Ethnic Fraternal Societies and Mutual Aid  American fraternal
societies have existed since 1700s. New immigrants were usually
welcomed as members in these organizations.  By the 1890s,
however, when millions of new immigrants from southern and
eastern Europe began arriving in the United States, a rise in
anti-immigrant sentiment and racist attitudes created a bias
against allowing new immigrants and African Americans to join
the older societies. Prevented from joining established
societies like the Freemasons or Knights of Pythias, new
immigrants and blacks formed their own.  “Ethnic Fraternal
Societies and Mutual Aid” is a cross-curricular lesson that
explores the origins, functions, rise and eventual decline of
fraternal and self-help organizations among immigrants and
African Americans. By studying diversity through the lens of
such societies, students will learn how immigrants and African
Americans developed alternative social structures that served
their social, psychological, and economic needs.  The Hi