A.P. Giannini and Irene Gaines
Main theme: Beginning around 1880, a new group of migrants reached the U.S—members of this group began their voyages in Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and in Southern and Eastern Europe. Americans living in the south also began another migration, this one to northern cities. African Americans residing in the South were among the poorest Americans, and they enjoyed few of the protections of law and courts. For most European and African Americans, adult life consisted of mastering the problem of finding work. Those migrants, wherever their journeys began, lived their material, emotional, political, and social lives just as we do–by “raising” families, “getting” a living, buying and selling property, and migrating. Here’s an additional idea to consider: Migrants did not seek some “American Dream.” Instead, a way of life (wherever they resided) was coming to an end—and they departed in search of jobs and modest, secure lives for themselves and loved ones.
What were the factors that shaped the lives of A.P. Giannini and Irene Gaines? What were the chances for European American men and African American women to alter their physical and social circumstances, within the historical contexts in which they resided?
