Immigration+Past+and+Present

Immigration Unit

I will be able to: understand the factors that pushed for immigration and how it has affected America from the past to the present.

__**My Background**__

**__

Life As An Immigrant__** //a. What is a tenement house? (You may have to search other sites to answer this question) -A tenement house is a run-down and poor apartment that only met the minimum standards, which mostly suited new immigrants in the early 1900's.

b. How did immigration lead to the creation of tenement housing? -The large influx of immigration led to the necessity to create more living space for all of the immigrants coming to America.

c. What is life like for new immigrants in the early 1900's? What is life like in tenement housing? -New immigrants in the 1900's looked for new jobs and other opportunities for them to capture. Kids either helped out the family around the house or went to school on a daily basis. Tenement housing was quite terrible as the space was very tight that families felt like sardines. Family members slept where they could whether it be the floor, the rug, chairs, etc. This is because tenement housing was all that they could afford at that time.

d. What potential obstacles can you see for recently arrived immigrants in the early 1900s?// -Potential obstacles that I can see include the lack of money they have to provide a comfortable living in America and the struggle to adapt to American culture and its surroundings. All of this would be hard for any immigrant that just came over to any foreign country. a. What are the effects of immigration on cities? The effects of immigration on cities can have both positive and negative effects. Positives include the fact that immigrants are very likely to handle the jobs that people of the host nation do not want to. Immigrants are also prone to work very long hours for a low salary, which can help benefit the economy of the host nation. With their presence being felt, immigrants also bring a flare of diversity that opens the host nation up to many more cultures and traditions, which allows for more tolerance and understanding. Immigrants can also bring in new ideas that people of the host nation do not have, which offers a variety of ways that it can aid the nation. Along with the good, though, also comes the negatives. With immigrants doing menial tasks for a low price, they are very easily exploited. Also, the immigrants who have the bright minds and ideas, benefit the developed nations, while their home nations are suffering from the lack of knowledge. Immigration itself can bring over trouble as crimes such as drug trafficking and murders can happen due to the hands of immigrants. With that in mind, some in the host nation do not want to tolerate or accept the idea of the immigrants being in their nation, which opens up the possibility of racism. One other important thing which is more important today than it was before is the fact of illegal immigration and combating. Many believe that this is a large issue that must be stopped. Regardless, immigration has had its taste of rises and downfalls. b. How has immigration changed the United States? How was it changed Boston? Immigration has changed America by providing it with a new diversity of races. It really does produce an environment that is not even seen anywhere else around the world, not to this extent, however. It has provided America with an endless garden, full of different flowers and infinite land for growing. Americans have been becoming more and more tolerant from this as well. Boston has also changed from this great influx of immigration. There are many ethnic neighborhoods such as the North End and Chinatown, which both show the cultures that still thrive within the immigrants and let the American people to bask in it.
 * __History Research Documents__**






 * __Day 4 - 7/8/2010__**

Immigration Video Project!

The first video has an error as it does not show any visuals, but does include all of the audio from the recording. First Video - Past Immigration Second Video - Present Immigration media type="custom" key="6622551" media type="custom" key="6622457" The immigration interviews I did with Mandy were quite enjoyable. Before doing the video, we had to write the script in order to keep the authenticity of past immigration as well as present immigration. These immigration interviews can easily be related to the city of Malden since the city is of high diversity and many immigrants. The struggles and adventures of immigrants can easily be detailed by the interviews for all to see the true characteristics of this common practice.