| The Making of Modern Immigration: An Introduction xiv tion and decreasing restriction (1943–1965) (4) high and increasing immigration and relatively low restriction (1965–1980) and (5) high and increasing immigra- tion and increasing but essentially ineffective restriction (1980–2000). 3 The prob- lem with periodization, however, is that its markers are bound by policy changes, not necessarily the experience of immigration by émigrés themselves, nor does it explain fully the attitudes of those already here toward those who want to come in. It also does not give any attention to the more foundational aspects of immigra- tion history, which are rooted in the postcolonial era. Further, we are still trying to come to grips with the nature of immigration in the wake of 9/11 and the Patriot Act, when it is harder still for would-be émigrés to enter legally, though the porous condition of the United States’ national borders seems more and more apparent. How might we react, then, to the following statement by a political scientist who looks at periodizing an earlier time frame: The period from the founding of the United States through much of the nine- teenth century was a golden age for immigration. In spite of nativist demands for restriction, no significant federal immigration regulations were adopted in the early 1800s. In fact, when it became evident that immigration flows were not sufficient to meet the needs of an expanding industrial economy during the Civil War, federal legislation designed to encourage immigration was ad- opted. In early U.S. history, then, proponents of an open immigration policy triumphed over advocates of restriction in the immigration policy debates. During the “golden door” era, liberal attitudes towards immigration predom- inated over latent nativism. 4 The point here is not to continue to poke holes in the periodization thesis, but to show how it bleeds into other fields of inquiry. Whether one is speaking of public opinion on immigration, media coverage, policy debates, or the ethics of exclu- sion, immigration continues to be a moving target—and yet there is a further quest to try and make sense of it, categorize it, and give some description to it. Fluctua- tions in the percentages of those admitted from overseas have been tracked since the early days of the Republic, but commentators have also sought to record many other aspects of immigration history. A major element in the literature occurred in the pre-Depression era, when so much attention was given to the objective of natu- ralizing incomers as full-fledged citizens of the United States. Scores of how-to manuals appeared in multiple languages and became the fodder for Americaniza- tion programs across the land. For the English-speaking, the campaigns of citizen groups and social organizations to welcome those newly arrived were meant to dispel the mythic stereotyping that too often beset the immigrant. Ethnic customs, for example, were made more palatable to the established resident, who, for the sake of the neighborhood, had to find common ground and be helpful. At least
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