State Historical Society of Iowa
Since its earliest days as part of the United States, Iowa has a long history of being a destination for those from other countries to find a new home. Such newcomers are called immigrants. A special class of those are people fleeing wars, persecution or other dangers from their former homes. These immigrants are termed "refugees." Like the larger class of immigrants, Iowa has confronted both the challenges and opportunities of accepting new arrivals as permanent residents.
In the 19th century, there were few restrictions on traveling to America. While most Mormons were not from foreign countries, thousands of Latter Day Saints made their way across southern Iowa when they were forced out of their homes in Nauvoo, Illinois, following the assassination of their leader Joseph Smith. Most did not stay but continued their trek across the Great Plains to Utah. During the same years, many German families were arriving in the Mississippi River towns of Davenport, Clinton and Dubuque. Conservative governments in the German states were threatening those who had participated in revolutions or who advocated for greater democracy. In response, many migrated to the Midwest and created strong pockets of German culture. Irish families facing starvation when the potato beetle destroyed the staple of the Irish diet arrived in Iowa to start new lives. Religious and political persecution in the Netherlands and Hungary also led to refugee flights to Iowa.
Poverty and persecution continued to propel European populations to seek new homes. Until the end of the 19th century, most immigrants to Iowa had come from northern European countries, especially Germany, Ireland, Scandinavia and the British Isles. However, in the 1890s and for some 30 years after, southern and eastern Europe immigration rapidly increased. Because free or cheap lands had already been settled, most of these arrivals headed for the cities in the eastern states. While they might not have been under immediate threats, poverty and the lack of opportunity had motivated them to seek new homes. In Iowa, Czechs, Italians, Croats, Welsh, British and Swedes entered the coal mines.
A new term emerged in the American vocabulary following World War I: "Displaced Persons." The DPS, as they were called, had been in the path of invading armies, sometimes facing starvation when crops or other livelihoods were destroyed. Americans welcomed some, but there were those who feared that the numbers of newcomers were changing the face of the nation. In 1923, a Federal Immigration Act put strict quotas on the numbers of immigrants from southern and eastern European countries and barred Asian and other non-white races from entering the country.
In the 1960s, civil wars and other disruptions forced many to flee their homes. In the early 1970s, Iowa Governor Robert Ray took a courageous stand to begin a resettlement program for Vietnamese and Laotian families who had been caught up in those nations' conflicts. He encouraged churches and other social agencies to sponsor refugee families and help them learn the language and culture and get jobs. Bosnian refugees to Iowa later received local assistance when they needed to get away from genocides in their homelands as did refugees from several African countries.
In most of the cases above, the refugees arrived through legal channels established by Congress. The immigrant problem of today centers around those who cross America's borders illegally and sometimes live here for years without proper identification. Many have fled poverty or violence, especially from Mexico and Central America, and have applied as refugees. A particular problem concerns those whose parents brought them here as children and the United States is the only country they have ever known. Should they be allowed to remain or does that encourage others to challenge immigration restrictions? As long as the United States becomes a target for those seeking a better life, the nation will have to establish laws for who can live here, whether as immigrants or refugees.
| Refugees in America Source Set Teaching Guide |
| Refugees in America Source Set Teaching Guide Printable Image and Document Guide |
This photograph was taken in Mount Ayr, located in southeast Iowa, in 1918. The image shows refugees from Europe taking part in a sewing class.
This photograph shows two young junior members of the American Red Cross in Des Moines, Iowa. The two children are packing clothing for refugees during World War II.
This small featured piece in The Detroit Tribune is calling on Hebrews and Christians to help aid the 900,000+ Arab refugees. The article is asking for $100.00 in aid from sympathetic readers.
This document is President Gerald Ford's statement to the press. In it he says, "We are seeing a great human tragedy as untold numbers of Vietnamese flee the North Vietnamese onslaught. The United States has been doing and will continue to do its...
This memo is from Daniel Parker to Theodore Marrs, Special Assistant to the President for Human Resources. Parker, director of the State Department's Agency for International Development, recommended the release of funds to begin airlifting 2,000 Viet...
This photograph shows Vietnamese babies and small children aboard an airplane bound for the United States as part of Operation Babylift, which was the name given to the mass evacuation of children from South Vietnam to the U.S. and other countries at the ...
The source is a transcription of Iowa Governor Robert Ray's speech in front of the U.S. House of Representatives' subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and International Law in 1979. Ray spoke on his feelings of moral obligation for resettling Ta...
This document is of the resolution passed by the Republican Governors Association regarding a rising humanitarian crisis in Cambodia in 1979. In the resolution, the Republican Governors Association states that they support the efforts of the U.S. governme...
This magazine advertisement was created by The National Cambodia Crisis Committee and states that "Your Dollar Will Help Keep A People From Dying." In the crisis campaign ad, the committee is asking for funding to help starving Cambodians they s...
This article from the Greenbelt Cooperator, a newspaper in Greenbelt, Maryland, highlighted a new program from the National Refugee Service that will start in Greenbelt with the arrival of 15 refugee children for two weeks from late July to early August i...
This article from the Greenbelt Cooperator, a newspaper in Greenbelt, Maryland, and features 15 refugee children who came to the town. The children were between eight and 12 years old and they came Prussia, Vienna, Nuremberg, Frankfort and Breslau. The ch...
This article was published in the Greenbelt Cooperator, a newspaper in Greenbelt, Maryland. Fifteen refugee children from Europe were visiting Greenbelt for the summer, and the article covered some of the many activities the children were involved in whil...
This document is a memo from attorney E.L. Colton to Iowa Governor Robert Ray. In the memo, Colton said that he gave money to Vietnam refugees and that he would like to do the same for Cuban refugees who were being persecuted under Fidel Castro's regime.
This letter is from Iowan Mrs. John Stuhr to Iowa Governor Robert Ray in 1980. Stuhr is from Council Bluffs, and she is writing the governor to express her disapproval of the state's support of southeast Asian refugee resettlement in Iowa.
This letter was written by Iowan Mrs. Ronald Knode to Iowa Governor Robert Ray in 1980. In the letter, Knode disapproved of the state's resettlement of Tai Dam refugees.
This political cartoon published in 2015 illustrates the divide in American attitudes regarding refugees.
Condolence letters are routinely written by presidents when a military member loses their life. This condolence letter from President Gerald Ford was written to the parents of Army Sergeant Kenneth E. Nance, who was killed in a plane crash while attemptin...
This U.S. House resolution, which was introduced on July 14, 2016, called for the suspension, and subsequent termination of the admission of certain refugees into the United States. The resolution, also titled, "Resettlement Accountability National S...
This controversial Executive Order 13780 from President Donald Trump, also titled, "Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States" and known as the "travel ban," placed limits on travel to the U.S. from cert...
This memo from the International Committee of the Red Cross was directed at foreign workers near the Thai-Cambodian border. The document advised them of a number of diseases on the rise near that location, such as malaria, hepatitis, polio, cholera and tu...
This website is for the Women's Refugee Commission, an organization that works to improve the lives and protect the rights of women, children and youth displaced by conflict and crisis. This nonprofit is a leading expert on the needs of refugee women and children.
This nonprofit media campaign website seeks to educate the world of the Syrian Conflict. This website includes video, pictures and articles to inform the public about the atrocities and human rights abuses occurring in the present-day Syria.
This online resource focuses on the work to help "internally displaced people" through the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Listed below are the Iowa Core Social Studies content anchor standards that are best reflected in this source set. The content standards applied to this set are elementary-age level and encompass the key disciplines that make up social studies for seventh-grade students.
| No. | Standard Description |
| SS.7.13. | Identify social, political and economic factors that can influence our thoughts and behavior. |
| SS.7.15. | Distinguish and apply the powers and responsibilities of global citizens, interest groups and the media in a variety of governmental and nongovernmental contexts. (21st century skills) |
| SS.7.21. | Evaluate the push and pull factors involved in human population movement and patterns. |
| SS.7.24. | Analyze connections among historical events and developments in contemporary global issues. |
| SS.7.25 | Explain how and why perspectives on various contemporary issues have changed over time. |
| SS.7.26. | Explain multiple causes and effects of various contemporary global events and developments |
| SS.7.27 | Analyze the role that Iowa plays in contemporary global issues. |
