​Trenton in an Era of Rapid Change

Between the end of the Civil War and the 1920s Trenton underwent tremendous social change as its industrial economy grew.  From 1870 through 1920 the U.S. Census recorded no less than 20 percent of Trenton's population as foreign born reaching 25 percent in 1920. In 1900 English, German, and Irish immigrants together represented 70 percent of Trenton's foreign-born residents, while in 1920 these groups were only 23 percent of foreign-born Trentonians. Immigrants from Czech-Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Russia were about half of all foreign-born residents with Italian immigrants adding almost another quarter. ​

As was the case across the nation, Trenton's foreign-born residents, particularly those from Eastern Europe and Italy, found it difficult to be accepted as American, even after years of living in the United States, becoming a naturalized citizen, and speaking English. An analysis of employment records from the Roebling wire works factories in the late 1910s and early 1920s illustrates this and places this in the context of nativism of the time. 

​This analysis is described in this recording, addressing the question “Why are some workers who emigrated to the United States considered 'American' while others were not?" and "How was the process of becoming American influenced by public attitudes and the political circumstances of the day?"​​

in the fall semester of the 2022-2023 academic year, students in Dr. Elizabeth Borland's applied sociology course at The College of New Jersey analyzed the same data to further explore the experiences of immigrant workers in Trenton's Roebling factories. Their report included both statistical information, profiles of selected workers, and lesson plan outlines for using the worker records in classroom instruction. One of the participating students, Rachel Lee, created a detailed lesson plan for elementary and high school students.