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Join this channel to get access to perks: Want to learn more about Periscope Film and get access to exclusive swag? Join us on Patreon. Visit Visit our website This black and white instructional film from 1946 titled “Immigration” is produced by Encyclopedia Britannica Films Inc. as part of their work to “bring the world to the classroom.” Made in collaboration with Dr. Henry S. Commager of Columbia University, the film details the various waves of migration to the United States by immigrants from around the world in the late 19th and 20th centuries. The film not only describes the various motivations behind these waves of immigration but also goes on to underscore the important contributions immigrants made to crafting America’s unique identity as a melting pot of the world. Throughout the 10-minute film, illustrated maps describing flows of migration are pieced together with clips of New York City and other important landmarks as well as the official processes of immigration. The film’s copyright is for the USA in 1946 under the International Copyright Union and all rights reserved under Inter-American Copyright Union (1910). Opening credits (0:09). Pedestrians walk crowded sidewalks and voice over begins (0:26). Men sit in the audience of a sports match (0:35). Illustrated map of the world demonstrating migration of Europeans to other places around the globe (0:39). Illustrated map focuses on North America and describes population growth of the United States (1:05). Description of Great Migration from Europe 1820 where people from Northern and Western Europe immigrated to the United States (1:37). Illustrated map focuses on Eastern Asia and describes immigration from China and Japan - the “Orient” as termed by the video (2:16). Film discusses “peak time of immigration” 1891-1920 from Southern and Eastern Europe like Austria, Hungary, Poland, Russia, and Balkan Peninsula (2:40). Reenactment of hopeful immigrant family from Eastern Europe at steamship agent’s office in European port city (3:09). Eastern European peasants farm field (3:28). Man experiences police pat down (3:53). Family driven from home for Jewish faith, man carries menorahs crossed in his arms (4:20). Steamship poster announces trip to America (4:54). Wide-shot of Ellis Island (5:01). Examination of immigrants by immigration officials (5:05). Medical examination of new arrivals (5:24). Illustrated map of the United States - westward expansion of immigrants who arrived before 1890 (5:50). Map highlights where German immigrants settled after 1900 (6:02). Settlement pattern of Scandinavian immigrants (6:09). Settlement pattern of the Irish (6:14). Man plows field (6:21). Cars drive down city street (6:27). Congregants exit a church (6:37). Industrial factory (6:44). Woman hangs laundry from a tenement building in New York City’s Lower East Side (6:50). Tenement buildings, roadside market, and Italian American Grocery storefront (6:54). Pedestrians walk through the street market (7:03). Sign for E. Rossi’s Italian-American library store on Mulberry Street and the Corner of Hester Street - located in what is today known as the neighborhood Little Italy (7:08). Mandarin characters and writing on Wing Woh Lung Co. store sign in Chinatown (7:08). Hebrew writing on shop sign (7:10). Sign for American Russian Slavonic Democratic Club Inc. (7:13). Spanish language sign (7:14). Potato market stall (7:15). Elderly man reads Hebrew language newspaper (7:23). Women and children loiter on street (7:28). Congregants exit a church (7:32). News papers in different languages displayed side by side (7:37). Trade union agency (7:50). House of Representatives bill H.R. 7995 from 1924 to limit immigration (8:01). Illustrated map of the world - new proportional breakdowns of immigration in accordance with the new law (8:15). Map of the United States discusses immigration by Mexican, Caribbean, and Canadian immigrants (8:47). Pedestrians walk on sidewalk (9:12). Montage of portraits of various people who work various jobs (9:15). American school system (9:29). Building for U.S. Department of Justice: Immigration and Naturalization Service (9:59). Immigrants sworn in as citizens (10:05). Statue of Liberty (10:21). We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.“ This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit
