Family History and Immigration Assignment

U.S. History Family History & Immigration Assignment

50 points

Due: October 14^th

History is not just about “them;” it’s about us. The purpose of this assignment is two-fold: to come to a better understanding of what has happened to our own families over time and to see how we fit within the framework of a growing young nation.  Your heritage helps to make you what you are today; our collective heritage creates our nation.

Part One – Family Background

For this assignment, you will research your parents, grandparents and so on until you find the first member of that line to immigrate to the United States.  Find out where they immigrated from and see what conditions were like when they left, comparing them with what the United States when they came here.  Once you have found this family member, you need to answer the following questions to the best of your understanding in a series of paragraphs. You may not have answers to all of these questions, but try to cover as much as possible and do so as thoroughly as you can, providing examples whenever possible to illustrate what you have to say.

1.     What factors influenced their decision to leave their original home?

2.     What factors influenced their decision to come to the United States?

3.     What were the conditions in their country of origin at the time they left?

4.     What was happening in local, national or world affairs at that time?

5.     What part of the United States did they originally come to?

6.     Where in the United States has your family lived since then? 

7.     Why did your family finally come to Utah?

8.     How have attitudes toward the old country and the U.S. changed from generation to generation? Have you always been of the same social class? What is it (working class, middle class – business owners – or aristocracy)? Have your fortunes improved or worsened?

9.     If you still have contact with relatives in the “old country”, how are your family’s lives different than the family members there?

10.  Are you glad that your family moved here?  Why or why not?

To locate this information you will need to ask family members and consult written material and other documents, like photographs (primary sources and, possibly, secondary sources)

Part Two – Family Story

Find a story about this person’s life.  It can be about a single event of their life or it can be a brief life history of the person.  Bring this to class to share.

Note: If this assignment is impossible due to circumstances beyond your control (laziness or unwillingness to dig through your family’s history is not a good excuse), please come talk to me and we can work out an alternate assignment.