English 7 Historical Fiction: Migration Stories: Research Questions

As a civil war tore through Ethiopia in the 1970s, many families emigrated to escape the violence. Many first fled to neighboring Sudan and then immigrated to the United States, often with the help of organizations and charities focused on helping refugees. These groups provided Ethiopians coming to America with housing, food, and a community of fellow Ethiopians. Many of these immigrants then worked hard to pay their way through several levels of schooling and enter various professions.  

In 1967-1970, many people left Nigeria and came to the United States to escape the Nigeria Civil War, also known as the Biafra War.  The majority of immigrants from Nigeria are Yoruba and Igbo. Many who immigrated to the U.S. at this time arrived severely malnourished and traumatized by the war.  In addition to saving money for education and working to support themselves and their families, many Nigerian immigrants also maintain connections to their homeland’s politics, traditions, and the larger Nigerian community. 

When Fidel Castro’s Communist-led government took power in Cuba in 1959, there were huge waves of emigration from Cuba. The first wave of immigrants who left the country were mostly affluent professionals and members of the former government.  These immigrants were often called “golden exiles” and were generally welcomed in the U.S.  The 1966 Cuban American Adjustment Act gave these immigrants some unique opportunities. Travel and communication between the U.S. and Cuba become increasingly difficult starting in 1962.  

Nearly 20 percent of El Salvador’s population live currently live in the United States. Many came to the United States fleeing a terrible civil war that started in 1979 and lasted 12 years.  Like other immigrants, many Salvadorians arrived with professional degrees, certifications, and training that was not recognized in the U.S. so they had to work to get new degree or certifications. The 1990s Immigration Act included Temporary Protected Status designation for immigrants from El Salvador.   

When WWII broke out, factories and businesses in Puerto Rico began to do poorly and many young people were forced to leave school to seek work.  Large numbers of people from Puerto Rico moved to different parts of the mainland United States in search of more opportunities. Puerto Rican communities like El Barrio/Spanish Harlem in New York City grew and flourished. 

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, many families traveled between Mexico and California seeking seasonal agricultural work.  In the summer, children might attend school while their parents worked on farms in California. In the winter they left school and returned to Mexico to harvest crops there. The bracero program, established in the 1940s and ended in the early 1960s, had impacted these migration patterns.  The growing United Farm Workers movement also played a large role the lives of many Mexican migrants and immigrants.

Through the 1960s, local elementary schools in most of rural Alaska ended in 6th grade and there were no middle or high schools in the area. Many Native Alaskan students were sent away to boarding schools to complete their education.  At many of these schools, Native students were given an English name and were not allowed to speak their native language—even with other Inupiaq kids.  Everything was strange and different, from the food to the school rules.  In 1972, the Molly Hootch case went to court in Alaska and changed Native Alaskan access to schooling access. 

Many people emigrated from Italy to the United States between 1871 and 1920, undertaking a long, rough journey by ship in search of new opportunities. Some were lucky enough to have a sponsor and a job waiting for them in America.  Many recent immigrants saved money and later returned to Italy while others used their savings to make a life in the United States. 

Large numbers of immigrants from Sweden and other Scandinavian countries settled in the midwestern United States throughout the later 1800s.  Once settled, many urged relatives to come and join them in the communities that grew throughout states like Minnesota and North Dakota. The Homestead Act especially made the United States an especially attractive destination for emigrants leaving Sweden at this time.   

Between 1845 and 1850, a blight spread through potato crops across Ireland.  Many Irish people sought to leave the country in search of work and escape from the resulting famine. Huge numbers traveled to the United States by ship, often crammed together in crowded steerage.  Many young adults traveled alone; some had connections and job waiting for them but many others did not.   

Many families and individuals emigrated to the United States in the late 1800s and settled as farmers in states like North Dakota.  They built up successful businesses and German communities.  In 1917, the United States entered into World War I, fighting against Germany.  Suddenly, German immigrants and their families began to face discrimination from others in their communities.  Organizations like the National Security League and American Protective League grew and made life increasingly difficult for German immigrants, including those who had lived in the United States for most of their lives. 

As several uprisings failed to remove Russian control of Poland and violent attacks on Jewish villages throughout Poland increased, many Jewish people decided to leave and undertook the long journey to the United States.  Many settled in large eastern cities like New York and Boston.  Many of these men, women, and children found work in factories and sweatshops. On March 25, 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City had a horrific fire resulting in the deaths of many workers—including many young women who had emigrated from Eastern European countries like Poland.   Many immigrant workers became activists when they joined unions like International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union.

In 1978, a revolution against the Shah of Iran broke out.  Many Iranians who had been connected to the Shah and his government found their lives suddenly in great danger.  Some managed to escape Iran with their families and savings. Although many could speak English and were highly educated, their education credentials and administrative skills were not recognized for employment purposes. Many former high level professional and government officials could not find work in their fields and had to start from scratch.  

After attending international or American/British schools in Jordan, some young adults from wealthy families might chose to go to college in the United States. Some, especially young Jordanian women, might notice how different their lives would be if they returned to Jordan after college and decide they wish to stay in the U.S. after graduation.  While some families would support this choice, others might not and might refuse to continue financial support. The immigration status of a student from another country has limits, including around employment. Life for Muslims and immigrants from the Middle East also faced increased hostility after the events of September 11, 2001. 

In the 1800s, large numbers of young Chinese men emigrated to California where many found work at gold mines, shrimp camps, factories, railroad construction, and other important industries in the area.  Communities know as Chinatowns grew in various cities and tensions grew between non-Chinese workers and Chinese workers in many places. In 1850s, the state of California began to put into place a series of discriminatory laws aimed at Chinese immigrants and their businesses.  In 1879, Congress passed legislation that limited the number of immigrants from China allowed into the United States. 

In the 20th century, a number of young women immigrated to the United States from Japan as a picture brides, coming to the country to marry Japanese men who had previously emigrated.  Many lived and worked on farms throughout California, building successful businesses, raising families, becoming U.S. citizens, and creating large communities. In 1945, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and Japanese-Americans were declared enemy aliens by the U.S. government. Most were given twenty-four hours to pack one suitcase for each of family member and sent to an internment camps. 

During the Korean War, some American soldiers met and then married Korean women. After the war, they wanted to move back to the United States together. However even with the passage of the McCarran-Walter Act, it was a difficult process for these Korean women to enter the country with their new husbands.  After they did settle in the U.S. with their new husbands, these women faced many challenges – including language barriers, isolation, racism, and more.   

After Vietnam fell to the Communists in 1974, many people made multiple, dangerous attempts to leave the country. Finally, Vietnamese government allowed those with U.S. sponsors to leave, opening the door for a number of Vietnamese emigrants.  Many left behind family members in Vietnam and committed to sending money back to them from the United States.   

In the 1980s, the computer revolution was in full swing in the United States especially in the Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts area. Lured by the promise of challenging work and a substantial higher salary than in India, many recent computer science graduates left India and accepted jobs in the United States. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (also known as the Hart-Cellar Act) helped make such immigration possible. Arriving and adjusting to the United States, however, could be a culture shock. After becoming a U.S. citizen, many of these men returned to India to search for a suitable bride.  Once they married, they would return to the U.S. to settle and raise a family.