Analyzing Charts, Graphs and Tables
Text Version

Step 1: Observe the table; write down your observations.
This is a table about immigration in 1902 and 1903.
There was a big jump in immigration between 1902 and 1903.
Immigration seems to have been growing steadily since 1898.
Most immigrants were coming from Southern and Eastern Europe.
Some of the information in the table is negative. For instance, the figure about the “number of illiterates” is about people who cannot read or write. There is also a number for people who were “debarred” from entrance. That means people who were not allowed to enter the U.S.

Step 2: Reflect upon the table; write down your reflections.
This table has notes from the Library of Congress that say it's from the Immigration Restriction League. The word “restriction” makes me think the organization was against immigration. Is that why the table includes data about the “number of illiterates”?
It seems like this table was meant to make people afraid of immigrants. Did a lot of immigrants from countries in Southern and Eastern Europe make people worry? Did the people who made the table want to stop immigration?

Step 3: Ask additional questions about the table.
What was the Immigration Restriction League and why did they make this table? Where was this table published? Did the data change in the next year?

Further Investigation
(What additional questions do you have about the table based on your analysis of it?)
I will need to research more about the Immigration Restriction League. What other kinds of data did they publish?