History of Newark: Midterm Essay
This assignment challenges students to develop an original argument pertaining to Newark’s immigrant experience based off your readings of multiple primary sources. You have been provided with personal descriptions of life in Newark during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by individuals representing five different immigrant groups: German, Irish, Italian, Jewish, and Polish. Your task is to read through all five immigrant accounts and identify what were the most important factors leading to a success in establishing themselves in Newark. Topics you might explore include
Wealth and status in their home countries
Gender
Support from family and friends in their home country
Support from family and friends in Newark
Job opportunities in Newark
Relations with their fellow immigrants
Relations with native-born people in Newark
You do not need to address all of these questions! Select at least two immigrant groups to complete an analysis of their experiences. Including more than two immigrant groups and covering more than two themes will likely provide more evidence and strengthen your argument. You should aim to write a 2-3 page paper (Size 12 font, double spaced).
A few things to keep in mind:
Essays should be at least two pages, double spaced, Times New Roman font. Essays exceeding three pages are acceptable, as long all material is relevant to the topic.
Essays should be submitted in approved file formats only (No .pages!).
For citations of words and ideas drawn from other texts, use parenthetical citations after the borrowed material. For this essay, you can simply site the sources as (German Immigrant), (Italian Immigrant), etc.
Example: The author believed life in Italy was “A dreary experience for us all” (Italian Immigrant).
Quotes should not exceed three lines, and paragraphs should usually have no more than two or three quotes each.
Choose your quotes wisely. If you are simply providing information from an article, you might be better served by summarizing or paraphrasing.
Simply rewording quoted material does not count as analysis.
You may refer to class lectures and class readings for background information. However, no additional sources from outside of this course should be used. Essays using outside sources without permission will not receive a passing grade.
The essay should have a clear argument or thesis stated in first paragraph. State what similarities/differences you will be discussing.
Each paragraph should be structured around a main idea, clearly stated in a topic sentence.
Paragraphs should proceed logically from one to the next, following a clear thematic or chronological order.
Essays should show clear evidence of revision and editing. Essays with numerous typographical errors will receive a grade of C at best.
You do not need a works cited page for this assignment.
Submit your essay on Canvas by 11:59 PM on October 30.
200 Points
SOURCES
German Immigrant
I was born of Catholic parents on 24 December 1812 in Suetz, (Germany). My father was an officer in the army. I was educated in the common school. When I was 14 my father died. A life of poverty ensued. I went to Berlin (Germany) to look for work. There came a master craftsmen to look for apprentices to hire. He asked me if I desired to learn a trade…with hard work I soon acquired a favorable position and was promoted to the position of journeyman…In 1835 I moved to the town of Schlopp and became a citizen and master workman. There I met a woman named Fredricka at a dance. We courted (dated) for 11 weeks. There I learned she was a Protestant. My friends were all disturbed and my mother threatened to disown me if I married so. Still, I was married to her on 7 October 1835.
In 1848 I was forced into the wars (of the German Revolution) and was twice wounded. In 1849 there was no peace, and my wife said, “How many are leaving for America-Why don’t you go too?” I was ready at once, and soon procured my passport. But my affection for my wife and children was so great that my heart was almost broken with grief at the thought of leaving.
On 25 June 1850 I engaged passage for America. My fare amounted to $32…On 2 July, about 5 oclock in the morning, I finally embarked, having with me but 4 shillings. There was merry company on board, in all about 280 in number, but my heart seemed ready to dissolve in tears. I stood on the deck and watched the retreating hills of my homeland, where dwelt my loved and deserted ones. The will of God was my support. I soon found the society around me agreeable.
On 1 August we reached New York. I attached myself to Mr. Muller’s family, who were my fellow voyagers. They had resided about 80 miles from me, and were country people. That night in New York 1 dollar was stolen from me. The next morning we left for Newark, in a company of 11 persons. I carried note of introduction to a German Doctor, spent much time hunting for him from place to place, and at last gave up from weariness. At last at Williams Street I found him. For want of lodging he kindly accommodated us in his apartments, when the whole 11 of us slept on the floor. Next morning all took some refreshments, save myself. I could not think of eating until I had obtained some change of earning something for my poor family at home. The doctor went out with me to 129 Market Street where I found work at a rate of 5 shillings per coat. Before nightfall I finished one of these and sank down exhausted.
On Friday we moved to 25 Green Street. Here I lodged for two months on the floor, made my dinners generally on three potatoes, and managed to lay up in the first three months the sum of $45…On 20 March I took Dora Muller into business with me as a seamstress. She was industrious, and sought to please me by her kindness and fidelity…Our affection was great. I told her “if my wife does not come, I will marry no one else but you, but if she arrives in course of time, she must be my first.”
Irish Immigrant:
Father and Mother came over in a sailing vessel. I don’t know how long it took them. Gollies, I can’t tell you when they came over here. As a matter of fact, Mother and Father didn’t know their own ages. They came over here before the Civil War …Father was too young to go to war. He went into business, married, brought up a family, served a term in the legislature.
Father was not very wealthy, but he did a fine job of raising the family of six. I could tell you plenty about people who trimmed him. He always lived in the Ironbound neighborhood. He lived in this section from the time he came over here until the time he died. The population was Irish and German. I remember when there wasn’t an Italian in it, this side of the railroad. There was only four families of Jews. We didn’t have modern conveniences in the houses. Ferry and Market streets were the only streets paved…The only lights they had were lampposts — gas …We used to go swimming in the Passaic River….The old Down Neck (Ironbound), when the Irish and Germans were here, was the best place in New Jersey — no, I mean in the world. Where the steelworks are we’d have ice skating thirty-one nights straight with the moon shining every night, when I was a kid. Since Father came here, we have every nationality on the face of the earth — everyone. I don’t care who they are….The Slovaks, the Poles, and the Lithuanians — yes, all except the Spaniards and the Portuguese are all right. When the Spaniards and the Portuguese moved into the neighborhood, the kids would rush home with their lanterns, and when they got to the door, they wouldn’t stop ringing the bell until someone came to the door. They sure used to be scared.
I graduated from St. James’ and St. Patrick’s schools. At that time there was only one high school, on the corner of Linden and Washington streets. Now they have dozens. I went to school at seven years old and quit at sixteen. When I went to school, I could read, write, and do a little figuring. I put in over eighteen years for a factory in Down Neck. I was laid off at holiday time. The reason given was to reduce expenses. I put in twenty years and two months for a factory in the same neighborhood — gave them more than was required of me and was handed a check for two weeks’ salary and let out without any rhyme or reason. That’s the absolute truth. I know people who had worse experiences than I did. I know people who worked for fifty years, who helped them make their money, and were fired. Then I went to work for a man named McGregor. I learned the electroplating business. I gave it up because of my health. I acted as bartender for three years, and then in the printing business. In other words, you can say I worked eighteen years for one concern and twenty years for another. Once I worked as a shipping clerk. I raised a family of four. We lost one. We have three youngsters living, two boys and one girl. My children are happy and successful.
Italian Immigrant:
I was born August 14, 1872, in the small village of Oratina, in the province of Campobasso, Italy. I was the third child in a large family of nine children. My father was a farmer, but he did not own his farm, he rented it. The farm was small, and, as I remember, sometimes we had hardly enough to eat; especially if, for some reason or other, the crops would not come up to the (landlord’s) expectations …There were so many of us kids that father would take turns in clothing us, by which I mean to say that he would buy a pair of pants now, a pair of shoes later, a shirt at some other time, and so forth. But Papa did the best he could for us from what he had. As I look back, it was a dreary existence for us all; but somehow, we seemed to be contented with our lot…
Work on the farm was hard and I didn’t care for it much. So, one day my uncle, who was in America, wrote to us. In this letter, he wrote about how much better everything was in America, how much more chance one had to make something of himself there. He also asked my father if he cared to come to America. He said that he would send money and that later both he and my father would send for the rest of the family. Father didn’t care to come to America, but he was willing to let my older brother go. My uncle lost no time in sending passage money for my brother to come to America, but, as the time approached for sailing, my brother decided that he didn’t want to leave his home and parents…When I asked my parents about going to America in place of my brother, Papa consented.
That was in February 1887. I didn’t know it at that time, but it was the last I ever saw of my mother and father; for, in spite of all the attempts made later to bring them here, my family never cared to make the trip. And I, in turn, never seemed to have the time to go back.
When I arrived in Newark with my uncle, I was very happy because it wasn’t congested like New York. It was more like my home in Italy, for in the old Woodside section of North Newark in those days, it was semi-country with plenty of trees and open fields. However, four days after my arrival, my uncle secured a job for me on the Erie Railroad as a laborer in track repair at $6.25 per week. I went to work, and I soon found out that the work here was just as hard as that on the farm; but I didn’t mind it much because I would receive what seemed to me like a lot. I had never gotten any wages of any kind before, so that you can understand how pleased I was when I received my first weekly pay. On arriving at my uncle’s home, I also found out that my uncle was charging me $1.50 for board and lodging, which meant $4.75 out of my weekly pay was left for me to do as I pleased.
As time went on, I became accustomed to my surroundings and soon made friends with other Italian boys about my age, who were also working for the railroad, and life seemed a bit rosier for me. From time to time, I would have someone write to my parents for me, for, having no schooling, I was unable to write. In most of my letters, I would send some money to them. For about a year or two, things went along like this, and, in the meantime, I was learning a little English, more than most of my countrymen. I had received several increases in salary, so that in three years’ time my salary had gone up to nine dollars per week, and sometimes I worked Sundays, for which I was paid extra…on my eighteenth birthday, I received a pleasant surprise, from the “big boss,” I was promoted assistant boss. I was able to understand him, something most of my countrymen could not do…since I had become assistant boss on the railroad, I suddenly found myself very popular and in demand by my fellow workers and countrymen, which, at first, I could not quite understand…Before I fully appreciated it, I became quite a leader among our entire Italian group, for so many had come to me for employment.
So one day I realized I could be happily married on my present salary, which was about fifteen dollars per week; so I expressed my thoughts one evening at a local gathering saloon to my numerous friends, more or less in a joking way, but I didn’t do anything about it. But my friends did, for in about a month’s time I had received several photographs of girls of my hometown and other towns adjoining; so that I was not long in selecting one which appealed to me, and arrangements were made immediately by her brother, a friend and an employee in my crew. Soon after, his sister arrived at Ellis Island. We both went over to receive her, and I lost no time in getting married, for I had prepared a home for us all — a six-room, cold flat — with an understanding that her brother was to board with us. That day and several days after were spent in celebrating our marriage, and almost everyone came to see us and bring their various gifts of money and good wishes.
Most of my countrymen soon were entrusting to my care all of their savings and not expecting any interest in return. I, in turn, invested in real estate and deposited in various banks all of their savings and mine, too. Besides this, from time to time, I would furnish in part, or all, necessary expenses for many countrymen to come to America; and then, on arrival, I would put them up at my place. I secured a license and opened a saloon in one of my properties. Later, I also established a grocery store, in which I sold Italian and American merchandise, rounding out a means of supply of foodstuffs and other wants for my employees, friends, and boarders. During all these years, no one ever regarded me as anything but a benefactor; and, to this day, I enjoy all of my friends’ respect. My counsel and advice are sought by them, wherever they feel they need it. I have absolutely no regrets. I would do it over again if I had the same chance.
Jewish Immigrant:
I was born in a small town in the Ukraine. I had three sisters and one brother. My father was a businessman; he sold wine and whiskey. We were very rich, and I went to a very good tutor. Almost fifty men worked for my father. My father was a very educated man, and he wasn’t a fanatic. He dressed like the men in the city. Many people came to visit us and to talk to my father. I used to make cigarettes for my father with a small machine. It was the same as the machines you can buy in Newark today…When I was eighteen, I went to a dental school in Kiev (Ukraine). My older sister went too, but she didn’t like it and stayed only a few months. I stayed for two years, studying mechanical work. I learned to make false teeth and plates. Not many girls were lucky enough to learn such a trade in Russia…In school, I had a very good friend; we lived together…I stayed in Kiev for a year after I finished school. I looked for a job, but I couldn’t find one. My friend and her brother wanted to go to America. I read about America, and I decided to go, too. We went together. My mother cried, but she let me go. I think my father’s heart was broken, but he bought me a complete set of dental tools and hoped I would find work in America. He asked me if I loved my friend’s brother. I told him no. He said that I should not think about marriage until I learned to take care of myself. My friend was a very good mechanic. Her brother was a paperhanger and a house painter.
When we got to America, my friend met a businessman, and they got married. They went to Milwaukee, where her husband had a delicatessen business. They had one daughter together, but she died very young. I was all alone, and I married her brother. I cannot say I was too much in love; but we were both lonely, and we thought it would be better to live together…My husband wasn’t stingy, but even when he earned good money — sometimes seventy dollars a week as a paper-hanger.
We moved to Twelfth Street, Newark. My sister lived here with her husband and two sons. They were very good boys. They worked after school to help their father, who was a peddler. I went to night school in Newark for a year, and I learned to write English a little and read. I tried to find a job in my trade, but they would not take a woman. America is a man’s world, too…My daughter went to the South Seventeenth Street School. The principal loved her. When she graduated, he kissed her and said she was going to be a wonderful woman. Her teacher cried when she left. She went to the middle school, her teacher here, Mr. Simon, thought she was a very good student. She can speak and write Yiddish as well as I can. She acted in a Jewish play, when she graduated from the middle school.
We moved to Irvington, and my daughter had to transfer from West Side High School to Irvington High. She did not like it here, but she got along with the other students. They were mainly Christian. They invited her to parties once in a while, but not too much. When she graduated, she sang in the operetta. She has a wonderful voice. After she graduated, she worked in a five-and-ten for a few months, and then she worked in Bamberger’s Department Store for about a half year. She did not like to be a salesgirl, and she cried more than once.
Polish Immigrant:
I was born in Poland in 1887…I went to public school from age six to sixteen. This included about two years in a business course. After I got out of school, I went to work as an apprentice clerk in a dry goods store. I worked there for three years and then went to Germany to get further experience. After four years I returned to Poland and worked in the same store for two years.
In 1893, wanting to better myself, I decided to come to the United States. I crossed with four other young fellows from the same town. The reason for migrating to the United States was the high opinion held in Poland and Europe generally concerning the United States; to wit, that a common laborer who went to the United States in a short space of time was able to provide his family in Poland with many luxuries. Of course, this led an educated person to believe that he could do much better in comparison.
On my arrival, I went to live in Bloomfield with friends from my hometown. I stayed there a year. While staying in Bloomfield, I married a German girl who had been born in the United States. She died a halfyear after the wedding.
All this time I couldn’t get work because of the hard times during the 1890s. When I moved to Newark, I got a job in Branch Brook Park with the city. At that time, most workers in the park were Poles, and I got my job because I was able to speak German to the foreman, who was a Czech. The job paid $1.25 for a ten-hour day. I worked in the park about four months, then I got a job in a traveling-bag factory and stayed there eleven years. In 1906, I went to Buffalo and opened a bookstore and newspaper agency. I stayed there till 1908 and then returned to Newark. On my return, I worked as a representative for a Buffalo brewery for two to three years. I left this about 1911, entered the real estate and insurance business, and have remained in same up to today.