Immigration



There are many, many resources available to help you research immigration to the United States. This page is meant to help you get started. Be careful when you select sources, for there are many biased and inaccurate resources on immigration out there.Also, for certain time periods there simply is not enough info available online. Books are going to be the best source of info for time periods outside the height of American immigration 1880-1900. Remember to use related keywords searches.
 * Immigration Resources**

Think about your time period. If you aren't finding a lot of information when you are sticking to the "immigration" keyword, think about your time period itself. What was specifically going on in America during that time? War? Colonization? Industrialization? How would immigrants have been effected by these factors. Keep Who? What? Why? Where? When? in mind. For example, does your time period have a name: Progressive Era, Gilded Age, Colonial America? Is there a synonym for immigration during your time period that might be more accurate: for example "indentured servants". Use those synonyms as keywords. Think outside the box.

NOODLETOOLS Project organizer and bibliography maker


 * Databases**

CQ Researcher Watch the time period on when the report was produced. Lots of statistical info.

[|Proquest SIRS Researcher] Choose Immigration from the list. Check out the Pro/Con tab for a quick overview of the opposing sides of the issues.

[|Gale Opposing Viewpoints] Create your own search, or select Illegal Immigrants from the list. Make sure you click on the different tabs for different kinds of information: Viewpoints, Reference, Magazines, and more.

[|ABC-CLIO Issues] Click on "Issues," and then select "Immigration in America" from the list. You will find an Overview, a Timeline, Facts and Figures, and Primary Resources linked on the left side of the page.

Library of Congress Immigration Presentation
 * Internet Sources**

Digital History Ethnic America

PBS Destination America

Harvard Library Immigration Presentation (Good for information on the Gold Rush and the Railroads)

Harvard Immigration Links

American Memory Immigration

Library of Congress Immigration Primary Sources

Library of Congress Early Immigration to America

Historical Census Data

Contemporary Census Data

Learning about US Immigration with the New York Times (really good for stats)

Indentured servitude Plymouth colony Plymouth Colony Archive Project

American Journeys University of Virginia Library Very helpful for early immigration periods as well as the heyday of immigration

EBOOKS Gale History E-BOOKS The American Eras and Social History of the United States will be very valuable to your research. For the American Eras, make sure you pick the right volume. It covers the time periods of 1600-1900.

We have many current books available on immigration, such as //Immigration and Migration//, 304.8 BAI, and //Mongrels, Bastards, Orphans, and Vagabonds: Mexican Immigration and The Future of Race in America,// 973.04 ROD. Search the [|library catalog] for all our books on immigration. Most of the books are on a cart in the library classroom.
 * Print Sources**