America for Americans : a history of xenophobia in the United States / Erika Lee.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lee, Erika, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Xenophobia--United States--History.

Xenophobia.

Immigrants--United States--History.

Immigrants.

History.

United States.

Minorities--United States--History.

Minorities.

National characteristics, American--History.

National characteristics, American.

Nationalism--United States--History.

Nationalism.

United States--Race relations--History.

Race relations.

United States--Emigration and immigration--History.

Emigration and immigration.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

vii, 416 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Basic Books, 2019.

Summary:

"The United States is known as a nation of immigrants. But it is also a nation of xenophobia. In [this book], acclaimed historian Erika Lee shows that an irrational fear, hatred, and hostility toward immigrants has been a defining feature of our nation from the colonial era to the Trump era. Americans have been wary of almost every group of foreigners that has come to the United States. Benjamin Franklin ridiculed German immigrants for their 'strange and foreign ways.' Americans' anxiety over Irish Catholics turned xenophobia into a national political movement in the 1850s. Over the century that followed, Chinese immigrants were excluded, Japanese incarcerated, and Mexicans deported. Today, Americans fear Muslims, Central Americans, and the so-called browning of America. Xenophobia has not been an exception to America's immigration tradition, an episodic aberration on an inevitable march toward inclusion. It is, in fact, Lee argues, an American tradition in its own right, deeply embedded in our society, economy, and politics, Forcing us to confront this history, [this book] explains how xenophobia works, why it has endured, and how it threatens us all. It is a necessary corrective and spur to action for any concerned citizen."--Dust jacket.

Contents:

"Strangers to our language and constitutions"

"Americans must rule America"

"The Chinese are no more"

The "inferior races" of Europe

"Getting rid of the Mexicans"

"Military necessity"

Xenophobia and civil rights

"Save our state"

Islamophobia.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 347-395) and index.

Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature - Adult Non-Fiction, Winner, 2020-2021

Other Format:

Online version: Lee, Erika. America for Americans.

ISBN:

9781541672604

1541672607

OCLC:

1089570090