illustration in the center by H. S. Potter depicts the
pogrom scene. The music is composed and arranged by Herman S.
Shapiro. In response to the 1903 attacks, or pogroms, on Jews in
Russia.
The 1903 pogrom in Kishinev, a town in the former Russian Empire
(now called Chisinau, located in the country of Moldova) took place on
April 6 and 7, 1903. The pogrom was triggered by the murder of a
Christian Russian boy in the nearby town of Dubossary. Anti-Semitic
newspapers accused Jews of the crime, writing that they had done it
for a ritual purpose. During the pogrom, 49 people were killed, over
500 injured and some 1,500 Jewish houses and shops were plundered
and ruined. The Kishinev Massacre of 1903 aroused universal
condemnation and protest. For the first time, Jews in the United States
took the lead in organizing nationwide protests. In addition to
hundreds of demonstrations and meetings held throughout the nation,
a massive petition drive protesting the slaughter was organized. The
Russian authorities refused to accept the petition.
The second pogrom took place on October 19 and 20, 1905. This time
the violence against the Jews in Kishinev occurred during political
protests against Tsar Nicholas II. These two pogroms compelled many
Jews to emigrate from Russia.
More information on Kishineff Massacre is available here:
http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/kishinev/kishinev-pogrom.html
http://forward.com/articles/8544/kishinev--the-birth-of-a-century/
9. Living room of a tenement, Chicago, 1910. Lewis Hine, New
York Public Library.
With little money and few resources, most immigrants called “home” a
rented bed, a room, or a tenement apartment in a crowded urban
neighborhood. The urban landscape of bustling city neighborhoods
shaped immigrants’ lives. They took refuge on rooftops and fire
escapes in the steamy summer months, and they shivered together in
the winter cold. With several apartments often sharing a single hallway
bathroom, privacy became a rare luxury.
Despite the poverty of America’s urban neighborhoods, immigrant
children found time for fun. When not playing stickball, handball,
basketball, or other street games, young Jews gathered at local candy
stores, which often served as informal social centers. Older siblings
frequented dance halls or clubs. Parents also snatched time away from
the drudgeries of work and housekeeping for rest and relaxation.
Immigrant families socialized with one another, entertaining over tea,
walking in neighborhood parks, or enjoying beaches and boardwalk
amusements.
The Lower East Side Tenement Museum, New York City virtual tour is available
here:
http://www.tenement.org/Virtual_Tour/index_virtual.html
10. Hester Street, New York. Museum of the City of New York
93.1.1.18132
Jewish immigrants crowded together in neighborhoods that offered
familiar tastes, sounds, and smells. Immigrants quickly discovered that
America’s streets were not paved with gold. Instead, newcomers
struggled with poverty, poor housing, formidable language barriers,
and harsh labor conditions. Making a living demanded long, hard hours
of work. Like many other immigrant groups, Jews felt most comfortable
meeting these challenges side by side with those who spoke their
language and shared backgrounds similar to their own.
11. Attendance card of Eva Baen, at Kearney Evening Elementary
School, 1914-1915, Philadelphia. National Museum of American
Jewish History 1995.36.17. Gift of Clara K. Braslow
See Eva Baen Instructional Module (link)
In 1889, Henrietta Szold (1860-1945) founded the first American night
school for Russian Jewish immigrants in Baltimore. After work, eager
students found time to gather and study English, American citizenship,
and vocational skills. Settlement houses and political organizations
likewise offered courses in a wide range of subjects, from basic English
to advanced studies in history, literature, and philosophy. Other
schools provided technical training for those seeking to improve their
employment opportunities.
12. Poster, Cleveland Americanization Committee and Board of
Education. "Many Peoples, One Language," 1917. National
Museum of American Jewish History 1990.4.42
The Americanization movement was a nationwide organized effort in
the 1910s to bring millions of recent immigrants into the American
cultural system. Many states passed laws requiring Americanization
programs. English language and American civics were organized in
hundreds of cities.
The Jewish community heatedly debated how to turn immigrants into
Americans, and how to retain the children of immigrants as Jews. Jews
who had already established themselves in America often viewed new
immigrants as backward, uneducated, and in need of improvement.
Immigrants, too, sought to Americanize, but not always in the same
ways or at the same rate. While philanthropists and reformers created
bountiful institutions to help newcomers shed foreign traits and adopt
American habits.
The Americanization Committees promoted American values and the
teaching of the English language to immigrants who wanted to become
American citizens.
The poster urges immigrants to prepare for citizenship by learning
English. It is printed in six languages, including Yiddish.
13. Knitting class, Henry Street Settlement, New York, 1910 Lewis
Hine. Library of Congress
Some American Jews tried to ease the transition for new immigrants by
establishing “settlement houses” that offered the immigrants
community, education, and culture. Inspired by Jane Addams’ Hull
House in Chicago, Lillian Wald (1867–1940) established New York’s
Henry Street Settlement in 1893 to provide free medical services to
Russian Jewish women. Within a few years, Henry Street had added
classes in English, civics, hygiene, cooking, dance, and sewing. A few
blocks away, the Educational Alliance served as a neighborhood
cultural center, providing immigrants with night school, day care, a
gymnasium, and numerous plays and concerts. Established in 1893 by
leaders of New York’s Jewish community, The Educational Alliance
presented free lectures, exhibitions, concerts, and classes to educate
and acculturate recent immigrants to American life. In doing so, the
founders aimed to help immigrants build the practical skills needed to
gain employment and negotiate the challenges of becoming American
citizens.
Organizations like the Education Alliance and the Henry Street
Settlement provided elocution lessons, lectures, physical education,
cooking classes, and courses in the fine and performing arts in an effort
to helping immigrants learn how to talk, act, and dress.
Additional information on Henry Street Settlement is available here:
http://www.henrystreet.org/about/history/
14. Moe Levy & Co. Factory, New York, ca. 1911. Museum of the
City of New York
By the late 1800s, the garment industry employed substantial numbers
of Jewish immigrants across the country, including half of all Jewish
workers in New York City. Garment factories and sweatshops bustled
with activity in immigrant Jewish neighborhoods. Workers, including
significant numbers of women, stitched furiously until their fingers bled
to satisfy America’s rapidly growing ready-to-wear clothing market.
Despite its long hours, poor wages, and miserable working conditions,
garment work nevertheless provided jobs, camaraderie, and access to
American fashions.
Additional information on the Moe Levy & Co. Factory is available here:
http://www.waltergrutchfield.net/moelevy.htm
15. Lecture, Baron de Hirsch Agricultural School, Woodbine, New
Jersey, ca. 1907. The Immigrant Jew, National Liberal
Immigration League, 1907
In 1891, a fund established by Jewish industrialist Baron Maurice de
Hirsch (1831-1896) purchased 5,300 acres of land in Cape May County,
New Jersey, as a refuge for Russian Jews. The first 60 families arrived in
1892 and began clearing the wooded site for farming. Because few of
the immigrants had agricultural experience, the fund established the
Woodbine Agricultural College in 1894. Woodbine incorporated in
1903, becoming one of few self-governing Jewish communities in all of
Jewish history. The settlement never succeeded as an agricultural
enterprise, but it served as home for several generations of Jewish
families. It still exists today, although not as a Jewish colony.
Baron Maurice de Hirsch (1831-1896) lived in Munich, Brussels, and
Paris. He was a banker and philanthropist, especially to Jewish causes.
His total benefactions exceeded $100,000,000.
JOHN WANAMAKER, A Friendly Guide-Book to Philadelphia,1914
Available at the Open Library of Philadelphia
http://www.archive.org/stream/philadelphiaguid01john#page/n0/mode/1up
Text version is available here:
http://www27.us.archive.org/stream/philadelphiaguid01john/philadelphiaguid01john_djvu.txt