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Immigration to the Golden Land: Jewish Life in America
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Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor
(Library of Congress) |
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Learning Activity 1: Colonial Period / Early America
1. As a class, view the multimedia presentation  Colonial America: Early Settlers and the video clip
Colonial America: Degrees of Tolerance (PDF). Distribute the Colonial Period (PDF) handout to the class. Have students record their answers to the following questions in their journals:
- What countries did these Jews come from?
- Why did they move to America?
- Where did Jewish immigrants settle?
Have students locate the home countries of these immigrants on the Atlas: US, 1492-1789 and answer the following:
- What was life like for Jews in the different colonies?
- What were their communities like?
- How did they contribute to the economies of the colonies?
- How did they maintain their faith in their new homes?
- Were they accepted in these communities, or did they face discrimination?
2. Students can further explore the Jewish immigrant experience by reading some of the following documents. Distribute the handout Colonial Period - Historical Documents (PDF). Divide the class into small groups and have each group pick two pieces to read and analyze.
Have students record the time and place each piece was written, and the type of document it is, then prepare a summary of the information in the piece, including specific examples and quotes. Students should answer the following questions for each document:
- Who wrote the document? What was his or her point of view? How is this evident in the document?
- Who is the intended audience? What evidence leads you to believe this?
- What is the tone of the document? Is it telling a story, or trying to persuade someone to believe a point of view?
- Why was this document written? Use examples to support your answer.
- What does this document tell you about Jewish life in America during the colonial period?
3. Students should use their journals to record the issues discussed in their groups (this will help them with their culminating activity). Once the groups have finished, have each group report to the class as a whole about the documents they have chosen. Some questions to consider:
- When did the immigrants experience discrimination?
- When were they accepted as part of their communities?
- How was life in America different from life in their homelands?
- How did they maintain their religion while living in this country?
Research Extension for Colonial Period
Disruptions to their way of life, such as war, famine, or political change, were often the reason people chose to leave their homelands for America. Use the TIMELINE: 1492-1789 as a starting point to explore what was going on in Europe when groups of immigrants came to the United States.
For more information, see the following:
Internet Modern History Sourcebook (Fordham University)
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook.html
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 Continue to Learning Activity 2: Building America: 1820-1880
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