Foreign Relations: American Immigration in Global Perspective

Description

Histories investigating U.S. immigration have often portrayed America as a domestic melting pot, merging together those who arrive on its shores. Yet this is not a truly accurate depiction of the nation's complex connections to immigration. Offering a brand-new global history of the subject, Foreign Relations takes a comprehensive look at the links between American immigration and U.S. foreign relations. Donna Gabaccia examines America's relationship to immigration and its debates through the prism of the nation's changing foreign policy over the past two centuries. She shows that immigrants were not isolationists who cut ties to their countries of origin or their families. Instead, their relations to America were often in flux and dependent on government policies of the time. An innovative history of U.S. immigration, Foreign Relations casts a fresh eye on a compelling and controversial topic. Contents Preface Introduction 1. Isolated or Independent? American Immigration before 1850 2. Empire and the Discovery of Immigrant Foreign Relations, 1850–1924 3. Immigration and Restriction: Protection in a Dangerous World, 1850–1965 4. Immigration and Globalization, 1965 to the Present Conclusion: “The Inalienable Right of Man to Change His Home and Allegiance” Appendix: Suggestions for Further Reading Notes Index