Turning Points
in Wisconsin History
20th-Century Immigration
From the late nineteenth century through the end of World War II, immigration policy in the United States underwent dramatic changes that helped to alter both the pace and the face of immigration. High rates of immigration in the nineteenth century sparked nativist sentiment and encouraged the introduction of restrictive legislation, particularly toward immigrants from Asia. Two World Wars and the Depression only intensified nativist and anti-immigration forces, as numerous bills in Congress advocated the suspension of immigration due to high unemployment, and even the deportation of non-Americans who experienced financial difficulties. Deportation became a particularly common theme after the... more...
Original Documents and Other Primary Sources
 | Selections from FutureHmong: Voice of the Hmong magazine, 2001-2004 |
| A survey of Milwaukee's Hispanic community, 1976 |
| A government newsletter explains American life to Southeast Asian refugees, 1975-76 |
| A guide to Hmong history and culture, 1984 |
| A 1991 meeting on racist comments toward Hmong women |
| The history and status of La Crosse's Hmong population, ca. 1984 |
| A report looks at the needs of Hmong youth |
| An assessment of the needs of minorities in La Crosse, 1987 |
| An overview of Polish immigration through 1896 |
| Polish Americans in Milwaukee start an ethnic newsletter, 1932 |
| A Made-to-Order Farm to lure settlers northward, 1921 |
| The character and activities of Bohemian immigrants, 1901 |
| A description of the early Polish immigrants to Wisconsin, 1901 |
| Fifty years of Polish settlement in Portage County, 1857-1907 |
| Czech immigrants settle in Langlade County in the 1880s |
| A rural Italian community in Cumberland |
| A little bit of Italy in Vernon County |
| The Founding of a Migrant Farm Workers' Union (1966) |
 | A resource guide to Wisconsin's Hispanic community |
| Wisconsin Holocaust survivors recall their experiences |
| Working conditions in the cherry industry, 1950 |
| A survey report of migratory labor in Wisconsin in 1962 |
| Human rights violations against migrant workers, 1950 |
| A post-season report on farm laborers, 1960 |
| Mexican-Americans in Milwaukee, 1930 |
| A brief history of migrant labor in Wisconsin |
| Wisconsin Jews are asked to support settlements in Palestine, ca. 1941 |
 | A migrant family at a Plymouth pea cannery, 1948 |
 | A task force seeks to improve life for Wisconsin's Hispanic community, 1971 |
| The state examines the mental capacity of migrant children, 1950 |
| A survey of the recreational and health services available in migrant labor camps, 1953 |
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