Americanization and "The Settlement" : Jewish Immigration to Milwaukee, 1880-1920

Abstract

Between 1880s and 1920 massive waves of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe began to flood the shores of the United States. As an extent of this immigration, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, began to grow--creating a diverse mix of German-Jewish and Russian-Jewish immigrants. It was during these years that the "Settlement House" was created and thrived under the direction of Lizzie Black Kander, the "Jane Addams of Milwaukee." This essay will examine the process Kander and the rest of the Settlement House staff took to Americanize the Russian-Jewish immigrants during this time period, and the ultimate success they had.