Who came to the United States at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries? Why did they come? What was their experience when they arrived? How did immigration add to the religious pluralism of the United States?

Download Primary Source Set: Immigration to the US

This inquiry set highlights the experiences of the so-called “new immigrants” of the late nineteenth century. The material chosen for each of the document sets explore themes such as push/pull factors, family and community life, discrimination, and resistance. More complex topics like the Americanization movement, anti-Catholicism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and nativism are also introduced and will require more contextualization and discussion beyond the documents and images themselves.