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Lecture 9 dealt with immigration and ethnicity on the Great Plains. The first wave of immigration, peaking in the 1880s, brought people primarily from northern and western Europe. The second wave brought immigrants primarily from southern and eastern Europe and peaked in the early 1900s. Both groups took advantage of land opportunities available to them on the Plains. There are three different migration patterns on the Plains: chain migration, group settlement, and dispersed settlement. These distinct patterns led to unique cultural diversity and/or monotony on the Plains. Immigrants adapted to life in America in different ways. Some fully assimilated into American culture, changing their ways of life to fit Americans' ways of life. Others practiced acculturation where they didn't fully assimilate into American culture, but learned parts of it out of necessity. Still other immigrants practiced cultural persistence where they held on tightly to their old ways.

One of the most interesting parts of this lecture for me was the Mexican migration. When I lived in Nebraska, I saw the exact patterns that we discussed in class. There is a high Mexican population in Scottsbluff, and many Mexicans work in the beet fields. I also liked the metaphor of the Great Plains as a frying pan. It is true that the Great Plains region transforms whatever settles upon it, but because of the differences in people when they come to the Plains, they respond to the Plains differently and the outcome is unique. America is a land of culturally diverse people, and this diversity is well represented on the Great Plains.