Iowa Past to Present Teacher's Guide: Chapter 8: Settlers from Many Lands

Introduction

Throughout Iowa's history, the state has attracted immigrants from all over the world – Europe, Africa, Asia and South America. The first settlers wanted to buy land and become farmers. Later immigrants often found jobs in factories and stores. Because of our immigrant history, Iowa is home to people of many different backgrounds. This chapter tells about many of the people who immigrated to Iowa. It describes some of their distinctive achievements. Although the chapter emphasizes the activities of the earliest immigrant groups, remembers that the story of immigrants coming to Iowa continues to the present. Iowa still offers settlers the chance for a better life, just as it did many years ago.

Explore the resources on this page to find out more about ideas in the chapter:

• Pathways: Find related articles and make connections with other ideas in Iowa history.
• Artifacts: View related images, videos and more.
• Side Trails: Explore more on this topic on other websites.

Suggested Classroom Resources and Lesson Plans

• Iowa Past to Present Teacher Guide: Chapter 8
• Migration and Interaction, Prairie Voices, State Historical Society of Iowa
• Social and Economic Development in Iowa 1870 - 1940, Explorations in Iowa History Project, University of Northern Iowa
• Iowa Pathways Quest and Challenges
  The Iowa Pathways Quest and Challenges are a collection of tasks that support students as they make and interpret connections among the people, places, events, and ideas of Iowa. Worksheets that model the thinking and research process are provided, as well as rubrics to aid you and your students.
  • More information about Quest and Challenges
  • Start a Quest or Challenge

Iowa Past to Present Chapter Listing

This online teachers guide was developed as a companion to the textbook Iowa Past to Present: The People and the Prairie (Revised 3rd Ed.); written by Dorothy Schwieder, Thomas Morain, and Lynn Nielsen; published by University of Iowa Press. Select a chapter from the list below to find related content and classroom resources.

• Chapter 1: The Changing Land
• Chapter 2: American Indians, The Earliest People in Iowa
• Chapter 3: Many Flags over Iowa
• Chapter 4: Pioneers on the Prairie
• Chapter 5: Pioneer Life on the Prairie
• Chapter 6: Rivers, Trails, and Train Tracks, Transportation in the 1800s
• Chapter 7: A Nation Divided
• Chapter 8: Settlers from Many Lands
• Chapter 9: Providing a Government
• Chapter 10: Schools for a New State
• Chapter 11: Keeping Faith on the Frontier
• Chapter 12: Experiments in Community Living
• Chapter 13: Life on the Farm—Iowa Style
• Chapter 14: New Inventions Bring Change
• Chapter 15: Business and Industry in Iowa
• Chapter 16: Word War I and Hard Times After
• Chapter 17: Depression, Changing Times, and World War II
• Chapter 18: A Time of Many Changes
• Chapter 19: Iowa in the World