This student activity includes a set of archival documents from the United Shoe Machinery Corporation. These documents can be used as resources to help students investigate the relationship between industry, education, and immigration in the early 20th century.

As students explore the collection, they should consider how each document helps them answer the following questions:

-Is it in the best interests of business to encourage citizenship and education? Why or why not?

-What do these materials say about what it means to be considered "American" in the early 20th century?

tags: school, learning, English, language, migration, Ellis Island, manufacturing, Progressives