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Period: to
1860-1914
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Decision to Immigrate
On December 26th, I, Engelbert Schulze, decided to immigrate from my home country of Germany to the United States for many reasons including the deteriorating economy and my criminal records. -
Beginning Voyage
I start my three month journey to America as a steerage passenger on January 26, 1863. My experience on the boat was to say the least, unpleasant. Since I was a steerage passenger, I wasn't important to anyone, the space was way too crowded for the amount of people there, and the whole boat smelled ransid. -
First Impressions of America and Ellis Island
The first thing I see when I get off the ship is the statue of liberty. It stands representing the freedom and independence of America. I was then transported to Ellis Island where the conditions matched those of the ship. The atmosphere was dirty and it was insanely crowded. I also noticed that the inspectors were very harsh on us. I watched countless people before me get sent to the detention room. I then realized that I had to lie about my criminal record just to get accepted into America. -
Moving West
After months of roaming the streets of New York with little to no food and shelter, I decided that the only way for me to survive was to move west to start a new life and farm my own crops. I had also overheard conversations of free land in the west along with many other pull factors including the gold found in California. -
Experiences and Group in West
The group of people or settlers that I was most associated with in the west was, of course, my family. I also met some new men who had gone west in search of the gold discovered in California. (1848) My family and I had many experiences in the west such as a shortage of vital supplies and much illness. -
Other Experiences In The West
Another experience that my family and I had in the West was enocuntering Native American from The Plains Indians Tribe. -
Act That Influenced Experience In The West
My family and I arrived at our destionation in Oklahoma and because of the Homestead Act of 1862 were able to claim our land as our own. I later built a house from scratch and we became hardworking crop producers. If it weren't for the Homestead Act of 1862, my family and I would've never gotten our land and lived the life we wanted.
