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LESSON 3 · When Disaster Struck

The Immigrant Dream, Interrupted

Third class was filled with immigrants heading to America for a new life. They came from Ireland, Sweden, Lebanon, and dozens of other countries, carrying everything they owned in a single trunk.

Many could not read the English signs directing them to the lifeboats. Some were told to wait below while first class boarded. A third-class ticket from Southampton to New York cost about $36 — roughly $1,000 today.