Immigration in Colonial Times

Who were the people that from 1607 to 1775 settled those parts of the North American continent, which are today the United States? What impelled them to come? How did they travel? What did they find on their arrival? How were their trips financed? Where did they make their homes? Why did they choose those locations? During the American colonial period thousands upon thousands of Europeans and Africans voyaged from their native lands to the uncertainties and hardships of the New World. Some came as free men and women; some came as bond servants; some came as prisoners; and some came as slaves. Through facsimiles of contemporary materials and illustrated broadsheets, this primary source portfolio gives a picture of the surging masses of immigrants who began to fill the "melting pot" of the future United States of America. This portfolio includes a Study Guide with reproducible student activities. 5 Illustrated Broadsheet Essays: * Reasons for Emigration * English Emigrants * Non-English Emigrants * The Perilous Crossing * Conditions of Emigration 10 Primary Source Documents: * A list of passengers on the Mayflower * A rubbing from a Massachusetts gravestone, 1680 * A letter from a colonist in Georgia, 1732, and a transcript * The Virginia Gazette, September 17 to 24, 1736 * The earliest printed map of Detroit, 1764 * A statement of figures from a Spanish expedition to California, 1769, and a translation * A page of prayers to be used at sea, 1636 * An indenture, 1731, and a transcript * A pamphlet, Notes on the Slave Trade, 1757 * A ballad, "The Trappan'd Maiden"