Webblog

This lecture focused on immigration mostly of Germans from Russia. The Great Plains was a great spot for immigrants that wanted to keep their culture. They could buy large sections of land and group together with people from their home country. There were 3 different patterns for migration, chain, group settlement, and dispersed settlement. Chain migration is when one person comes to the new land and then sends letters to the home country encouraging more people to come. Group settlement consisted of sending a scout to the new land to choose a good spot and then the rest of the group would come and settle in the same area. Dispersed settlement is random people settling anywhere. Assimilation still remains a debate today because some say it is necessary for cooperation and others discourage it because of isolation. The Germans from Russia began coming to America in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Some of the reasons were because Russia wanted them to become Russian and the men to join the army. Many also came to preserve their German culture. Next we talked about Mexicanos on the Plains. They come to work the beet fields and packing houses. They have a different objective then the Germans from Russia. The Mexicanos come looking for work instead of to preserve their heritage or because of government pressure.