Abstract:In this chapter, we will examine the four issues that we analyzed for France and Britain in chapters 3 and 6: why people migrate; control over frontiers; the impact of immigration; and questions of in...In this chapter, we will examine the four issues that we analyzed for France and Britain in chapters 3 and 6: why people migrate; control over frontiers; the impact of immigration; and questions of integration and incorporation . Compared with France and Britain, the United States has always been seen as a country of immigration.1 The United States accepted—indeed encouraged—immigration at a time when the country was expanding westward, and the economy was growing rapidly. As we have seen (table 8.2), the result was that between 1840 and 1920, a more or less consistent 14 percent of the population was born abroad. However, this very real openness did not necessarily mean that immigrants were unequivocally welcome in the United States. Negative reactions to immigration and immigrants were clear as soon as immigration began to increase in the 1840s.2 Indeed, political and social reactions to immigration have been deeper and sometimes more violent than in either France or in Britain, and the political reaction developed far earlier than in either European country. The first major anti-immigrant political party emerged in the United States in the 1840s (the American Party), and the most severe legislation based on race and national origin was passed first in the United States and not in Europe.Read More
Publication Year: 2008
Publication Date: 2008-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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