How did the Irish and German immigrants of the 1840s differ from each other?
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This activity is designed for groups of five students. The activity works best if each student only sees their printed primary source. The students should have some background knowledge on the European industrial revolution and its impact on urban growth and immigration in the United States. Show
This lesson targets the foundational skills of analyzing documents, grouping documents, and constructing a thesis as required of the DBQ essay on the AP exam. Expand WarmupWarmupHave the students partner with a neighbor and complete the following: (3 min) Your teacher will have a select number of groups share their similarities. (2 min) Expand ActivitiesActivitiesGive each student a different primary source and direct them to Task 2: Primary Source Exploration. Allot 10 minutes for this individual exploration. (Do not answer any questions until 4 minutes have passed to give the students ample time to work through their own confusion.) After 4 minutes, the teacher can circulate around the room and answer document-specific questions. After each of the five students has shared with the group, they should work collaboratively to complete Task 3: Application – Identify the Pushes and Pulls of Irish and German Immigration chart. Within each group, have students return to their initial drawings/descriptions of a factory scene in 1850 and discuss any additional details they could add to convey push-pull factors after having analyzed the documents in this lesson. Expand Wrap Up (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Wrap UpExit Ticket: On the basis of your completed Task 3: Application – Identify the Pushes and Pulls of Irish and German Immigration chart, write a thesis statement responding to this prompt: Describe the various push-pull factors that contributed to Irish and German immigration to the United States between 1840 and 1875. Each student hands their exit ticket in as they leave the class. Duration50 minStandards Topic: 5.5 Sectional Show moreGrade Level9, 10, 11, 12Period Era1830s, 1840s, 1850sTopicImmigrationRelated Resources
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of HappinessIn our resource history is presented through a series of narratives, primary sources, and point-counterpoint debates that invites students to participate in the ongoing conversation about the American experiment. Irish-Catholic immigrants came to America during colonial times, too. For example, Charles Carroll immigrated to America in 1706. His grandson, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, signed his name to the Declaration of Independence. Ireland’s 1845 Potato Blight is often credited with launching the second wave of Irish immigration to America. The fungus which decimated potato crops created a devastating famine. Starvation plagued Ireland and within five years, a million Irish were dead while half a million had arrived in America to start a new life. Living conditions in many parts of Ireland were very difficult long before the Potato Blight of 1845, however, and a large number of Irish left their homeland as early as the 1820s.  In fact, Ireland’s population decreased dramatically throughout the nineteenth century. Census figures show an Irish population of 8.2 million in 1841, 6.6 million a decade later, and only 4.7 million in 1891. It is estimated that as many as 4.5 million Irish arrived in America between 1820 and 1930. Between 1820 and 1860, the Irish constituted over one third of all immigrants to the United States. In the 1840s, they comprised nearly half of all immigrants to this nation. Interestingly, pre-famine immigrants from Ireland were predominately male, while in the famine years and their aftermath, entire families left the country. In later years, the majority of Irish immigrants were women. What can these statistics tell us about life in Ireland during this period? What was a key difference between the German and Irish immigrants of the 1800s?What was a key difference between the German and Irish immigrants of the 1800s? The German immigrants were often more skilled and educated.
Which of the following was an important difference between German and Irish immigrants in the 1840s?Similarities: both came to the United States to escape their homeland, both started with little political influence but worked their way up. Differences: Irish were poor and generally unskilled, while Germans were better off and at least moderately skilled.
In what ways were Irish and German immigrants to the United States similar and different?In what ways were Irish and German immigrants to the United States similar and different? They were similar in that both differed from the Anglo-Protestant "norms" of the United States and faced a degree of hostility and alienation as a consequence.
Why did immigrants from Ireland and Germany come to the US in the 1840s?In the middle half of the nineteenth century, more than one-half of the population of Ireland emigrated to the United States. So did an equal number of Germans. Most of them came because of civil unrest, severe unemployment or almost inconceivable hardships at home.
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