immigrant history

What I Learned from Viewing 37 Immigration Maps

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Back in February 2017, VOX published a series of maps under the title “37 Maps that explain how America is a nation of immigrants.”  I recently spent some time with these maps and here is what I learned (or was reminded of):...

James Dobson Visits the Border and Shows His Nativism

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Court evangelical James Dobson, the evangelical who is most associated with the idea of “family values,” visited the Mexican border and wrote a letter to his supporters.  I have published it here: Dear Friends, Several weeks ago, I was invited...

Scholars Respond to Trump’s Border Policy

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The Chronicle of Higher Education is running a piece on the way scholars stepped-up to the plate during the “Trump border crackdown.”  I am glad that The Chronicle is noticing our work.  Here is a taste of Mark Parry’s article: …In recent weeks,...

Does Nativism Still Exist Among U.S. Catholics?

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Catholic University historian Julia G. Young believes that it does.  Here is a taste of her piece “‘We Were Different‘”: A few years ago, I taught an undergraduate course on migration at the Catholic University of America. During one lecture,...

Happy Columbus Day

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That’s right.  I said it. I have blogged about Columbus statues here and here, but I also want to call your attention to Yoni Appelbaum‘s piece at The Atlantic: “How Columbus Day Fell Victim to Its Own Success.”  The subtitle is “It’s...

Some Great Stuff Today at Religion in American History

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If you do not read Religion in American History, you should. In the last day or two Paul Harvey and his cast of American religious history bloggers have posted some great stuff.  First, check out Harvey’s tribute to civil rights...

Paul Lukas: Report Cards Saved My Life

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In 1996 Paul Lukas “stumbled upon” nearly 400 report cards from the Manhattan Trade School for Girls.  Most of them were from the 1920s. If I found these report cards I would probably think of some way to analyze them […]

This Week’s Patheos Column: An Immigrant’s Tale

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Last weekend I drove the two and a half hours from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Parsippany, New Jersey for the purpose of conducting an oral history interview with my 100-year-old grandfather. As a history professor, I regularly teach a course entitled...

The St. Louis Hegelians

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Forget about Frederick Jackson Turner’s frontier thesis. Well before the University of Wisconsin history professor suggested that the key to American identity was the settlement of the frontier, a group of Georg Hegel disciples were arguing that history had a...

What is Happening to Little Italy?

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My grandmother was born in Little Italy, New York and I have taken students there in the past, but according to this article, New York City’s enclave of Italian culture is shrinking.  In fact, you would be hard pressed to...