Immigration & Emigration

Apprenticeship in the United States. (n.d.). Economic History Association. Retrieved September 19, 2022, from https://eh.net/encyclopedia/apprenticeship-in-the-united-states/

British Ship SARAH passenger list. (n.d.). Ralston Genealogy. Retrieved September 19, 2022, from http://www.ralstongenealogy.com/saralist.htm

Chadfield, P. B. (1862). Out at sea; or, the emigrant afloat: Being a handbook of practical information for the use of passengers on a long sea voyage (3rd ed.). Chadfield & Son. https://digital.sl.nsw.gov.au/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?embedded=true&toolbar=false&dps_pid=IE3710017

City of Glasgow, Inman Line. (n.d.). Norway Heritage. Retrieved September 19, 2022, from http://www.norwayheritage.com/p_ship.asp?sh=cigla

Crampton, M. (2016). Human cargo: Stories & songs of emigration, slavery and transportation. Muddler Books.

Hurst, J. (1967). Lawyers in American society, 1750–1966. Marquette Law Review, 50(4), 594–606. https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2502&context=mulr

MacGregor, G. (n.d.). City of Glasgow – Tod & MacGregor Shiplist. Retrieved February 5, 2022, from http://www.gregormacgregor.com/Tod&Macgregor/City_of_Glasgow_73.htm

Roos, D. (n.d.). America’s first immigration law tried (and failed) to deal with nightmarish sea journeys. HISTORY. Retrieved February 5, 2022, from https://www.history.com/news/immigration-act-1819-steerage-ships

Shipboard: The 19th century emigrant experience – Class distinctions. (n.d.). State Library of New South Wales. https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/stories/shipboard-19th-century-emigrant-experience/class-distinctions

Steerage passengers – Emigrants between decks. (n.d.). Norway Heritage. Retrieved February 5, 2022, from http://www.norwayheritage.com/steerage.htm

STEM Connection: Migration, Transportation Engineering & Population Science

This group of sources offers a STEM-rich exploration of how transatlantic migration in the 19th century was shaped by emerging technologies, shifting demographics, and evolving infrastructure—and how these, in turn, reshaped societies.

Transportation Engineering & Naval Architecture: The voyages on ships like the City of Glasgow or the SARAH illustrate key advances in steam engine technology, hull design, and maritime engineering. Students can research how propulsion systems transitioned from sail to steam, calculate voyage times under different weather conditions, or use scale drawings to evaluate the efficiency of steerage configurations versus upper-class accommodations. These comparisons support lessons in mechanical engineering, hydrodynamics, and ergonomics.

Population Studies & Data Science: Emigration records offer real-world datasets for analyzing population shifts. Teachers can guide students in tracking migration patterns, calculating net population growth in port cities, or simulating how immigration impacted labor markets and urban development. Using GIS tools, learners can map routes, overlay census data, and visualize the demographic impact of laws like the 1819 Immigration Act.

Health & Sanitation Engineering: Long sea voyages introduced engineering challenges related to air quality, waste disposal, and disease prevention—an opening to study early biostatistics and public health. Students might analyze cholera outbreaks aboard ships and propose improvements based on modern sanitation standards. For a hands-on activity, they could redesign a steerage deck with better ventilation and separation based on current public health codes.

Physics & Economics of Ship Travel: Concepts like buoyancy, displacement, and load-bearing capacity can be taught through models of emigrant ships. Teachers might combine physics and economics by calculating how much cargo and how many passengers a ship could carry profitably without compromising safety—a real-world STEM integration that merges science, math, and history.

In short, this migration unit invites educators to move beyond the emotional narrative of the immigrant journey to explore the technological, mathematical, and scientific systems that made—and constrained—movement in the 19th century. It's a perfect platform for interdisciplinary teaching rooted in both human and machine stories.