Ethnic United States since the Civil War Return to Ethnic History main page

Michael Trotti History Department 412 Muller  (607)274-1591

Venture B

Using census data on your own ethnicity (or one you choose), write a brief evaluation of the place of your ethnic group in the wider trends of American history we've discussed. This has a very particular goal -- to get you to think about the broader context of your ethnic history in ways that will help you conceive of your family history paper due in a few weeks.

Step I : gather data.

I've handed out some figures from census records on some ethnic groups. Today I'm handing out more. Look this over and gather more. Some can be found in:

an online Census report on the foreign born (note: this is ONLY foreign born, not all Americans with ethnic roots), the Census bureau (some historical data here, although I don't find it easy to use) -- under "People and Households" there is some historical data, or, Historical Statistics of the United States (not online, only in the reference collection at the Library. Call number REF HA202 .H57 2006). This is very very useful. Volume on "Population" is probably most relevant other sources -- explore the sources in the library that have to do with your ethnic background. Keep track of where you find useful data. Find the section in the stacks that deals with your ethnic group (they will be in the "E" section, generally) and browse, seeing what you find that is of help.

What kind of data to look for? That is up to you. Venture forth:

Economic, crime, social, medical, population, . . . these records exist (sometimes not broken down into each individual ethnic group, however) - explore in a direction you are interested in. This works best it your work here provides you with something helpful to say in your final family history paper.

Step II: interpretation.

Data does not speak for itself - you have to find the meaning in it.

a. Brainstorm about the trends you find in the data.
b. Think about the themes we've been discussing in class.
c. Make some connections between the trends you find in the data on your own ethnic group and the themes we've discussed. Do your trends match or complicate our themes (either way, this data can be interesting and helpful for writing your paper)?
d. Write a brief (1 page only -- it's a venture about getting you in this material -- keep the written part SHORT) evaluation of your findings and turn it in to me. At the end (or beginning; somewhere), please include a very brief list of sources you consulted (I want to know where you went; I won't be evaluating the number per se -- don't pad this, just report it).

Note: You can use this work as background for your research project on your family history. Think about making it useful to you as you go along.

Check the syllabus for the due date

This website is occasionally maintained by Michael Trotti. (Last update: 20 March 2009).