History 228
Fall, 2005
Prof. V. Brown
Ext.3087
GRINNELL COLLEGE
Department of History
The Promised Land: U.S. Immigration History
“Once I thought to write a history of the immigrants in America. Then I
discovered that the immigrants were American history.”
Oscar Handlin, Introduction to The Uprooted, 1951
This course will trace the North American story as a story of immigration. The design of
the course is rooted in the incontrovertible fact that the United States is a nation comprised
almost entirely of immigrants and the descendants of immigrants. Proceeding from that fact, we
will explore the standard narrative of U.S. history by asking: how did immigrants shape this
story and how were immigrants shaped by it?
Conceptually, the course centers around the link between American ideals of citizenship,
freedom, and independence and American realities of class and race. That claim is not nearly so
sweeping as it sounds. We will be looking very specifically at how economic and racial
considerations shaped the American debates about “fitness” for citizenship, freedom, and
independence — and how those considerations and debates, in turn, shaped different immigrants’
experiences. At the same time, we will be looking at how immigrants have participated in the
creation of American ideals and have influenced debates about inclusion of newcomers into the
Promised Land.
The syllabus is designed with three course goals in mind, one related to American history
as it is broadly conceived, one related to the immigrant experience itself, and one related to the
historical study of immigration. First, the course seeks to give students the opportunity to see
that the story of immigration is entwined with every aspect of American history; second, the
course seeks, generally, to complicate students’ notions about immigrants and, specifically, to
disrupt assumptions about immigrants as either helpless victims or self-determining agents; third,
the course seeks to introduce students to the wealth of primary documents and secondary
literature on U.S. immigration history and to sharpen students’ skills at reading, understanding,
and interpreting both types of historical sources. There is, at its base, a fourth course goal: to
enhance each participant’s ability to think historically, which means to treat any document or
event as a product of its moment in time and place. To achieve that goal, we will engage in a
series of reading, writing, and speaking exercises meant to strengthen your confidence as lifelong
students of history and as citizens who will draw on history to make important policy choices
about the human fact of migration.
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Victoria Brown's Office: Mears 317
(top floor, southeast corner)
Victoria Brown's Office Hours — Fall, 2005
Mondays:1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Wednesdays: 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Thursdays: 1:30-5:30
Fridays: 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
In class: MWF, 11-11:50/History 112 and 3:15-4:05/History 228.
Note that I plan to preserve Tuesdays to do course prep and grading at home in Iowa City. Note,
too, that I am currently chair of the History Department, which makes unpredictable demands on
my time and can require me to cancel office hours. Should that occur, I will e-mail you if you
have an appointment during a suddenly-cancelled time.
I am happy to have you drop by during office hours, but if you want to be assured of time with
me, I advise making an office-hours appointment beforehand. Also, if none of the posted times
work for you, contact me about making an appointment at another time.
Office Phone: ext 3087
Home Phone in Iowa City: 319-354-8867 (may call collect)
E-mail: brownv@grinnell.edu
***I live in Iowa City. This semester, I typically will be staying in Grinnell on Thursday nights. You
can call me in my office during office hours or on Thursday evening. If you need to reach me on the
other evenings or on the weekend, feel free to phone me at home.
I get my Grinnell e-mail at home and check it regularly. But I will be the first to concede that the
information superhighway does not stretch seamlessly between Grinnell and Iowa City. If you really
need to reach me, don’t wait for or depend on e-mail; use the phone. I have an answering machine at
home, as well as in the campus office.
Be warned: I will growl unattractively if you utter these words: "I couldn't reach you." Thanks to the
wonders of modern technology you can ALWAYS reach me, if only to leave a message.
_____________________________
Attached you will find a copy of a Class Contract. If you decide to enroll in this course, you must
sign the contract that will circulate in class next week. The purpose of this contract is twofold: (1) to
make clear the expectations that each individual student must meet for successful completion of this
course; (2) to emphasize that learning in a class setting is a community experience which bears
community responsibilities. By enrolling in this course, you are not only making certain promises to
yourself and to me about your performance, you are also promising your fellow students that you will
contribute to their learning by giving them your time, your thoughts, your questions, your interest, and
your attention.
Implicit in this contract is my promise that I will come to class prepared and ready to focus solely
on the material for this course, AND that I will: get any xeroxed material to you in a timely fashion, make
assignments clear and (cheerfully) repeat instructions if they are not clear, hand out exam questions or
essay topics in a timely fashion, return written work within 14 days or explain delays to you, in class,
without being prodded, be available to students during office hours and when special appointments are
made, and answer e-mail messages and/or return phone calls when students leave messages.
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Required Texts
Jon Gjerde, Major Problems in American Immigration & Ethnic History (referred to as
“Major”)
Roger Daniels, Coming to America (referred to on syllabus as “Daniels”)
John Higham, Strangers in the Land (Rutgers University Press edition, 1988 or 2002)
Thomas A. Guglielmo, White on Arrival (Oxford University Press, 2003)
David M. Reimers, Unwelcome Strangers (Columbia U. Press, 1998)
Alex Stepick, et. al., This Land is Our Land (U. of California Press, 2003)
“Brown Docs” will be distributed in class
Additional course readings will be on the History 228 Blackboard
Writing Assignments
1. Short assignments: There are twelve such assignments over the semester. Though they
differ in level of difficult, each is worth 10 points. So there are a total of 120 possible points on
these, but your overall score will be computed from a base of 100 points. This allows you to
skip two assignments or drop a low score or two. I don’t advise skipping any of the first four
assignments as they get you settled into the course and into my grading standards as well as
letting me get to know you.
Unless otherwise indicated on syllabus, your writing assignments are due in class on the
day of the assignment. The purpose of these assignments is to focus your reading and facilitate
the day’s discussion. It is pointless to turn in a short writing after the relevant class discussion is
over. Please do not ask to do so.
2. Take-home exams: You will have three take-home exams, due on Monday, September 19;
Monday, November 21; and on Thursday of Finals week. You will receive the questions for
each of these exams the week before they are due. See Class Contract for extensions policy on
these exams.
3. Documents analysis: You will write one 7-10 page analysis of historical documents.. It will
be due on October 14 – the Friday before Fall Break. Everyone will write on the Congressional
debate over passage of the 1924 Immigration Act. You will have a choice in what documents
you analyze from this Congressional debate. Guidelines for the paper will be distributed in class
on September 23 and the documents will be on Reserve in Burling. See Class Contract for
extensions policy on this paper.
In all the writing you do for this class, you will be evaluated on the clarity of your
argument, the logical organization of your points, the precision of your language, the
effectiveness and accuracy of your use of evidence, and the “correctness” of your grammar
and punctuation.
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Evaluation Policy
Short writing assignments
3 take-home essay exams
1 documents analysis
Participation/contribution
Total points possible
= 100 points
= 300 points (100 points each)
= 200 points
= 200 points
=800 total points possible
In my experience, those who earn 90% or more of these points will receive an A or A-; those
who earn between 80% and 89% will receive some sort of B grade; and those who earn between
70% and 79% will receive a C grade. I do not mention the grades of D or F here because I do
not expect anyone in this class to get into that situation. If I see you headed there, we will talk
about how you can change direction.
Film Showings
You will see seven films listed on this syllabus, and there is a list of “228 Films” attached at end
of the syllabus. A few films are marked “optional,” and a few will be shown in the evening. In
all cases, the films will be on reserve in either the Burling Listening Room or A-V (see attached
list) so that you can view them even if you cannot attend during the time when the film is being
screened for the class.
Only two film will be shown during class time. On two occasions (and, as luck would have it,
during the same week: November 7 and November 10), I am asking that we gather as a class, in
the evening, to view required films. If your schedule does not permit attendance at those class
viewing sessions, you will be able to view the film in A-V before class discussion.
You will be told ahead of time WHERE the evening films will be shown.
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SCHEDULE OF READINGS AND CLASS ACTIVITIES
Week One: Introduction to Course Goals and Themes
August 26: Reading: Class syllabus; Daniels, Chapter 1; Immigration tables and charts
Week Two: Key Concepts and Colonial Beginnings
August 29: The Uprooted or the Transplanted?
Reading: Major, pp. 1-16: Handlin & Bodnar
Writing assignment: One-paragraph statement (i.e. no more than a half page) identifying
differences between Handlin’s and Bodnar’s construction of immigrants’
experience. Note: this writing is DUE, via e-mail, by 2:00 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 28
August 31: Immigrants to17th Century North America
Reading: Daniels, Chaps. 2 & 4; Brown Docs.: Sam Wineburg, “Teaching the Mind Good
Habits,” Frethorn, Williams, Pond, Pastorius
September 2: African Immigrant Slaves in Colonial America
Reading: Daniels, Chap. 3; Major, pp. 44-67: Breen and Menard
Brown Docs.: Virginia Slavery Legislation, Anthony Johnson
Writing assignment: Identify your nominees for the most “critical” paragraph in Breen and
the most “critical” in Menard. “Critical” here means the most important, the most
crucial, the KEY paragraph. Identify the paragraph that you think the author would
point to as the place where he makes the central point that he wants you, the reader,
to carry away from the article. (Identify the two paragraphs by page number and
opening words).
Note: DUE, via e-mail, by 7:00 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 2
Film: “Africans in America,” Part I: 1450-1750, “The Terrible Transformation” will be
on Reserve in Burling Listening Room all week. It is 90 minutes long. I
recommend this film as a way to put yourself into this moment in time; it is
optional..
Week Three: Americanability
September 5: The Europeanizing & Americanizing of 18th C. North America
Reading: Major, pp. 31-43 & 70-78; Brown Docs.: Parke, Mittelberger, Bourgaize, and
Salinger review of The Unfortunate: The Voyage and Adventures of William
Moraley, an Indentured Servant
Writing assignment: You will receive a guide for analyzing the 10 documents. The
goal is to prepare for a class discussion on the ways in which these documents
suggest (a) the transplantation of traditional notions that social status is fixed at
birth and (b) evolution of alternative notions of individual merit and earned status.
September 7: The Creation of Citizenship and National Identity in the New Republic
Reading: Daniels, pp. 101-118; Major, pp. 69-70, 78-89
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Writing assignment: One paragraph statement of Kettner’s THESIS, i.e. his main
argument in “The Creation of Citizenship . . .”
September 9: Debating and Defining Americanability
Reading: Brown Docs.: “The State, Citizenship, and Naturalization;” letter from John
Adams to James Sullivan; Blackboard: Watson, Liberty & Power excerpt.
Week Four: Causes and Consequences: 19th Century Migrations
September 12: Global Changes in Demography and Economy
Reading: Blackboard: Bodnar, Chapter One, The Transplanted
September 14: Comparing the Transplanted
Reading: Daniels, pp. 121-184; Blackboard: Groneman, “She Earns as a Child, She Pays
as a Man;” Brown Docs: Seyffardt letters
September 16: Nativism in American Politics, 1830-1860
Reading: Major, pp. 133-168; Brown Docs: “Irish Immigrants: a Sympathetic View,” “A
Native-Born American’s Response,” “America for Americans”
Exam questions will be distributed in class.
Week Five: Mid-Century Immigrant Strategies: Race, Politics, and Law
September 19: Take-home essay exam due in class.
In-class film: “The Irish in America, Part II.” This film is 90 minutes long. We’ll
view the first 50 minutes in class, then break. I’ll stay to show the rest for those
who can stay. It will be on Reserve in A-V the rest of the week.
September 21: Irish Immigrants & the Strategy of Whiteness
Reading: Blackboard: David Roediger, Introduction to The Wages of Whiteness and
Chapter 7, “Irish-American Workers and White Racial Formation in the
Antebellum United States” from The Wages of Whiteness; Brown Docs.: Thomas
Nast cartoons and Major, pp. 149-50 – more cartoons
Writing assignment: One-paragraph statement of Roediger’s thesis drawing from both
the Introduction and Chapter 7.
September 23: Chinese Immigrants and Legal Strategies
In-class film: “Ancestors in the Americas, Part II.” The film is 60 minutes long so try to
get to class at 3:10!
Reading: Daniels, pp. 238-58; Major, pp. 195-201, 172-74, 184-85, 213-16, 275-81;
Brown Docs: “We Are Not ...Degraded;” “Fair’s Fair;” “Mary Tape, An
Outspoken Woman; “Chinaman on Our Treatment of China”
Documents paper guidelines will be distributed in class
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Week Six: Immigration Policy in the Gilded Age & in the Progressive era
September 26: Nativism in the West: The Debate Over Chinese Exclusion
Reading: Chinese Exclusion Documents Packet: Congressional acts & public debate re:
Geary Law, 1892
Speaking assignment: Each student will be assigned a role to play, using the Documents
Packet, in the classroom debate over the Geary Law.
September 28: “Strangers” in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era
Reading: John Higham, Strangers in the Land, pp. 3-130; Brown Docs.: Census material
re: “What Changed in the U.S. Between 1880 & 1920?”
Writing assignment: One-paragraph statement of Higham’s thesis Chapter 5, “The Return
of Confidence”
September 30: The “Confident” Response to Immigration
Reading: Brown Docs: Addams on Immigration Restriction; Edith Abbott on Immigrants
at Hull-House; Horace Kallen on “Democracy vs. the Melting Pot,” plus
selections from Philip Davis, Immigration and Americanization (1920): Preface,
Contents, Carr, Steiner, Kellogg, Wald, and Kellor
Everyone will sign up for a consultation with me re: documents papers
After-class movie, 4:15-5:30: I will screen the film “Hester Street,” a wonderful love
story about Jewish immigrants on N.Y.’s Lower East Side circa 1890. Efforts will be
made to provide ethnically-appropriate treats, but we’ll have to skip the Manischewitz.
This film is option. Friends welcome to join us.
Week Seven: The Turn to Racial Nativism
October 3: Racing toward Nativism
Reading: Higham, Strangers in the Land, pp. 131-233; Daniels, pp. 265-284; Brown
Docs: Madison Grant, excerpt from The Passing of the Great Race; E.A. Ross,
continued on next page ....
“Racial Consequences of Immigration;” description of Dillingham Commission
Report and report’s “Recommendations”
Writing assignment: One paragraph identifying which set of documents re: 1924
Immigration Quota Act you have decided to analyze for your paper and why that
set drew your interest. Due in class.
October 5: War, Racial Nativism, and Immigration Law
Reading: Higham, Strangers in the Land, pp. 234-330; Brown Docs: Lothrop Stoddard
and Carl Brigham excerpts
October 7: In-class PAPER WORKSHOP
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Reading: Brown Docs: John Higham, “Instead of a Sequel, or How I Lost My Subject”
Writing assignment: One-page outline of your 5-7 page paper. Due in class.
Week Eight: Americanization: Top Down and Bottom Up
October 10: American Standard of Living
Reading: Major pp. 323-32; Blackboard: Barrett, “Americanization From Bottom Up;”
Brown Docs: WTUL,“New World Lessons for Old World Peoples;” “What
Should the Worker’s Child Become?””
October 12: Immigrant Experiences in Memoir
Reading: Brown Docs.: Polacheck, Cassettari, Davis
October 14: All-class reflections on the 1924 Immigration Quota Act
Documents analysis due in class.
Fall Break — Time to rest up and start reading Guglielmo, White on Arrival. I will be reading
your papers. If you want to prepare for Wednesday’s class, be sure to print off the Gualtieri
article from Blackboard before leaving campus.
Week Nine: Racing into the 20th Century
October 24: Lecture on Citizenship, Gender, and the Law
October 26: Citizenship, Whiteness, and the Law
Reading: Major/Documents, pp. 288-290 and 299-305; Blackboard: Gualtieri, “Becoming
White’”
Writing assignment: Comment on connections between Haney-Lopez and Gualtieri
arguments. Requires identifying each thesis and then linking. Max: 2 paragraphs.
October 28: Ethnics and Mass Culture in the 1920's & 1930's: Generation Gap
Reading: Major, pp. 262-271, 285-87; Brown Docs: “Eugenics and Mexican Immigration;”
Blackboard: Reisler, Matsumoto
Week Ten: Color, Race, and Ethnicity
October 31: White on Arrival: Italians, Race, Color, and Power in Chicago, 1890-1945
Reading: Guglielmo, Acknowledgments, Introduction, Chapters 1 & 2
Writing assignment: One-paragraph statement of Guglielmo’s “thesis” on pp. 3-58
November 2: White on Arrival
Reading: Guglielmo, Chapters 3-5
November 4: White on Arrival
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Reading: Guglielmo, Chapters 6-8 & Conclusion
Week Eleven: Immigration, Ethnicity, and World War II
November 7: Lecture: Ethnicity, Immigration, and the Great Depression
Research: All students will be looking through popular magazines for evidence of
American discussion of U.S. policy toward Jewish refugees from Nazi Europe
November 9: Jewish Refugees & U.S. Policy During World War II
Reading: Daniels, pp. 294-302; Major, pp. 385-387; Brown Docs: Newsweek & Time &
New York Times news reports
Research assignment: Bring to class ANY article you found, 1940-45 re: Jewish refugees in
U.S.
Film viewing: “America and the Holocaust: Deceit and Indifference” (60 minutes) will be on
Reserve in A-V from November 2. Required for class discussion.
Thursday, November 10, evening showing: “The Rabbit in the Moon” (90 minutes): an artistic,
political film on the internment of Japanese and Japanese-Americans during World War II.
This is a required film. Dessert & beverages will be provided. Time & place TBA.
November 11/Veterans’ Day: The Wartime Internment of Japanese & Japanese Americans
Reading: Daniels, pp. 302-306; Major, pp. 395-404; Brown Docs.: excerpt from
JACL brief in Korematsu case; Court opinions; Reagan’s Apology
Week Twelve: The Cold War, Capitalism & Immigration Policy
November 14: Mexicans as 20th-Century Labor Pool: The Bracero Program
Reading: Blackboard: Ngai, “Braceros, ‘Wetbacks,’ and the National Boundaries of
Class;” Brown Docs: “President Says Changes ... Will Help Millions”
Writing assignment: One-paragraph statement of Ngai’s thesis
November 16: American Identity and American Immigration Law in the Cold War
Reading: Daniels, pp. 328-337; Major, pp. 404-413: Gleason; Brown Docs: “Whom Shall
We Welcome” and excerpts from JFK’s A Nation of Immigrants
November 18: The1965 Immigration Law & the “Illegal Alien”
Reading: Daniels, pp. 338-44; Blackboard: Ngai, “The Liberal Critique;” Brown Docs.: LBJ
Remarks; Chin excerpts
Exam questions will be distributed in class
Week Thirteen: The Context for the 1965 Immigration Act
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November 21: Lecture: Social and Demographic Results of the 1965 Immigration Act
Take-home exam due in class
November 23: Experiential learning: migrate in search of welcome & thanksgiving.
November 25: THANKSGIVING BREAK
Week Fourteen: Modern U.S. Immigration Policy and Politics
November 28: Unwelcome Strangers
Reading: Reimers, Introduction & Chapters 1-3; Blackboard: Gerstle, “Immigration
and Ethnicity in the American Century”
November 30: Unwelcome Strangers
Reading: Reimers, Chapters 4 & 5; Brown Docs: Borjas, “Economic Assimilation:
Trouble Ahead,” and Massey, “The American Side of the Bargain”
December 2: Unwelcome Strangers
Reading: Reimers, Chapters 6 & 7; Brown Docs: Zhou, “Assimilation, the Asian Way;”
Barone, “New Americans After September 11;” Shteyngart, “The New Two-Way
Street;” Jacoby, “What it Means to be an American in the 21st Century”
Sunday, December 5, evening showing: “Well-founded Fear” – Engrossing 90-minute film that
takes us through the process of seeking and granting asylum to asylum-seekers. This film is
optional, but if you do choose to view it with the us, plan to stay for a 30-minute discussion
afterward. Will be on Reserve in Burling.
Week Fifteen: Immigration, Race, Ethnicity and Power
December 5: This Land is Our Land
Reading: Stepick, et. al., Chapters 1& 2; Brown Docs.: Steinberg, “The Melting Pot and
the Color Line” and Skerry, “This Was Our Riot, Too”
December 7: This Land is Our Land
Reading: Stepick, et. al., Chapters 3 & 4; Brown Docs.: Portes, “For the Second Generation;”
Swarns, “Children of Hispanic Immigrants Continue to Favor English”
December 9: This Land is Our Land
Reading: Stepick, et. al., Chapter 5; Major: Hollinger, pp. 440-49; Limerick, “The
Startling Ability of Culture to Bring Critical Inquiry to a Halt”
Exam questions will be distributed in class
Finals Week:
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Thursday, December 15, 9:00 a.m.: Take-home exam due in my mailbox in Mears Cottage or via email.
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