Americanization in the States
Immigrant Social Welfare Policy, Citizenship, and National Identity in the United States, 1908–1929
Publication Year: 2009
Published by: University Press of Florida
Title Page, Copyright
Contents
Figures
Download PDF (28.4 KB)
pp. ix-
Foreword
Download PDF (46.6 KB)
pp. xi-xii
Current debates about immigration too often make reference to the successful history of previous immigrant groups. Here we have a detailed and important study of the early twentieth century immigration debate. By 1920 the federal and state governments were taking an aggressive and activist stance...
Preface
Download PDF (35.6 KB)
pp. xiii-xiv
Although my name alone is on the cover, I—like all writers—recognize that this book is not the work of one individual. I began this project in the spring of 2004 while my husband attended business school at the University of Virginia. It was at UVA ’s Miller Center for Public Affairs that I met former Miller...
Introduction
Download PDF (102.8 KB)
pp. 1-19
Along with territorial sovereignty and national security, citizenship is a fundamental concern of government, and the question of who belongs to a national community—and who does not—is closely intertwined with the issues of security and stability. Citizenship can be defined narrowly, in terms of...
1. The Start of a Movement: The New York Bureau of Industries and Immigration, 1908–1914
Download PDF (123.4 KB)
pp. 20-38
More than 19 million immigrants entered the United States in 1900–1930, one-third of them at the nation’s largest city and busiest port, New York. The challenges these new arrivals faced began at the federal immigration station on Ellis Island and followed them, literally and figuratively, as they moved through...
2. The California Plan: The Commission of Immigration and Housing, 1913–1917
Download PDF (99.6 KB)
pp. 39-53
The immigrant welfare activities of the New York Bureau of Industries and Immigration inspired progressives in other parts of the country to develop similar programs to address their states’ immigration issues. California, already under the leadership of progressive Governor Hiram W. Johnson...
3. An Unhealthy Relationship: Eugenics and Americanization in New York, 1914–1917
Download PDF (88.0 KB)
pp. 54-65
Americanization gained momentum as both a social movement and public policy in 1913–1915. In 1913 California created its Commission of Immigration and Housing, Massachusetts appointed a temporary Commission of Immigration, and Pennsylvania added a Division of Immigration and Unemployment...
4. Americanizing the Home: Housing Reform and the California Home Teacher Act of 1915
Download PDF (111.7 KB)
pp. 66-83
In California, Americanization initially centered on interventions in the labor market through the Commission of Immigration and Housing’s regulation of agricultural labor camps. However, the CCIH developed two other important programs, housing and education, that were like two sides of the same coin...
5. Wartime Americanization in the States: New York, California, and Massachusetts, 1917–1918
Download PDF (235.8 KB)
pp. 84-104
The United States fought in World War I for less than two years, but those nineteen months between April 6, 1917, and November 11, 1918, were an intense and transforming period for America. On political, economic, and military levels, the nation prepared for and waged war; on social and ideological...
6. Cosmopolitanism Cut Short: The Illinois Immigrants Commission, 1919–1921
Download PDF (109.6 KB)
pp. 105-121
As the state with the largest immigrant population in the West and some of the nation’s most famous progressive activists and institutions, Illinois was where one would expect to find an active public Americanization program. However, despite the presence of Jane Addams and Hull-House, Grace...
7. Schooling the Immigrant: Americanization and Adult Education, 1919–1929
Download PDF (132.2 KB)
pp. 122-143
During World War I and in the immediate postwar period, state Americanization policies shifted emphasis from reforming the social environment and altering the behavior and attitudes of the native-born to trying to assimilate the immigrant through education. English language classes gave the...
8. Americanization versus Restriction: Immigrant Social Welfare Policy in New York, California, and Massachusetts, 1919–1929
Download PDF (125.2 KB)
pp. 144-163
In the 1920s, as the national obsession about immigrant loyalty and the meaning of American citizenship peaked and then ebbed in favor of immigration restriction, pro-immigration progressives suffered attacks on their policies of Americanization. As the country became more politically conservative...
Conclusion
Download PDF (77.4 KB)
pp. 164-173
The Americanization movement of the 1910s and 1920s was a unique phenomenon in American history. High rates of immigration have often been accompanied by reactions of nativism, but only once have Americans attempted to define their national identity through positive social reform rather...
Notes
Download PDF (215.4 KB)
pp. 175-209
Bibliography
Download PDF (129.4 KB)
pp. 211-227
Index
Download PDF (62.1 KB)
pp. 229-233
E-ISBN-13: 9780813045139
Print-ISBN-13: 9780813035505
Print-ISBN-10: 0813035503
Page Count: 256
Illustrations: 4 black and white photographs
Publication Year: 2009
Series Title: Working in the Americas
Series Editor Byline: Richard Greenwald and Timothy Minchin
