A mixture of agriculture and heavy industry in Connecticut has routinely provided employment opportunities for immigrants throughout the state’s history. Waves of primarily northern European immigrants arrived on Connecticut shores during much of the 19th century. A shift in economic circumstances in Europe brought large populations of southern and eastern European immigrants well into the 20th century. Among the opportunities Connecticut offered to newly arrived immigrants was the chance to work on farms, in brass and textile mills, in iron foundries, and in firearms factories. Today, new populations arriving from all over the world, especially Latin America, have helped expand Connecticut’s cultural diversity and given rise to vibrant ethnic communities throughout the state.
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- Photograph: Casting shop employees, Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Company, ca. 1901, Waterbury – Archives & Special Collections of the University of Connecticut Libraries
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- Photograph: Hoffman Wall Paper Company in Hartford, owned by Abraham Hoffman, 1908 who immigrated to Hartford in 1898 and established his wallpaper firm in 1903 – Connecticut Historical Society
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- Document: World War I Draft Registration – Registration summary, Sharon, 1917. Lists aliens and enemy aliens – Connecticut State Library, State Archives
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- Document: Detail of the pamphlet American Ideals, “For Native-born American Women: What you can do for Americanism, ” produced by the Connecticut State Council of Defense, ca 1917-18. Click here to download the entire PDF – Connecticut State Library Digital Collections
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- Document: Detail from the article “Thousands Likely to Be Evicted in “Restricted Zone,” Bridgeport Evening Farmer, April 14, 1917 – Library of Congress, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
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- Document: World War I broadside referencing Kaiser Wilhelm’s Willing Helpers, ca. 1910-1919 from the Connecticut War Exhibit – Connecticut Historical Society
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- Photograph: During World War I French residents of Hartford gather in front of the Capitol to celebrate Bastille Day , ca. 1918 – Connecticut State Library, Dudley Photograph Collection of Hartford During World War I
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- Document: Detail of the bulletin “Suggestions and Requirements for Enemy Aliens Contained in the President’s Proclamation of War, April, 1917,” produced by the Connecticut State Council of Defense, ca. 1918. Click here to download the entire PDF – Connecticut State Library Digital Collections
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- Document: Beware of Spies and Enemy Eavesdroppers!, Connecticut State Council of Defense, ca. 1914-1918 – Connecticut State Library
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- Document: Want Ad – Cotton Mill Help from the Norwich Bulletin., July 22, 1918 – Library of Congress, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
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- Photograph: Women of the Polish Liberty Loan Committee (World War I) pose outside the Liberty Bond hut in front of the Old State House, ca. 1917-1918 – Connecticut State Library, Dudley Photograph Collection of Hartford during World War I
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- Photograph: Irish American tenor singer John McCormack seated in an automobile with his wife, singer Liley Foley, ca. 1915-1920 – Library of Congress Prints and Photograph Division
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- Photograph: Mayor’s Council Armenian Group, ca. 1920 – Connecticut Historical Society
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- Photograph: Dry Grinding Department, Collins Company, Collinsville (Canton), 1924. Employees include Italian, French, Irish, German and Polish Americans – Connecticut Historical Society
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- Map: Dominant Groups in the Total Foreign-Born Population of Each Town, Connecticut 1940, Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station – Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries
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- Photograph: Forging crew at the Fafnir Bearing Company, New Britain, Connecticut, 1943. Left to right: John Evanoswki, Polish; Charles Kocahn, Polish; Walter Velicka, Lithuanian; and Albert Zils, German-American – Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Office of War Information
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- Photograph: First-generation Americans whose parents represent Italy, Greece, and England, these three girls work side by side at the punching machine, Pioneer Parachute Company, Manchester, Connecticut, 1942 – Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
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- Photograph: Hartford Mayor George Athanson stands with former Mayor Domenick DeLucco (wearing flower in lapel) and other officials at opening of Italian-American Home of Hartford, 1975 – Hartford Public Library, Hartford History Center, Hartford Times Collection
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- Photograph: Puerto Rican parade float with replica house, Hartford, 1967 – Hartford Public Library, Hartford History Center, Hartford Times
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- Photograph: Parade with Portuguese dancers, Blessing of the Fleet, Stonington Borough, 1995 – Mystic Seaport
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