Theodore Roosevelt and Americanization
Professor of history Gary Gerstle says that Theodore Roosevelt was much more open to immigrants from southern and eastern Europe than were many of his contemporaries, including close friend Henry Cabot Lodge. Nonetheless, Professor Gerstle explains,...
Theodore Roosevelt and Asian Immigration
Professor of history Gary Gerstle explains that Theodore Roosevelt was a great admirer of the Japanese and welcomed Japanese immigrants, despite popular sentiment in the United States against the perceived "invasion by yellow people." Professor Gers...
Theodore Roosevelt and the Value of War
Professor of history Gary Gerstle talks about Theodore Roosevelt's perspective on war. Professor Gerstle explains that Roosevelt not only saw war as a means by which great men prove themselves, but also believed that participating in war allows immi...
Race, Ethnicity and Family: Immigrant Families in the United States
Discrimination based on race or ethnicity is an issue that affects and has affected millions of people who have come to the United States to live. When tension and fear are at their highest, as in post 9/11 America, anti-immigrant sentiment often r...
Immigration Following World War I (Part Two)
Professor of history Gary Gerstle talks about the restrictive attitude in the United States towards immigration following World War I. Professor Gerstle explains that it was caused in part by fear that immigrants would take the jobs of native-born A...
Immigrants at Work in the Nineteenth Century
American history professor Alice Kessler-Harris talks about the plight of the immigrants who came to the United States to work during the Industrial Revolution and beyond. In many cases, Professor Kessler-Harris explains, it was the men who immigrat...
Immigrants and Loyalty
Professor of history Gary Gerstle explains that as the United States prepared to enter World War I, there was growing concern in the U.S. about the loyalty of immigrants, since many of them had come from countries that America would be fighting. Pro...
Immigration Following World War I (Part One)
Professor of history Gary Gerstle explains that after World War I, "...the country pretty much decided, not right away, but pretty quickly, that it could not take any more foreigners." The only immigrants welcomed from that point forward were certai...
Property and Land Speculation (Part One)
Historian and author Bernard Bailyn talks about land companies and the rampant speculation that went on during the colonial period.
Property and Land Speculation (Part Two)
Historian and author Bernard Bailyn continues his discussion of land speculation during the colonial period. Professor Bailyn explains that there were land speculation syndicates of all sizes. Benjamin Franklin was one of those involved with an espe...