Immigration/Migration: Today and During the Great Depression

Resources

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American Memory collections:

• Civil War photographer and the case of the moved body, Civil War Photographs, 1861-1865
• African American Odyssey
  Choose VIII The Depression, The New Deal, and World War II for text information and visuals about the effect of the Depression and World War II on African Americans.
• America from the Great Depression to World War II, Photographs from the FSA-OWI, 1935-1945
  Famous documentary photographs showing the effects of the Great Depression. American Life Histories, 1936-1940
• Analyzing Images located in Port of Entry: Immigration
  A useful, simple method for analyzing visual material.
• Portraits of the Presidents and First Ladies
  Pictures of U.S. presidents and their First Ladies. Use the timeline to find the presidents of the thirties and Related Holdings to find information about them.
• Folklife and Fieldwork: A Layman's Introduction to Field Techniques
  Excellent information on conducting oral history from the American Folklife Center.
• The Great Depression and the New Deal : The Federal Writers Project
  Information about the Federal Writers Project during the Depression and photographs of the era. Links to oral history interviews. American Life History, 1936-1940
• Lesson Plans Using Library of Congress Online Resources
  A good starting place for background information and activities. Particularly useful are The Historian's Sources (linked from Lesson Plans) and Framework for Using Primary Sources with Students.
• THOMAS
  Use this search engine to find legislation on immigration, for instance. (Search by Word/Phrase.)
• Words and Deeds in American History
  Selected documents from the Library of Congress' Manuscript Division. Use the Chronological List to find papers from the 1930's.
• Internet Sources on the American 1930s
  A very rich source of links concerning the Great Depression, from Universiteit Utrecht.
• New Deal Network
  Documents, photographs, and information about the United States during the administration of President Franklin Roosevelt.
• Links to Oral History Organizations
  Excellent list of oral history resources.
• History in the Raw
  From the National Archives.
• The One-Minute Guide to Conducting an Oral History
  A good checklist for beginning oral historians.
• Tips for Interviewers
  Helpful pointers to keep in mind when working in the field.
• Simon, Julian L., Immigration: The Demographic & Economic Facts. December, 11, 1995.

Online | Print | Film | Teacher Resources

• Edinger, Monica, Far Away and Long Ago. York, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers, 1998.

Includes material on conducting oral history projects.

• "Here and There," New York Times, Sunday, July 19, p.1; Monday, July 20, p.1; Tuesday, July 21, p. 1 (1998). Three articles about immigration, covering the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and India.
• Lanman, Barry A. and George L. Mehaffy, Oral History in the Secondary School Classroom. Waco, Texas: Oral History Association, Baylor University, 1988.*

Valuable and practical introduction to conducting oral history projects in schools.

• Mercier, Laurie and Madeline Buckendorf, Using Oral History in Community History Projects. Waco, Texas: Oral History Association, Baylor University, 1988.*

How to conduct oral history projects in the community.

• Neuenschwander, John A. Oral History and the Law. Waco, Texas: Oral History Association, Baylor University, 1988.* "...introduction to the many legal issues relating to oral history practice... includes sample forms and copyright forms."
• Oral History Evaluation Guidelines. Waco, Texas: Oral History Association, Baylor University, 1988. "the standard for conducting oral history..."

• Click here to get the *Oral History Association publications order form
• Orlov, Ann and Stephan Al Themstrom, Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 1980. An authoritative source of information about ethnic groups and immigration

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Immigration

• Benaat, Chicago, (Daughters of Chicago), 1996. Growing up Arab and female in Chicago.
• The Dupes, 1972. Three Palestinian refugees hidden in a tank truck try to cross the Kuwaiti border. From the novella, Men in the Sun, by Ghassan Kanafani. In Arabic, with English subtitles
• El Norte, directed by Gregory Nava, USA, 1983. A brother and sister, both teenagers flee their village in Guatemala after it is destroyed by the army. They make their way to El Norte (United States) where, with difficulty, they find work and try to create new lives for themselves. In Spanish, with English subtitles.
• Nueba Yol, 1995, written and directed by Angel Muniz, the film (a hit in the Dominican Republic) follows the adventures of a good natured man (played by Balbuena, one of the most popular actors on Dominican tv) who gives Nueba Yol (New York) a try, but goes back to the island in the end. Many real issues facing immigrants are part of the film. In Spanish, with English subtitles.
• Nueba Yol, Part 3: Bajo la nueva ley (Under the New Law), the sequel to Nueba Yol (Angel Muniz, the director, skipped Part 2, because he doesn't think sequels are any good) follows the further adventures of Balbuena and his humorous struggles with American culture. In English, with Spanish subtitles.
• One-way Ticket (Un Pasaje de Ida), 1988, directed by Agliberto Melendez, Dominican Republic. A powerful story about a group of men attempting to leave the Dominican Republic illegally. In Spanish, with English subtitles.
• The Two Worlds of Angelita, (Los dos mundos de Angelita), Puerto Rico, 1982. The films follows a Puerto Rican family from the island to New York, and shows the difficulties they face. Told from the point of view of Angelita, an observant 9-year-old girl. In Spanish, with English subtitles.

The Great Depression

• Grapes of Wrath, 1940, directed by John Ford, tells the story of the Joad family, who move from the dust bowl to California during the Great Depression.
• Riding the Rails, Michael Uys and Lexy Lovell, filmmakers, 1997, created a documentary using archival footage and interviews with surviving "road kids" themselves, about some of the four million Americans who traveled around the country in boxcars during the Great Depression.

Online | Print | Film | Teacher Resources

• Edinger, Monica, Far Away and Long Ago. York, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers, 1998. Include material on conducting oral history projects.
• Folklife Sourcebook