“But newcomers (it was feared) had beliefs and loyalties andcustoms that seemed ‘un-American’ and might pose a threat todemocracy. What if immigrants did not embrace American life andculture? Can any nation safely harbor millions of people who do notshare its basic ideals? These were sobering questions for manyAmericans by the end of the nineteenth century.†(p. 139-40)
What continuities and what discontinuities (similarities anddifferences) can you see between this nineteenth centuryapprehension about immigrants and the attitudes of many peopletowards immigrants today? Is there anything you think we can orshould have learned from the nineteenth century immigrantexperience?
