Transcript Learning About Migration: “The Orphan Train” Using Primary

Learning About Migration:
“The Orphan Train”
Using Primary Sources
By Terence Madden
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Objective:
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Students will understand purpose
and reasons for migration within the
United States during the turn of the
century.
Objective:
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Students will focus on one migration
in particular, children on the Orphan
Train, an experience of moving
children from the crowded big cities
of the East like New York and
Boston to the rural Midwest.
Materials
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Website on background information on the
historical orphan train experience.
http://www.outfiters.com/~melissa/ot/ot.html
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Seven primary resource photos
Orphan Train advertisement
Notice of Arrival, written by Sisters of Charity
Worksheet: photo analysis
Assessment worksheet
State of Michigan Learning Standards
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Social Studies Content Expectations:
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GOAL 4: Human Systems
Understand how human activities help
shape the earth's surface.
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4 - G4.0.1 Use a case study or story
about migration within or to the United
States to identify push and pull factors
(why they left, why they came) that
influenced the migration.
Immigration - Migration Defined
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Migrate -
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Immigrate -
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Emigration -
Immigration - Migration Defined
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Migrate - to move from one place to another; to
move from one region or country to another.
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Immigration - the coming into a new country.
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Emigration - the coming out of a country
Orphan Tra ins
From about 1850 through the early twentiet h
century, thousands of childre n were transfered
from the overcrowded orphanag es and homes in
the large cities in the northeastern United States,
to live with families on farms throughout the
middle West.
The name orphan train origina tes with the
railroa d trains that transported the child ren to
their new homes. While some of the child ren
were orphans, many of them had one or even
two living parents. In those cases, the chil d's
parents were unable or unwillin g to care for
them. Other parents believed their child ren
would have a better life if sent to a carin g family
in the farmlands of the west. Many of the
parents and child ren were immigrants who found
life in America harder than they anticipated.
Orphan Tra ins continued
The goal of the orphan trains was to provide the
child ren with a better life - many had fended for
themselves on the street s of New York. Many
were not babies, but were in their teens when
sent West. The results were mixed. In some
cases, as adults, the orphan train riders were
very positive about their adoptive family, felt
they were treat ed well, loved, and giv en a better
chanc e in life. However, in many cases, the
child ren were taken int o a new home only for
the work they were expected to do. Some were
mistreated. In many cases, siblin gs were
separated from each other and consequently,
from the only family they knew.
Illinois became the new home of many of the
children who rode the Orphan Trains. Alth ough
Orphan Trains origina ted in other eastern cities,
this list of references focuses on three of the
biggest agen cies from New York City
New York Juvenile Asylum
Children's Aid Society of New York
New York Foundling Hospital (Roman Catholic)
Getting Started
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Why do
individuals and
families move
from one place
to another?
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Getting Started
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Do most people
freely choose to
move?.
Getting Started
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Did the Orphan
Train children
choose to move
west?
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Primary and Secondary Sources
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A Brief Overview
- What is a primary resource?
- What is a secondary source?
Primary Sources
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A contemporary account of an event
Written by someone who experienced or
witnessed an event
Can be published or unpublished
Common Primary Sources
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Diary Entries
Magazine or Newspaper Articles
Photographs
Audio and Video Recordings
Memoirs
Speeches
Interviews
Analyzing Primary Sources
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Benefit of primary sources
- First Hand accounts can provide details into
what it was like to live during the event
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Disadvantage of primary sources
- Primary sources are often influenced by
human emotion
Secondary Sources
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A source written after the event occurred
Combines research of many primary
sources
Often a published work
Common Secondary Sources
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Classroom textbook
Essays
Biographies
Documentaries
Any books written about a period or
event in history
Analyzing Secondary Sources
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Benefit of secondary sources
- Author can combine several points of view
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Disadvantage of secondary sources
- The author is not an eyewitness
Prime Time
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Here are two primary resource
photos from the Library of Congress
online “American Memory”
collection entitled, “Immigrants on
Atlantic Liner” and “Mulberry Street,
New York City” from around 1900.
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Observations and Inferences
 On
board the liner, what are the people
wearing? Is it cold?
 They
are all wearing overcoats, so it
must be cold
 In the Mulberry Street photo, there
are many people and carts in the
street so they must be selling things.
 There are no cars, so it must be a
long time ago.
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Student Activity - Photo Analysis
There are between four to six
students seated around five
different tables. Every table will
be given a different photo related
to the Orphan Train experience
to examine. The whole class
therefore will be examining five
different photos.
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Student Activity - Observing
 Take
two minutes and then form an
overall impression from the photo
and the particulars of each photo.
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List what you see on the photo
analysis worksheet.
Student Activity - Making Inferences
Now list things you can infer
from this photograph, continuing
with the photo analysis
worksheet.
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Sharing
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Table 1
Table 2
Table 3
Table 4
Table 5
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Assessment
Answer the questions on the
Assessment paper.
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Follow Up
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Next week we are going to read Eve
Bunting's book, Train to Somewhere
which describes a forced migration of
orphans at the turn of the 20th century
from a big city, New York, to rural and
small city areas in the Midwest in the
hopes of finding new homes.
Great job!.
Any Questions?