Knockin' on the Door: Immigrants
One way to understand American history is to see it as a series of efforts by outsiders to become insiders, to join fully in American life. This is a story told by African American history, by immigrant history, and by labor history, for example.
This year’s Documents in Detail webinar series will focus on the efforts of outsiders to “knock on the door” and gain full admittance to American life. Using primary sources, we will examine what people thought was the American way of life and why people wanted to join it. In the later sessions in the series, we will examine the question of whether the terms on which outsiders join in American life have now changed.
From the early republic to the 21st century, the United States has seen numerous waves of immigrants. This webinar will investigate the commonalities between these waves: how the groups were initially received, how they chose to assimilate (or not), and how each of the groups sought to more fully access an American way of life.
Our webinars meet monthly on Wednesday nights at 7:30-8:30 pm ET. Participants who remain digitally present for the duration of the webinar will receive an attendance letter from Teaching American History for 1 hour of professional development.