Social and Economic Reform in Britain

Transcription

1 SECTION 2 Step-by-Step ion v Objectives As you teach this section, keep students focused on the following objectives to help them answer the Section Focus Question and master core content. Identify the social and economic reforms benefiting British workers and others. Describe how British women worked to win the right to vote. Understand the causes of conflict between the British and the Irish nationalists. Prepare to Read Build Background Knowledge Ask students to recall that Britain had social divisions as well as political divisions. Have them predict whether the reforms discussed in the previous section will heal those divisions. Set a Purpose WITNESS HISTORY Read the selection aloud or play the audio. AUDIO Witness History Audio CD, No Surrender Ask What was Lady Lytton trying to achieve? (winning suffrage for women) How would you evaluate her commitment to this cause? (high; she was willing to be arrested and to go on strike) Focus Point out the Section Focus Question and write it on the board. Tell students to refer to this question as they read. (Answer appears with Section 2 Assessment answers). Preview Have students preview the Section Objectives and the list of Terms, People, and Places. Reading Skill Have students use the Reading Strategy: Categorize worksheet. Teaching Resources, Unit 3, p. 48 As students read, have them fill in the chart listing reforms in Britain. Reading and Note Taking Study Guide, p Objectives Vocabulary Builder Use the information below and the following resources to teach the high-use word from this section. Teaching Resources, Unit 3, p. 47; Teaching Resources, Skills Handbook, p. 3 High-Use Word drastic, p. 367 Reforms in Britain Economic Social Political WITNESS HISTORY Social and Economic Reform in Britain Identify the social and economic reforms benefiting British workers and others. Describe how British women worked to win the right to vote. Understand the causes of conflict between the British and the Irish nationalists. Terms, People, and Places free trade repeal abolition movement capital offense Forced feeding of English suffragist, 1912 penal colony absentee landlord home rule Reading Skill: Categorize Complete a chart like this one listing the reforms in Britain during the 1800s and early 1900s. Definition and Sample Sentence adj. severe, harsh, extreme During the sailing trip, the weather took a drastic turn, going from sunny to stormy in a matter of minutes. AUDIO No Surrender Lady Constance Lytton had been arrested for taking part in a women s suffrage protest. Once arrested, she refused to eat. Her hunger strike, she vowed, would go on until the British government granted the vote to women. Lytton later recalled: I was visited again by the Senior Medical Officer, who asked me how long I had been without food. I said I had eaten... on Friday at about midnight. He said, Oh, then, this is the fourth day; that is too long, I shall feed you, I must feed you at once. Constance Lytton, Prisons and Prisoners In the end, the doctor force-fed Lytton through a tube. Yet the painful ordeal failed to weaken her resolve. No surrender, she whispered. No surrender. Focus Question What social and economic reforms were passed by the British Parliament during the 1800s and early 1900s? Lytton s 1910 hunger strike was part of the long struggle for women s suffrage in Britain. Suffragists were not the only people to fight for change. Between 1815 and 1914, Parliament responded to widespread discontent with a series of social and economic reforms. At the same time, the question of British control over Ireland was becoming a dominant and divisive political issue. A Series of Reforms During the early and mid-1800s, Parliament passed a wide variety of important new laws. One of the most controversial measures involved the issue of free trade, or trade between countries without quotas, tariffs, or other restrictions. Free Trade and the Corn Laws In the early 1800s, Britain, like other European nations, taxed foreign imports in order to protect local economies. But supporters of free trade demanded an end to such protective tariffs. Free traders, usually middle-class business leaders, agreed with Adam Smith that a policy of laissez faire would increase prosperity for all. If tariffs were abolished, merchants everywhere would have larger markets in which to sell their goods, and consumers would benefit from open competition. Some British tariffs were repealed in the 1820s. However, fierce debate erupted over the Corn Laws, which imposed high tariffs on imported grain. (In Britain, corn refers to all cereal grains, such 364 Growth of Western Democracies

2 as wheat, barley, and oats.) Farmers and wealthy landowners supported the Corn Laws because they kept the price of British grain high. Free traders, however, wanted Parliament to repeal, or cancel, the Corn Laws. They argued that repeal of these laws would lower the price of grain, make bread cheaper for workers, and open up trade in general. Parliament finally repealed the Corn Laws in 1846, after widespread crop failures swept many parts of Europe. Liberals hailed the repeal as a victory for free trade and laissez-faire capitalism. However, in the late 1800s, economic hard times led Britain and other European countries to impose protective tariffs on many goods again. Campaign Against Slavery During the 1700s, Enlightenment thinkers had turned the spotlight on the evils of the slave trade. At the time, British ships were carrying more Africans to the Americas than any other European country. Under pressure from middle-class reformers in Britain, France, and the United States, the abolition movement, or the campaign against slavery and the slave trade, slowly took off. In 1807, Britain became the first European power to abolish the slave trade. Banning the slave trade did not end slavery. Although the Congress of Vienna had condemned slavery, it had taken no action. In Britain, liberals preached the immorality of slavery. Finally, in 1833, Parliament passed a law banning slavery in all British colonies. Crime and Punishment Other reforms were aimed at the criminal justice system. In the early 1800s, more than 200 crimes were punishable by death. Such capital offenses included not only murder but also shoplifting, sheep stealing, and impersonating an army veteran. In practice, some juries refused to convict criminals, because the punishments were so harsh. Executions were public occasions, and the hanging of a well-known murderer might attract thousands of curious spectators. Afterward, instead of receiving a proper burial, the criminal s body might be given to a medical college for dissection. Reformers began to reduce the number of capital offenses. By 1850, the death penalty was reserved for murder, piracy, treason, and arson. Many petty criminals were instead transported to penal colonies, or settlements for convicts, in the new British territory of Australia. In 1868, Parliament ended public hangings. Additional reforms improved prison conditions and outlawed imprisonment due to debt. How did abolition and criminal justice reform reflect Victorian values? Victories for the Working Class Four [ghosts] haunt the Poor: Old Age, Accident, Sickness and Unemployment, declared Liberal politician David Lloyd George in We are going to [expel] them. Parliament had begun passing laws aimed at improving social conditions as early as the 1840s. During the early 1900s, it passed a series of additional reforms designed to help the men, women, and children whose labor supported the new industrial society. Improving Working Conditions As you have read, working conditions in the early industrial age were grim and often dangerous. Gradually, Parliament passed laws to regulate conditions in factories and mines. In 1842, for example, mineowners were forbidden to employ Solutions for All Learners L1 Special Needs L2 Less Proficient Readers Tell students that the 1800s was a century of reform for Great Britain. To help students identify the changes, have them chart the reforms discussed in this section on a timeline. Have them use different areas of the timeline or different colors for political, economic, and social reforms. Then have students use their charts to summarize how these reforms changed Britain. Abolitionist Poster Abolitionists hoped that ending the slave trade would also bring about the end of slavery. As this poster shows, even ending slavery did not end the economic mistreatment of people of African descent. Use the following study guide resources to help students acquiring basic skills. Adapted Reading and Note Taking Study Guide Adapted Note Taking Study Guide, p. 124 Adapted Section Summary, p. 125 Teach A Series of Reforms Introduce: Key Terms Ask students to find the key term free trade (in blue) and explain its meaning. Ask How did mercantilism differ from free trade? (In mercantilism, governments blocked colonies from trading with other countries and put tariffs on imported goods, while in free trade there were no restrictions.) Teach Reinforce the key term free trade. Explain that tariffs raise prices on imported goods, because they add a tax to them. With those goods at a higher price, domestic producers can charge relatively high prices, too. Then ask Which British social classes in the 1800s would benefit from the elimination of tariffs? Why? (the middle class, which included the people who carried out trade; the working class and the poor who would gain from lower food prices) Which social class would be hurt? Why? (the upper class, who would get lower prices for the grain produced on their land) Quick Activity Divide the class into small groups and ask each group to choose one issue in British society, such as free trade or capital punishment. Have each group write a dialogue on the issue between someone advocating reform and someone advocating the status quo. Have volunteers perform their dialogue for the class. Write the following sentence on the board: The political, social, and economic reforms of the early 1800s in Britain show the growing power of the middle class. Have students write a paragraph explaining this statement. As students fill in their charts, circulate to make sure they understand the effects of Britain s social, economic, and political reforms. For a completed version of the chart, see Note Taking Transparencies, 157 Answer Both reforms were driven by a sense of morality and duty. Chapter 11 Section 2 365

3 Victories for the Working Class Introduce Read aloud the quote from Lloyd George that opens this subsection. Ask Why did George say that these problems haunt the Poor? (He is saying that these problems linger and scare.) Ask students to predict what steps they think the government could take to expel these ghosts. Teach Ask students to explain what a strike is. (a refusal to do something until demands are met) Then ask Why would the British make trade unions legal but not allow strikes? (The government feared that strikes would hurt industries or the economy too much.) Ask them to list the other reforms aimed at the working class. (improved working conditions, free elementary school for all, social welfare laws) Ask Why do you think the government pointed to the reforms as proof that democracy worked? (Sample: It showed it was possible to change society without a violent revolution.) Quick Activity Direct students attention to the Trades Union Conference pin on the next page. To help students learn about the role of unions, have them suppose they are a British worker who joins the Trades Union Conference. Ask them to write a diary entry in which the worker expresses his or her feelings about wearing the pin for the first time. Have them address how a union could be more effective at winning rights than an individual worker. Primary Source To help students better understand the life of the working class in the Victorian Age, have them read the selection London Street Markets and complete the worksheet. Teaching Resources, Unit 3, p. 50 Riots in Hyde Park, London An 1866 meeting of the Reform League in London dissolved into rioting. Riots such as these helped bring about the Second Reform Bill in women or children under age 10. An 1847 law limited women and children to a 10-hour day. Later in the 1800s, the government regulated many safety conditions in factories and mines and sent inspectors to see that the laws were enforced. Other laws set minimum wages and maximum hours of work. The Growth of Labor Unions Early in the Industrial Revolution, labor unions were outlawed. Under pressure, government and business leaders slowly accepted worker organizations. Trade unions were made legal in 1825 but it remained illegal to go on strike until later in the century. Despite restrictions, unions spread, and gradually they won additional rights. Between 1890 and 1914, union membership soared. Besides winning higher wages and shorter hours for workers, unions pressed for other laws to improve the lives of the working class. Later Reforms During the late 1800s and early 1900s, both political parties enacted social reforms to benefit the working class. Disraeli sponsored laws to improve public health and housing for workers in cities. Under Gladstone, an education act called for free elementary education for all children. Gladstone also pushed to open up government jobs based on merit rather than on birth or wealth. Another force for reform was the Fabian Society, a socialist organization founded in The Fabians promoted gradual change through legal means rather than by violence. Though small in number, the Fabians had a strong influence on British politics. In 1900, socialists and union members backed the formation of a new political party, which became the Labour Party. ( Labour is the British spelling of labor. ) The Labour Party would quickly grow in power and membership until, by the 1920s, it surpassed the Liberal Party and became one of Britain s two major parties. To review this section, ask students to reread the black headings and summarize Solutions for All Learners the information under each heading. L4 Advanced Readers L4 Gifted and Talented William Wilberforce, a British politician, worked tirelessly to end the slave trade and slavery. As a member of the House of Commons, he helped found the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade, which achieved its reform in He later worked to abolish slavery itself, though he did not live to see the feat. He died a month before slavery ended in Remind students that reform movements are typically led by such passionate people as Wilberforce. Have them choose a reform movement from this section and research one of its prominent figures. Then ask them to write an obituary for their chosen reformer. Ensure they include a brief biography of the reformer and discuss the reformer s efforts and influence. 366 Growth of Western Democracies

4 In the early 1900s, Britain began to pass social welfare laws to protect the well-being of the poor and disadvantaged. These laws were modeled on those Bismarck had introduced in Germany. They protected workers with accident, health, and unemployment insurance as well as old-age pensions. One result of such reforms was that Marxism gained only limited support among the British working class. The middle class hailed reforms as proof that democracy was working. Describe several social welfare reforms during the 1800s and early 1900s. The Struggle to Win Votes for Women In Britain, as elsewhere, women struggled against strong opposition for the right to vote. Women themselves were divided on the issue. Some women opposed suffrage altogether. Queen Victoria, for example, called the suffrage struggle mad, wicked folly. Even women in favor of suffrage disagreed about how best to achieve it. Suffragists Revolt By the early 1900s, Emmeline Pankhurst, a leading suffragist, had become convinced that only aggressive tactics would bring victory. Pankhurst and other radical suffragists interrupted speakers in Parliament, shouting, Votes for women! until they were carried away. They collected petitions and organized huge public demonstrations. When mass meetings and other peaceful efforts brought no results, some women turned to more drastic, violent protest. They smashed windows or even burned buildings. Pankhurst justified such tactics as necessary to achieve victory. There is something that governments care far more for than human life, she declared, and that is the security of property, so it is through property that we shall strike the enemy. As you have read, some suffragists went on hunger strikes, risking their lives to achieve their goals. Victory at Last Even middle-class women who disapproved of such radical and violent actions increasingly demanded votes for women. Still, Parliament refused to grant women s suffrage. Not until 1918 did Parliament finally grant suffrage to women over age 30. Younger women did not win the right to vote for another decade. gain suffrage? History Background Why do you think women disagreed about how best to Instability in Ireland Throughout the 1800s, Britain faced the ever-present Irish question. The English had begun conquering Ireland in the 1100s. In the 1600s, English and Scottish settlers colonized Ireland, taking possession of much of the best farmland. The Irish never accepted English rule. They bitterly resented settlers, especially absentee landlords who owned large estates but did not live on them. Many Irish peasants lived in desperate poverty, while paying high rents to landlords living in England. In addition, the Irish, most of whom were Catholic, had to pay tithes to support the Church of England. Under these conditions, resistance and rebellion were common. Fighting Hunger Strikes As the Witness History feature at the beginning of this section showed, the British government took extreme steps with the women who went on hunger strikes for the cause of suffrage. The reason was simple: the last thing the government wanted was to see a suffragist die in prison. Such an outcome, leaders feared, would produce a martyr and persuade more women to support A pin from the British Trades Union Conference (above) and a Liberal Party poster from 1911 Vocabulary Builder drastic (DRAS tik) adj. severe, harsh, extreme the cause. Along with force-feeding, the government passed the Cat and Mouse Act. This law allowed prison officials to release a prisoner to stop her hunger strike. But the government was not going to let women protestors completely off. Once the woman had regained strength, the law said, police could arrest her again. The Struggle to Win Votes for Women Introduce Remind students of the Witness History feature at the beginning of this section. Using the Idea Wave strategy (TE, p. T22), ask students if they think Lady Lytton and other supporters of women s suffrage went too far when they used hunger strikes to support their cause. After students have discussed the issue briefly, explain that Queen Victoria opposed suffrage and said that giving women the right to vote was mad, wicked folly. Ask students whether that information changes their view of the hunger strikers. Teach Trace the developments of the suffrage movement. Ask What tactics did suffragists first try? (collecting petitions and organizing huge public demonstrations) Why did Pankhurst and others take more drastic steps? (The earlier methods had not worked.) Who was Pankhurst thinking of when she talked about the enemy? (the government; the people who opposed suffrage) Have students take the role of a 25-yearold suffragist in First, ask them to decide whether or not they would support the suffrage law passed that year, which granted the right to vote only to women over 30. Then, have them write a speech urging other suffragists to either support or dismiss the law. Have students present the speeches. As students present their speeches, listen to ensure their speech is persuasive. Some students may think that partial suffrage is a good first step, as men had also received the right to vote in incremental steps. Others might advocate that younger women should be given the right as well. Answers Sample: Laws that improved public health and housing for workers, provided for free elementary education for all children, and protected the well-being of the poor and disadvantaged. Sample: Large groups of people often include people who have many different views, even if they share the same goal. Chapter 11 Section 2 367

5 Instability in Ireland Introduce Have students look at a map of Great Britain. Ask Why might the English believe that Ireland should belong to Great Britain? (Ireland is in the same area as Great Britain, which once conquered it.) Teach Discuss Ireland s struggle for self-rule. Why did the Irish reject English rule? (They resented living in poverty while paying high rents to absentee landlords. Mostly Catholic, the Irish resented being forced to pay money to the Church of England.) Quick Activity Refer students to the Infographic. Have students list the major effects of the Irish Potato Famine (starvation, disease, emigration). Then play the Witness History selection, from George Bernard Shaw s 1903 play, Man and Superman. Have pairs of students discuss why Malone calls this period a starvation and not a famine. AUDIO Witness History Audio CD, The Irish Potato Famine Show students The Great Hunger in Ireland from the Witness History Discovery School video program. Ask them to explain why the Great Hunger caused Irish resentment toward the British. Primary Source To help students better understand the Great Hunger, have them read the selection A Lecture on the Causes of the Irish Famine. Teaching Resources, Unit 3, p. 51 Have students fill in the Outline Map Great Britain and Ireland, About Teaching Resources, Unit 3, p. 54 Circulate to make sure students are filling in their Outline Maps accurately. Check Reading and Note Taking Study Guide entries for student understanding. Limited Relief Measures Charles Trevelyan, the senior British official in charge of Irish relief efforts, held ruthless views of the Irish, insisting that they learn to depend upon themselves instead of the assistance of the Government on every occasion. 1. Graph Skills Which decade saw the greatest number of emigrants from Ireland? 2. Draw Conclusions Do you think the Irish famine was more accurately described as a natural disaster or a human-made disaster? Why? Connect to Our World INFOGRAPHIC Under British rule, three quarters of Irish farmland was used to grow crops that were exported. The potato was the main source of food for most of the Irish people. In 1845, disaster struck. A blight, or disease, destroyed the potato crop. Other crops, such as wheat and oats, were not affected. Yet British landowners continued to ship these crops outside Ireland, leaving little for the Irish except the blighted potatoes. The result was a terrible famine that the Irish called the Great Hunger. In four years, about one million Irish men, women, and children died of starvation or disease. Many more emigrated to the United States and Canada. The Great Hunger left a legacy of Irish bitterness toward the English. Tumbled Houses and Eviction Unable to grow potatoes to sell or eat, thousands of penniless tenants were evicted from their homes by landlords who needed the rent to pay their taxes. The roofs of the peasants homes were tumbled, or removed, to prevent the tenants from returning. Human Suffering One official told of entering what he thought was a deserted village. In one home, he saw six famished and ghastly skeletons, to all appearances dead huddled in a corner on some filthy straw. I approached with horror and found by a low moaning they were alive they were in a fever, four children, a woman and what had once been a man. AUDIO Answers Sample: a human-made disaster; although the potato crops were ruined by nature, people starved because remaining food supplies were exported for money. 368 Growth of Western Democracies Civic Responsibility Americans from all walks of life rushed to the aid of the starving Irish. Catholic churches, Jewish synagogues, and women s groups worked to raise funds. The U.S. government waived tolls on supplies heading for Ireland. The Choctaw people, whose own forced relocation in the 1830s resulted in great hardship and many deaths, identified with the plight of the Irish. Still recovering from food shortages of their own, the Choctaws contributed over $700 a large sum of money in the 1840s. Those who organized relief efforts were working for the common good, or benefit, of society. People help their communities in a variety of ways, including serving on a jury, voting in elections, or volunteering at a library. It is a key responsibility of every citizen to behave in ways that serve their communities.

6 Irish Nationalism Like the national minorities in the Austrian empire, Irish nationalists campaigned vigorously for freedom and justice in the 1800s. Nationalist leader Daniel O Connell, nicknamed the Liberator, organized an Irish Catholic League and held mass meetings to demand repeal of unfair laws. My first object, declared O Connell, is to get Ireland for the Irish. Under pressure from O Connell and other Irish nationalists, Britain slowly moved to improve conditions in Ireland. In 1829, Parliament passed the Catholic Emancipation Act, which allowed Irish Catholics to vote and hold political office. Yet many injustices remained. Absentee landlords could evict tenants almost at will. Other British laws forbade the teaching and speaking of the Irish language. Struggle for Home Rule The famine in Ireland (see facing page) left the Irish with a legacy of bitterness and distrust toward Britain. In the 1850s, some Irish militants organized the Fenian Brotherhood. Its goal was to liberate Ireland from British rule by force. In the 1870s, moderate Irish nationalists found a rousing leader in Charles Stewart Parnell. He rallied Irish members of Parliament to press for home rule, or local selfgovernment. The debate dragged on for decades. The Irish question disrupted English politics. At times, political parties were so deeply split over the Irish question that they could not take care of other business. As prime minister, Gladstone pushed for reforms in Ireland. He ended the use of Irish tithe money to support the Anglican church and tried to ease the hardships of Irish tenant farmers. New laws prevented landlords from charging unfair rents and protected the rights of tenants to the land they worked. Finally, in 1914, Parliament passed a home rule bill. But it delayed putting the new law into effect when World War I broke out that year. As you will read, the southern counties of Ireland finally became independent in How did English policies toward Ireland affect the cause of Irish Nationalism? WITNESS HISTORY VIDEO Watch The Great Hunger in Ireland on the Witness History Discovery School video program to learn more about the potato famine in Ireland. Assess and Reteach Assess Progress Have students complete the Section Assessment. Administer the Section Quiz. Teaching Resources, Unit 3, p. 44 To further assess student understanding use Progress Monitoring Transparencies, 96 Reteach If students need more instruction, have them read the section summary. Reading and Note Taking Study Guide, p. 125 Extend Adapted Reading and L1 Note Taking Study Guide, p. 125 Spanish Reading and Note Taking Study Guide, p. 125 L4 See this chapter s Professional Development pages for the Extend Online activity about life in Victorian England. L2 L2 Answer 2 Terms, People, and Places 1. Place each of the key terms at the beginning of the section into these two categories: economic or political. Write a sentence for each term explaining your choice. 2. Reading Skill: Categorize Use your chart to answer the Focus Question: What social and economic reforms were passed by the British Parliament during the 1800s and early 1900s? Comprehension and Critical Thinking 3. Summarize Describe three reforms that helped the British working class. 4. Compare Points of View What actions did women suffragists take to achieve their goals? How did the views of women differ regarding tactics? 5. Identify Central Issues (a) Why did Irish nationalists oppose British rule? (b) Describe two reforms that improved conditions in Ireland. Progress Monitoring Online For: Self-quiz with vocabulary practice Web Code: nba-2323 Writing About History Quick Write: Write a Thesis Statement Write the thesis statement for an editorial written by an Irish nationalist of the late 1800s or early 1900s. First, decide whether your main goal is to win support for your cause from the Irish or to persuade members of the British Parliament. Harsh laws and the poor government response to the potato famine led many Irish people to mistrust the British and led people to support Irish nationalism. Section 2 Assessment 1. Sentences should reflect an understanding of each term, person, or place listed at the beginning of the section, as well as the proper categorization. 2. economic: repealed the Corn Laws, blocked landlords from charging unfair rents; social: ended the slave trade, reformed the criminal justice system, regulated working conditions, and provided social welfare 3. made trade unions legal, regulated working conditions, and enacted social reforms 4. Peaceful means included signing petitions and holding rallies; violent ones included smashing windows. Not all agreed drastic action was needed. 5. (a) resented absentee landlords who charged high rents, paying tithes to the Anglican church, laws that limited use of the Irish language, and British actions during the famine (b) Gladstone ended the use of Irish tithes. Other laws protected the rights of Irish tenants. Writing About History Thesis statements should clearly state a position on the question of Irish home rule and suggest reasons for the stance taken. For additional assessment, have students access Progress Monitoring Online at Web Code nba Chapter 11 Section 2 369

7 Migration Objectives Analyze the role of push and pull factors in the decision to migrate. Compare the reasons for different large-scale migrations in history. Build Background Knowledge Ask volunteers to list the reasons people have left their homelands to come to the U.S. Do they think those reasons might have led large numbers of people to make the same decision? What factors cause large groups of people to move from one place to another? In the 1800s, famine drove more than a million Irish to leave their homeland. In later years, millions more Europeans would migrate to North and South America, mainly seeking economic opportunity. Like most emigrants, they left behind their homes and cultures for a future that was uncertain at best. What drives people to take such a bold step? Motivators include poverty and unemployment, civil unrest, and natural disasters such as famine and drought. These push factors sometimes, but not always, combine with a common pull factor : the promise of a better life in the new location. Consider the following causes and historical examples of migration: Migration of refugees during the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan. Direct students attention to the question at the top of the page. (What factors cause large... to another?) Have volunteers list five of the factors why people might leave a country. (any five: poverty, unemployment, civil unrest, famine and drought, being attacked, being forced to move, persecution) How does the movement of one group of people sometimes lead another group to move? (Sample: the first group might move into the territory of the other, as when the Huns displaced the Vandals.) Have students fill in the Concept Connector worksheet on migration, which includes additional examples and critical thinking questions. Reading and Note Taking Study Guide, p. 274 Circulate to make sure that students are filling in their Concept Connector worksheets accurately. Aggression Migration played a major role in the fall of the Roman empire. It all started with the Mongols, aggressive warriors from central Asia, who attacked the Huns in the A.D. 200s. Over time, the Huns migrated westward. They pushed the Goths, a Germanic group, out of the Russian steppe and toward Roman lands. The Goths, in turn, displaced another Germanic people, the Vandals. This chain reaction or bumper car migration continued, sending wave after wave of invaders into the western Roman empire, which eventually collapsed. 1. (a) What were some possible pull factors for Irish emigrants? (b) How do the push and pull factors for voluntary migration differ from those for involuntary migration? 2. Connections to Today Use news sources to read about an example of recent migration. Write a one paragraph summary of the migration including explanations of push and/ or pull factors influencing the migration. Forced Migration European traders imposed the forced migration of some 12 million enslaved Africans from the 1500s to the 1800s. More than a million Africans died during the brutal passage across the Atlantic to the Americas. Another involuntary migration took place in the Soviet Union during the 1930s. Joseph Stalin sent millions of peasants and political opponents to forced-labor camps in Siberia and other remote areas. Many of them died or were killed in the camps. Persecution In 1948, the British granted India independence, splitting it along religious lines into India (Hindu) and Pakistan (Muslim). Hundreds of thousands died in the violence that followed. More than 7 million Muslims fled from India to Pakistan to escape persecution. More than 7 million Hindus and Sikhs migrated in the opposite direction for the same reason. Immigrants arriving in New York City. 1. (a) Sample: the chance for a better life; large amounts of land and job opportunities; religious freedom; (b) With voluntary migration, people make their own decisions the push factors might not lead all people to leave, and different migrants might be pulled to different destinations; with involuntary migration, the push to leave comes from the government or other outside forces, which might also determine where the migrants move to. 2. Summaries should present the facts of the migration and identify the push and pull factors. 370 Connect to Our World Connections to Today The United States is a nation of immigrants. Have students conduct research on the Internet to look at their own community and determine its ethnic makeup. Then ask them to interview a recent immigrant for an oral history project. Have them interview someone who just moved to this country and present their findings to the class. Reports should include the push-pull factors and any frictions that developed because of the move. Have them include a map or visual that traces the path traveled.