U.S. Immigration in Historical Perspective

3 units

The idea of the United States as a nation of immigrants has become a widely accepted feature of American identity, but defining who and which immigrants to include (and exclude) in the nation remains a hotly debated issue today. This course will put some of today's immigration debates in a historical perspective, examining how past Americans debated questions about the fitness of immigrants for freedom and citizenship, and how those debates in turn shaped immigrant experiences and American identity.