Menlo School Library: Ethnic studies: Immigration

Background information and data sets

Ellis Island: Connect with your Heritage
Did your family arrive at Ellis Island when they came to America? Look up family records on this site.
Germans in America
Information about German immigration from the Library of Congress.
Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-born Population of the United States: 1850-1990
Historical immigration statistics from the US Census Bureau.
A History of Norwegian Immigration to the United States : From the Earliest Beginning down to the Year 1848
Immigration: Student Discovery
A free ebook provided by the Library of Congress containing background information and primary sources.
Immigration and Migration
The PEW Center publishes a large amount of information about immigration to the United States. Use the search field to narrow in on your topic.
Immigration and Multiculturalism: Essential Primary Sources
This is a reference book that is part of the database collection. You will need to log in to use this resource. We also have this in print on the cart with the other books.
Immigration before 1965
Overview article describing America's various waves of immigration.
Immigration to the United States, 1789 - 1930
A dense site from Harvard University, with background information and primary sources (letters and memoirs).
Jewish Virtual Library
Background information, statistics, and current news about Judaism and Israel.
Migration Policy Institute
Data and analysis of the movement of people around the world.
Top 101 Lists
Where did immigrant groups settle? Search by country to see where these immigrant groups live now.
Yearbook of Immigration Statistics
Find US immigration data from 1996 - 2019 from the Department of Homeland Security.

Image 2

Where each state's largest immigration population was born

Click the image to see the animated graphic

Primary sources

Memoirs

Bracero History Archive
Oral histories from the program that brought Mexican agricultural workers to the United States from1942 to1964.
Expressions
Memoirs of 13 Mexican migrants. Written in Spanish and English.
From Haven to Home: 350 Years of Jewish Life in America
Background information and primary sources, from the Library of Congress.
Irish Immigrant Letters Home
A collection of letters from the mid-1800's, sent by Irish immigrants to Pennsylvania.
Italian-American Immigrant Oral History Catalog
Audio interviews with 150 people who immigrated to Michigan from Italy in the 1900s.
Recollections of an Immigrant
The memoir of a Norwegian man who came to the U.S. in 1871.
Rostros y Rastros
Memoirs of Mexican migrants. This book is written in Spanish.

Database resources:

America's Historical Newspapers (Newsbank)
- Why search here?
  Look here for newspaper articles from many cities across the US.
- What’s included?
  350 years of newspapers and broadsheets.
Ethnic Diversity Source
- Why search here?
  Look here for information about the culture and lived experiences of a wide range of ethnic groups.
- What’s included?
  Ebooks, journal articles and documents provide primary, secondary and tertiary research support.
Historical Newspapers (ProQuest)
- Why search here?
  Find news reporting from major United States newspapers on a variety of historical events.
- What’s included?
  Archived newspaper articles from past issues of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and Christian Science Monitor.
Original Sources (Britannica)
- Why search here?
  Look here for primary source documents categorized by time period and topic.
- What's included?
  Thousands of documents in history, science, politics, literature, and more.