Bibliograph

One mighty and irresistible tide, the epic struggle over American immigration, 1924-1965, Jia Lynn Yang

Type

Label

One mighty and irresistible tide, the epic struggle over American immigration, 1924-1965, Jia Lynn Yang

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references and index

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

One mighty and irresistible tide

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

1120099419

Responsibility statement

Jia Lynn Yang

Sub title

the epic struggle over American immigration, 1924-1965

Summary

"A sweeping history of the legislative battle to reform American immigration laws that set the stage for the immigration debates roiling America today. The idea of the United States as a nation of immigrants is today so pervasive, and seems so foundational, that it can be hard to believe Americans ever thought otherwise. But a 1924 law passed by Congress instituted a system of ethnic quotas so stringent that it choked off large-scale immigration for decades, sharply curtailing immigration from southern and eastern Europe and outright banning people from nearly all of Asia. In a compelling narrative with a fascinating cast of characters, Jia Lynn Yang recounts how a small number of lawmakers, activists, and presidents worked relentlessly for the next forty years to abolish the 1924 law and its quotas. Their efforts established the new mythology of the United States as "a nation of immigrants" that is so familiar to all of us now. Through a world war, a global refugee crisis, and a McCarthyist fever that swept the country, these Americans never stopped trying to restore the United States to a country that lived up to its vision as a home for "the huddled masses" from Emma Lazarus's famous poem. When the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, one of the most transformative laws in the country's history, ended the country's system of racial preferences among immigrants, it opened the door to Asian, Latin American, African, and Middle Eastern migration at levels never seen before-paving the way for America's modern immigration trends in ways those who debated it could hardly have imagined"--, Provided by publisher

Table Of Contents

"God's crucible" -- Slamming the door -- A "tragic bottleneck" -- "A land of great responsibilities" -- A son of Nevada -- Internal security -- An Irish Brahmin -- A bold proposal -- A martyr's cause

Classification