Ready, Set, Go: Exploring a Resource Set about immigration

on the Mystic Seaport for Educator’s

Website http://educators.mysticseaport.org
Common Core State Standard: Reading standards for Lit-
eracy in History/Social Studies, standards 1, 2, 3,7,8,9
by Nancy Hughes, Mystic Seaport Educator

Among the many offerings on the Mystic Seaport for Educator’s
Website is a selection called “Resource Sets” where more than a
dozen virtual “boxes” of artifacts and other primary sources can be
opened and explored. Each “box” or “set” is organized around a
central theme and holds an intriguing selection of primary source
material drawn from the Seaport’s vast collection. In addition, the
set contains teacher resources to facilitate class-room activities,
discussion and further study.
By way of introduction, let’s take a look at the Resource Set for
Immigration. Inside, we find fourteen
items to choose from, including photo-
graphs, a passport, sheet music and even
a battered suitcase. This article will take
a closer look at seven of those items.
What stories await us?
Let’s start with the sheet music, entitled
“Friends Are Saying Goodbye’. The cover
illustration is a jumble of vignettes
depicting the prow of a ship, a pile of
luggage, a self-possessed woman, an
embracing couple, and what appears to
be an arrest in progress. The subtitle
is “Emigrant Ship”. Any classroom exploration of Immigration
will include some discussion of “push-pull forces”. Why are these
people about to leave friends and family and embark on a sailing
ship? By reading the lyrics to the song within, we can gain insight
as to their motivations.
While this intriguing piece of popular culture may not tell us the
true and documented stories of actual people, it does reflect the
values and interests
of 19th century Eng-
land at a time of great
westward movement to
America. By contrast,
what might we observe
about 21st century
American society by
examining some current examples of today’s popular
culture? In the sidebar next to this item on the web-
site, click on Ideas for Classroom Use.
Next, let’s explore an “Immigrant’s Suitcase”, an evoca-
tive artifact with which to initiate a discussion of what
an emigrant must leave behind, and what he or she
might choose to take to begin a new life.
Upon close examination of the suitcase’s labels and
tags, we observe a name, a date, a ship’s name, a port
of embarkation, a port of destination, and a very large
“A”. From this primary source documentation we may
infer that Eugenio Amoroso (or his suitcase!) traveled
from Naples, Italy to New York in 1909.
Here we have the beginnings of a real-life story; what else can we
learn or imagine about Eugenio? Was he a cobbler? A tailor? Did
he pack his tools-of-the-trade in his suitcase? Did he travel alone
or with his family? Was he an example of “stage migration”?
Does the prominent “A” sticker give us a clue as to whether he
traveled 1st class or in steerage? Are there other primary source
documents that we could
research to answer these
questions? What can
your students learn from
relatives about their
family immigration his-
tory? Are there stories
or artifacts to share with
the class? When Eu-
genio Amoroso arrived
in New York, can we imagine his first day in America? As his ship
entered New York Harbor in 1909, he and his fellow immigrants
would have been greeted by the Statue of Liberty, and then taken
to Ellis Island.
Let’s examine another immigration artifact from our Resource Set;
a stereograph card, circa 1910, titled A Look at Immigration: Arriv-
ing at Ellis Island.
From the “In the Classroom” section of the sidebar, the
teacher may want to download the Photograph Analysis
Worksheet (PDF). This tool can be used to guide stu-
dents through a careful observation of the stereograph
card and prompt further discussion of the immigrant
experience of Ellis Island. The side bar link to the web-
site History.com -- Ellis Island provides easy access to a
treasure trove of short, informative videos which describe
the medical inspection and interrogation required for
admission to America, beginning with, simply, “What is
your name?”
Close to 40% of today’s Americans can trace their an-
cestry to at least one ancestor who arrived in New York harbor
between 1894 and 1954 and was processed through Ellis Island.
Perhaps you have a student who can bring in an immigrant rela-
tive’s cherished passport to share with the class. If not, click on
Matteo Giliperto’s Passport and Stamped Photograph, circa 1921.
To guide the student’s exploration of this rich, ten page document,
you might make use of another teacher resource called the Docu-
ment Analysis Worksheet (PDF).
No discussion of Immigration to America
is complete without considering the Afri-
can-American experience. A click on the
item listed as the African American Mari-
time Experience leads us to two fasci-
nating lectures entitled “The Slave Ship”
and “The Amistad Rebellion” which may
be suitable for older students.
We at Mystic Seaport are proud of our
collection and delighted to share it. Every visit, whether virtual or
in person, is a step into the past and can make surprising connec-
tions with the rich heritage we share today. Do you have a story to
share with us?

Did You Know
• At the peak of immigration (1910-1914), Ellis Island had translators
for over 34 different languages. During the interrogation process a lucky
immigrant might be able to answer important questions in his native
language: What is your name? (English) Poss Onomazesse? (Greek)
Comment vous appelez vous? (French) Hvad ar Edet namn? (Swed-
ish) Come si chiama? (Italian) Wie heisen Sie? (German)
• The Statue of Liberty – more properly called Liberty Enlightening
the World – was a gift from France on July 4, 1884. She holds a torch
aloft to light the way to freedom and American democracy, and has
greeted millions of immigrants into New York harbor. No wonder she
has such a welcoming face; her mouth is 3 feet wide and her nose is 4
feet 6 inches long!
• What’s a buttonhook? With a decorative handle at one end and a
metal hook at the other, a buttonhook was designed to fasten buttons
on shoes or clothing. For the “line inspectors” on Ellis Island however, it
was used to evert (flip back) the eyelids of each immigrant to check for
trachoma, a highly contagious eye disease. If symptoms were found, the
medical inspector used chalk to mark a “CT” on the immigrant’s clothing
and a more thorough eye examination was done, sometimes resulting in
exclusion and possible deportation.
C
Literature, Art & Science
onnections
• What Is A Stereoscope? A stereoscope is a device for viewing two-dimensional images
in three dimensions. To understand how it works, try this: Fully extend one arm in front of
you. Tip up your “pointer” or index finger and focus your eyes on an object in the distance.
Now close one eye, and look beyond your finger with the open eye. Repeat, closing the other
eye. Alternate open/closed eyes a couple of times. What do you observe? (Yes! Your finger
appears to move!) Why is this? If we think of our eyes as two tiny cameras, what we really
see are two images taken from slightly different angles. Our brain fuses these images to give us our three-dimensional vision. A
stereograph card contains two slightly different images, which, when viewed together through the stereoscope, mimic our brain.
For more information, go to http://educators.mysticseaport.org/artifacts/stereoscope_mears/ to read an article written for the Mys-
tic Seaport for Educators (MSE) website by two local teachers.
• Push-Pull Forces in Immigration: Many factors may contribute to a family’s decision to leave a life behind
and begin anew. Sadly, poverty, religious persecution and war have played important roles in America’s immi-
gration story. The opening image for the Immigration Resource Set as shown below is an embossed, ornamen-
tal card celebrating Jewish immigration to the United States. The Hebrew letters on the brim of Lady Liberty’s
hat spell out the word “America”, and an impoverished family, most likely from Russia, have just disembarked
from a sailing ship. There are a number of books available for young readers on the subject of Jewish immigra-
tion. Here are two favorites: Letters From Rifka by Karen Hesse, Puffin Books, 1993 and Journey to
Ellis Island by Carol Bierman, Madison Press Limited, 1998.