This historical review of the US treatment of immigrants and
minority groups documents the suspicion and persecution that often met
newcomers and those perceived to be different.
Contrary to popular belief, the poor and huddled masses were
never welcome in America. Though the engraving on the base of the Statue of
Liberty makes that claim, history reveals a far less-welcoming message. This
comprehensive survey of cultural and racial exclusion in the United States
examines the legacy of hostility toward immigrants over two centuries.
The authors document abuses against Catholics in the early
19th century in response to the influx of German and Irish immigrants;
hostility against Mexicans throughout the Southwest, where signs in bars and
restaurants read, "No Dogs, No Negros, No Mexicans"; "yellow
peril" fears leading to a ban on Chinese immigration for ten years;
punitive measures against Native Americans traditions, which became punishable
by fines and hard labor; the persecution of German Americans during World War I
and Japanese Americans during World War II; the refusal to admit Jewish
refugees of the Holocaust; and the ongoing legacy of mistreating African
Americans from slavery to the injustices of the present day.
Though the authors note that the United States has accepted
tens of millions of immigrants during its relatively short existence, its
troubling history of persecution is often overlooked. President Donald Trump's
targeting of Muslim and Mexican immigrants is just the most recent chapter in a
long, sad history of social panics about "evil" foreigners who are
made scapegoats due to their ethnicity or religious beliefs.
- Publisher's description
