Transcript Russian Immigration - Madison Public Schools

Ellis Island Visual Project
Map Continued
Origin of Ethnic Group
• Many Jewish Russians came to the U.S. in
the late 19th century early 20th century to
avoid persecution and their economic
problems.
• Their living conditions were comparable to
the Irish undergoing the Potato Famine;
Shacks crowded with their whole families
and barely enough to eat.
• In 1870 the Russian government revoked
freedom of worship, draft exemption, and
legal autonomy from all of its citizens,
stimulating Russian Jewish emigration.
• The government also sponsored the “Cold
Program” and “Russification Program”
which were both created to “stamp out” the
different ethnic groups in the country.
Jewish Emigration From Russia
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Between 1820 and 1920 over 3,250,000 people emigrated from Russia to the
United States
The 1920 census showed that 392,049 American citizens had been born in
Russia
Between 1880 and 1924, 2.2 million Russian Jews immigrated to America
The third wave of Jewish immigrants to America was from Russia
1880 - 1928
Reasons for leaving Russia
• Raids through the country
• Anti-Semitism and pogroms
• Feared the riots that went on and that the riots might
lead to a pogrom
• The government was changing all the time
• The Germans came and were raping women
• The Bolsheviks took everything from the people
• The Russian Revolution
• People left because they knew they would lose
everything
Joseph Stalin,
leader of the
Soviet Union
1928-1953
Russian Jewish immigrants, 1911
Jacob Mithelstadt and his family from
Russia at Ellis Island in 1905
Russian Expectations of America
---Did not necessarily expect
streets of gold, but there
were other more reasonable
expectations:
---Spoke of higher wages,
many available jobs, and
easier land to acquire than
in their former country.
---Russian nobles and
intellectuals expected respect,
even while not in native country
---They had heard about
poor factories and living
conditions from letters,
so knew that wouldn’t be
too good
Russian Expectations of America
The Golden Door?
Term “Golden Door” came from words inscribed on Statue of
Liberty:
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.
Russian Expectations of America
---Allured by Declaration of
Independence and message
of “We hold these truths to
be self-evident, that all men
are created equal…”
---Attracted by promise
of religious and political
liberties in Pennsylvania
and other states
Trades and Crafts
Russian immigrants brought with them several trades
and crafts that would enrich life in the United States
Few Russian groups refused to assimilate into
American culture, so many did not keep their
traditional crafts and lifestyle.
Russians tended to follow trades similar to
what they had done in Russia: sewing,
tailoring, other non-industrial jobs
A Russian man sells traditional
Russian crafts.
A family assembles pieces of clothing
Trades and Crafts
Russians also worked in the following types of factories: cigar,
hat, silk, and shoe factories
Tappan Shoe Factory, Chicago, 1910
Influence And Customs
Influence Of Russian
Entertainment
Russian
Immigrants usually
unskilled laborers
enjoyed to represent
their Elite Culture, which
they left behind.
They wished to
fondly remember their
homeland's
entertainments such as
Plays and Theatre.
Immigrants longing to express their
Foreign culture developed rich
performances which became popular in
the Cities
At First these performances held little impact
on American culture but that would change.
An example of a Russian
influence is the success of singing
star Sophie Tucker who came to
the United states as an Infant.
She began her
influences as a young ten year old
girl who sang in family cafes,
before her style grew more
popular bringing her to Broadway
in “Last Of the Red Hot Mamas”
Lillian Kaiz: Razhon, Russia
• Lillian Kaiz came by boat to Ellis Island as a child in 1920. She was
born in Razhon Russia, in the Kiev area, in 1913.
• Her family decided to leave Russia because of the Communist
Revolution that was going on.. When the Anti-Semitic Cossacks
attacked her house in the middle of the night and demanded money,
they made the final decision to immigrate to the U.S.
• Her family had owned a flour mill, and when they left Russia, the
whole family came, with the exception of her 2 uncles and an aunt
who stayed behind.
• She was detained in Ellis Island for about 3 weeks, going through the
process.
• They were able to come to the United States because her father was
already in Chicago; He owned a specialty foods store, and was a
policeman for a short period of time.
• Although she experienced the full effects of the Great Depression in
the 1930s, it was still much better than being in Russia with the
revolution. She still continued to go to school while her father kept a
newspaper stand to earn money for the family.
Image Bibliography
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Frederic, David. “Pictures of France.” 7 Nov 2006 http://frederic.david77.free.fr/book/page001.htm
Liberty.” 7 Nov 2006 http://www.putsmans.com
“Russia.” Mantrav International. 11/7/06. <http://www.mantrav.co.uk/images/russia/russia-hr.jpg>.
“Russia Map.” Yahoo! Travel. 11/6/06.
<http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/travel/dg/maps/e5/750x750_russia_m.gif>.
“Russian Map.” Mountain High Maps. 11/6/06.
<http://www.bugbog.com/images/maps/russia_map.jpg>.
“Russian Immigrant Children.” Canada Science and Technology Museum. 7 Nov 2006
http://imagescn.technomuses.ca/people/index_choice.cfm?id=30&photoid=12470973
“Russian Jewish Family.” [email protected] 11/6/06. <http://www.cjc.ca/archives/photo/PC06full.JPG>.
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Simonov, Pavel. “Russian Intelligence Acted Against Americans in Iraq.” Global
Challenge Research. 6 Nov 2006 http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=499-
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The Ship List. 6 Nov. 2006 <http://www.theshipslist.com/pictures/russian.htm>.
Bibliography
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“Acculturation and Assimilation.” Russian Americans. 6 Nov 2006
<http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Pa-Sp/Russian-Americans.html>
Blumenthal, Shirley. Coming to America. New York: Delacorte P, 1981.
Cahan, Abraham. "The Russian Jew in America." July 1898. 6 Nov. 2006
<http://tenant.net/Community/LES/cahan5.html>.
Kaiz, Lillian. Immigrant Russian Oral History. NY,NY. 11/1.(Ellis Island Library)
Leinwand, Gerald. American Immigration. New York: An Impact Book, 1995
Magocsi, Paul. "Russian Americans." Countries and Their Cultures. 6 Nov. 2006
<http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Pa-Sp/Russian-Americans.html>.
"Polish/Russia." Immigration. 6 Nov. 2006
<http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/immig/polish6.html>.
"Russian Immigrants." Spartacus Educational. 5 Nov. 2006
<http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAErussia.htm>.
“Russian Jewish Immigration to the United States in the late 19th Century.” Needham 11/6/06.
<http://nhs.needham.k12.ma.us/cur/kane98/kane_p6_immig/russian/eklbab.html>.
Van Etten, Ida M. "Russian Jews as Desirable Immigrants." 1893. 6 Nov. 2006
<http://www.tenant.net/Community/LES/vanetten.html>.
Credits Page
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Vanessa- Map showing origin of ethnic group, profiles of
specific people
Freddie- Particular trades or crafts that they brought with
them and used in the U.S., title page
Keith- Map showing specific areas of settlement in the
United States, Reasons for leaving country of origin,
credits page
Justin- Customs that have become a part of the culture of
the U.S.
Andrew- Expectations upon arrivals in the United States,
powerpoint animations