By the turn of the century, there were as many Italians living in New York City as in Naples, as many Germans as in Hamburg, and twice as many Irish as in Dublin. Immigrant populations were large in other cities and in rural areas across America. As the poet Walt Whitman observed, America had become "not merely a nation but a teeming nation of nations."

Click on each photograph to see a larger image.

Where in America's past do you think these scenes are located? Compare the working and living conditions in these pictures to the pictures of New York City, including the image of the Italian bread peddlers. Click on the Back button of your browser to return to this page.

Hint: It is still the early 1900s, but you're no longer in New York City. Study the pictures carefully, looking for visual clues such as the height of the buildings in the picture on the left and the writing on the wall in the picture on the right. Check your observations against the bibliographic records for the photographs. Did your detective work help you to identify these places correctly?

Where did these people come from? And when?