Expired A Union of Hope: Immigration & American Identity in Civil War–Era New York

How did the lived experiences of immigrant and Black New Yorkers intersect in the Civil War era—and what does that reveal about the roots of US immigration law and American identity? Join this full-day professional learning workshop for NYCDOE K–12 educators to explore these questions through a conversation with leading historians, immersive museum experiences, and classroom-ready resources. The day includes a featured conversation with historian Dr. Kevin Kenny (NYU) and Tenement Museum Lead Research Fellow Marquis Taylor (Northwestern), along with a primary source workshop drawing on NYCDOE materials including Hidden Voices and the NYC Social Studies Scope and Sequence.

Bringing the history to life, participants will engage in immersive tours of three historically recreated tenement apartments, comparing the lived experiences of an Irish family, a German family, and a Black family navigating a rapidly changing, post–Civil War New York of the 1870s. Presented by the Tenement Museum and the NYCDOE Department of Social Studies and Civics, this workshop is the first in a spring series examining key moments in NYC’s—and the nation’s—immigration history, through the stories of everyday New Yorkers whose experiences illuminate enduring questions of identity, rights, and belonging.