Research Guide for ESL090 (Budway): Immigration History
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Prepared by Elinor Appel
NSCC Library (this will open in a new window)
Image source: California Historical Society, SF Social Group [Postcards: 9897]. |
Books
Books can help you answer the following questions on your assignment:
- How many came?
- Why did they come? What were they looking for?
- What kinds of problems did they face?
- When did they come?
- What kinds of problems and challenges did they face here?
You can find your information in chapters from books like:
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These are reference books so they can't be checked out, but talk to me if you'd like a chapter copied. |
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A good online book for your research is American
Immigration: A Student Companion,
which you can access through eLibrary (a library
database) or by clicking on the title link or cover. Then select a chapter, for instance: "Chinese Exclusion Acts." [NOTE: if you get a message saying there is a "problem with the certificate" just continue. ] To log into resources in library databases from off campus, type in your last name and Student ID number. |
If you need help looking for books on your topic, please ask a librarian -- we are always happy to help!
Websites are often your best source of current (up to date) information.
These websites can help you answer the following questions:
- How many came (are here now)? American Fact Finder, US Census
- Where did they move to in the U.S.? American Ethnic Geography
- Have they been successful in this country? American Fact Finder, US Census (look at statistics on education and income)
Local immigration history
- HistoryLink: The Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History - search here for articles like
- Anti-Chinese Activism in Seattle
- Japanese Americans in Seattle and King County
- Southeast Asian Americans (in the Pacific Northwest)
More websites for your research:
- America: The Living Mosaic - find information about your immigrant group in the left navigation bar
- Encyclopaedia of USA History: Immigration to the USA 1860 - 1960 - scroll down to countries of origin
- Japanese Internment - use this website ("pathfinder page") to find other websites on this topic
- Multicultural America (Thomson Gale) - search this site for information on your group, for instance: Mongolian.
But there are also many uninformative websites online. In order to find good information on the Internet, use these tips we tried in class:
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Limit searches by domain (edu = education; gov = government). |
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Put phrases in quotes. |
- Limit your search to websites from educational or government domains: site:edu or site:gov.
- Search for information on the Internet Public Library (IPL) or Librarians' Internet Index (LII).
- For images, try the Library of Congress's online collection Immigration/American Expansion along with Google Images and Flickr.
To see if the library has a movie on your topic, take a look at this list called "Immigration and Emigration ."
- Each title has a call number beginning either [VHS --- ] or [DVD ---]
- If the call number has DVD in it, it is a DVD. If the call number has VHS in it, it is a videocassette.
- The movies are kept behind the Check Out & Reserves desk.
- Ask for the DVD or videocassette by its call number (For instance you would ask for DVD 191 for "Becoming American: The Chinese Experience #1.")
- Use your student card to check out your DVD.
- You can check out a DVD for 1 week. (If you are late to return the DVD you will need to pay a late fee of $1 per day.)
Research can take time. If you need help, come to the Reference Desk, or contact me directly. The easiest way is to find me here:
For help practicing your speech, tutors in The Loft can help you.
"Challenge to Democracy" (1944) - US Government justifies Japanese Relocation
Video source: Prelinger Archives via Internet Archive