American Immigration History, 2019

American Immigration History

Sarah McNair Vosmeier

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Course Description

In this course, we will study five waves of immigration, from the prehistoric people who traveled here from Asia to those arriving just now from around the globe. From that perspective, all Americans are immigrants or the descendants of immigrants, whether they know their immigrant kin or not.

As we study immigrants and their descendants, we will also consider ethnicity. Many have used food metaphors to describe American ethnicity -- do we live in a "melting pot," in which immigrants quickly transform themselves into Americans, or is it more like a stew or a fruit salad, in which newcomers never fully integrate into the mainstream?

Studying immigration can prompt a reconsideration of mainstream American history -- what are the bedrock beliefs that make Americans distinctive, and how have those beliefs shaped our interactions with immigrants? Which is the essential part of our national character, welcoming appreciation of newcomers or xenophobic exploitation of them?

In 1951, Oscar Handlin launched the field of immigration history, and his initial insight is still relevant: "Once I thought to write a history of the immigrants in America," he said, and "then I discovered that the immigrants were American history."

Calculating Final Grades

                Article review            12%
                Primary source review    12%
                Final paper            18%
                Midterm            22%
                Final                22%
                Preparation & Participation    14%

Nota Bene
Our class time provides an opportunity, rare in modern life, to focus for an extended time on a single task and conversation. Please do not multitask -- to avoid distraction for others and temptation for ourselves, we will not use laptops, phones, etc. in our classroom. You will need to bring assigned texts to class in paper form.

Late papers will be penalized, and in-class assignments cannot be made up. If you have an emergency and want to request an exception to this rule, contact me before the due date.

About texts needed for this class:

Assigned material is in Major Problems in American Immigration History or online. Because our discussions will be based on close readings of the assigned texts, you will need to bring the texts to class along with your notes in the form of marginalia. Thus, you should budget appropriately for printing in addition to purchasing the textbook. You will also need a copy of Hacker’s Rules for Writers for your papers.

About Preparation, Participation, Papers, and Exams:

Preparation and Participation:
We will all enjoy our time together more and find our work more rewarding if everyone prepares and participates fully. People who excel in participation read carefully and come to class with effective reading notes; they make useful comments in class or ask helpful questions; and they complete brief assignments included in this portion of the grade adequately and on time. Occasional brief assignments (such as marginalia checks or study guide contributions) allow you to demonstrate careful preparation for class.

Other small assignments, including two informal presentations and a project on use of sources, introduce you to historical research and facilitate our common endeavors.

Papers
Reviews: Students will concisely analyze two sources on American immigration or ethnicity, one a scholarly source and one a primary source (600-1000 words each).

Final Paper: Students will make a historical argument about American immigration or ethnicity, supporting that argument with evidence from primary sources and scholarly secondary sources (2100-2800 words).

Exams

Exams will include identifications and essay questions.

Assignments

(Note that items in Mae M. Ngai and Jon Gjerde’s Major Problems in American Immigration History are identified as "N&G" below.)

Introduction, Definitions, and Background
Jan. 8, 2019 (Tue.) Introductions.

Jan. 10, 2019 (Thu.)    Lecture: "Defining Terms."
            For workshop: Vosmeier, "On Marginalia," 2015 (online).
            For discussion: "Four Americans on Immigration" (online). Ngai & Gjerde, "Approaches to U.S. Immigration History," 2013; Handlin, Uprooted, 1951; Bodnar, Transplanted, 1985; Conzen et al., "Invention of Ethnicity," 1992 (N&G, 1-16).
            Lecture: "Five Waves of Immigration."

Jan. 15, 2019 (Tue.)    Meet in Learning Center.
            For workshop: "Chicago Manual Footnote Style" (online); Hacker, Rules for Writers, 8th ed. (ch. 37c, 42a, 55).
            (Adjourn to computer lab for Bibliographic Instruction.)

The Prehistoric Wave
Jan. 17, 2019 (Thu.)    Lecture: "The Prehistoric Wave of Immigration, c.15,000 - 13,000 BC."
            For discussion: "Illinois Adventures: Cahokia," 2014 (video, online); Hodges, "Cahokia Was a Melting Pot," 2014 (online).

The Colonizing Wave
Jan. 22, 2019 (Tue.)    For discussion: Ortiz, letter from Mexico City, 1574; Otermin, letter on the Pueblo Revolt, 1680; Marie of the Incarnation, letter on immigration, 1652 (N&G, 36-47). Smith, Generall Historie of Virginia, 1624 (excerpt online); "Founding Documents" (online).
            Lecture: "The Colonizing Wave of Immigration, c. 1600-1775."

Jan. 24, 2019 (Thu.)    For discussion: Sprigs, letter on indentured servitude, 1756; Byrd, letters on immigration, 1736; Philip, Journal of a Voyage, 1693; Bluett, "Some Memoirs of the Life of Job," 1734; Games, "Adaptation and Survival," 2007 (N&G, 47-54, 65-74).
            Article review due Jan. 25.

Jan. 29, 2019 (Tue.)    For discussion: Constitution, 1788; Thirteenth Amendment, 1865; Fourteenth Amendment, 1868 (excerpts online); Fugitive Slave Act, 1850 (excerpt online). Naturalization Act of 1790; Alien Act, 1798; U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark, 1898; Neuman, "Open Borders Myth," 1996; Novak, "Citizenship in Nineteenth-Century America," 2003 (N&G 78-79, 82-94, 187-90).

The "First" (Nineteenth-Century) Wave

Jan. 31, 2019 (Thu.)    For discussion: Jackson, Second Annual Message to Congress, 1830 (excerpt online); Mooney, "Historical Sketch of the Cherokee," 1902 (excerpt online).
            Lecture: "The 'First' (Nineteenth-Century) Wave of Immigration, c.1830-1880."

Feb. 5, 2019 (Tue.)    Meet in the Learning Center.
            For discussion: Schano, letters, 1850s; reports on immigrants to New York City, 1855; Conzen, Making Their Own America, 1990 (N&G 105-6, 118-19, 134-46).
            (Adjourn to the computer lab for Bibliographic instruction.)

Feb. 7, 2019 (Thu.)    For discussion: Cork Examiner articles, 1846-1847; Morse, Imminent Dangers, 1835; cartoons, 1850s; Kenny, "Diaspora and Comparison," 2003 (N&G 106-15, 119-34). "Poor Pat Must Emigrate," 1850s (online).

Feb. 12, 2019 (Tue.)    For discussion: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 1848; Brooks, "'This Evil Extends Especially,'" 1996; Montejano, "Negotiating Captivity in the New Mexico Borderlands," 1987 (N&G 155-56, 159-79). Documents on the Foreign Miner's Tax, 1850 (online).

Feb. 14, 2019 (Thu.)    For discussion: Friedman, "Beyond 'Voting with Their Feet'" (online -- click on "pdf full text" to the left, and print out).
            Review.

Feb. 19, 2019 (Tue.)    Midterm exam.

The "Second" (Nineteenth-Century) Wave
Feb. 21, 2019 (Thu.)    Lecture: "The 'Second' (Nineteenth-Century) Wave, c. 1880-1920." Primary source review due Feb. 22.

Winter Break

Mar. 5, 2019 (Tue.)    For discussion: Antin, Promised Land, 1912; Riis, How the Other Half Lives, 1890; Riordan, Plunkitt of Tammany Hall, 1905; Barrett, Work and Community in the Jungle, 1987; (N&G 212-24, 241-50). Lazarus, "New Colossus," 1883 (online).

Mar. 7, 2019 (Thu.)    For discussion: Chinese Labor Contract in Hawaii, 1870; Glenn, "Japanese and Haoles in Hawaii," 2002 (N&G 276-78, 292-311). Harrison, "Letter from Hawaii," 1899 (excerpt online); Dawes Act of 1887 (excerpt online).

Mar. 12, 2019 (Tue.)    For discussion: Roosevelt, "Hyphenated Americans" speech, 1915; Barrett and Roediger, "Inbetween Peoples," 1997; (N&G 319-321, 324-46). Great Migration letters, 1916-1917 (online).

Era of Restriction
Mar. 14, 2019 (Thu.)    For discussion: Immigration Act of 1924 (N&G 367-70). Mackenzie v Hare, 1915 (excerpt online); Gerard, speeches on German-American loyalty, 1917-1918 (excerpt online); Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 (excerpt online).
            Lecture: "Era of Restriction, 1921-1965."

Mar. 19, 2019 (Tue.)    For discussion: Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882 (excerpt online); Fu Chi Hao, "My Reception in America" and readers' responses, 1907 (excerpts online). Franklin D. Roosevelt, message to Congress on repealing Chinese exclusion, 1943; Lui, "Chinatown," 2005; (N&G 251-64, 422).

Mar. 21, 2019 (Thu.)    For discussion: Documents on Mexican-American repatriation, 1930s; Box, congressional speech, 1928; Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Mexican Americans," 1934; Rak, Border Patrol, 1938; "Zoot Suit War Grows," 1943; Gutiérrez, "Shifting Politics of Mexican Nationalism and Ethnicity," 1999; Cohen, "Encountering Mass Culture," 1989 (N&G 373-77, 393-405, 411-14, 417-19, 423-31).

Mar. 26, 2019 (Tue.)    For discussion: Murray, Historical Memories of the Japanese American Internment, 2008; (N&G 431-44). Sone, primary sources, 1943-1979 (online); Personal Justice Denied, 1982 (excerpt online); "George Takei on Internment, Allegiance and 'Gaman,'" 2017 (online).

The "Third" (or Recent) Wave
Mar. 28, 2019 (Thu.)    For discussion: Ngai, "Liberal Brief for Immigration Reform," 2006; Zolberg, "Refugees Enter America through the Side Door," 2006 (N&G 464-71; 546-54). Reagan, remarks on immigration, 1989 (online).
            Lecture: "The 'Third' (or Recent) Wave of Immigration, 1965-present."
            Final paper due Mar. 29.

Apr. 2, 2019 (Tue.)    For discussion: Alejandro, memoir of fleeing Cuba in 1979; French, "New Plan Ordered on Haitian Exodus," 1991; Foner, "Transnational Ties," 2002 (N&G 528-31, 533-34, 503-9). Declaration of Continuing Independence, 1974 (online); Chude-Sokei, "Redefining 'Black,'" 2007 (online).

Apr. 4, 2019 (Thu.) For discussion: Rigor, memoir, 1987; Maldonado, memoir of the 1980s and 1990s; Baker, "Janitors Strike for Justice," 1990; St. John, "Outcasts United," 2007; "Statistical Portrait of Unauthorized Immigrants," 2009; Hondaneu-Sotelo, "Domestic Workers' Social Networks," 1994 (N&G 493-96, 501-3, 534-38, 570-72, 597-603).

Apr. 9, 2019 (Tue.) For discussion: Refugee Act of 1980; Bilal-Mirza, "Pakistani-American Taxi Driver Recounts Sept. 11," 2007; Minutemen press release, 2006 (N&G 525-26, 573-80, 585-86). Trump, announcement of candidacy, 2015 (excerpt online); Obama, introduction to Hamilton, 2016 (excerpt online).
Review.

Apr. 11, 2019 (Thu.) For discussion: "Proof of the Melting Pot," 1991 (N&G 491-92). "Four Americans on Immigration" (online). Student-selected assignment t.b.a.