At a time when immigration policy is the subject of heated debate, this book makes clear that the true wealth of America is in the diversity of its peoples. By the end of the 20th century the American West was home to nearly half of America's immigrant population, including Asians and Armenians, Germans and Greeks, Mexicans, Italians, Swedes, Basques, and others. This book tells their rich and complex story-of adaptation and isolation, maintaining and mixing traditions, and an ongoing ebb and flow of movement, assimilation, and replenishment. These immigrants and their children built...

The debate over America's multiculturalism has been intense for nearly three decades, dividing opponents into those insisting on such recognition and those fearing that such a formal acknowledgment will undermine the civic bonds created by a heterogeneous nation. Facts have often been the victim in this dispute, and few works have successfully attempted to present the broad spectrum of America's ethnic groups in a format that is readable, current, and authoritative. The chapters in this reference book demonstrate that America has been far more than a nation of immigrants; it has been a...

The influx of millions of immigrants into the United States has profoundly impacted the nation's economy, culture, and politics. Since the founding of our country, our government has worked to control this migration by enacting different policies to deal with immigration and naturalization. Students can trace the history and development of issues surrounding these policies, as well as the reactions to them, through this unique and comprehensive collection of over 100 primary documents. Court cases, opinion pieces, and many other documents bring to life the controversies surrounding the...

In this distinctive study of the impact of immigration and ethnicity on twentieth-century America, Barkan thoughtfully examines the changing composition of our immigrant populations, highlighting the ways in which certain facets of the struggle to adapt to American society have persisted from the 1920s until the 1990s. Going beyond the immigrant experience, Barkan considers the ways in which second- and third-generation Americans stress integration, even as they cling to important components of their ethnicity, not only adapting to American culture but shaping it. Featuring a moving...

From ancient civilizations of 3000 B.C. to the election of President Mohammad Khatami five millennia later, Iran's history is a rich palette of conquests, invasions, occupations, and revolutions. "Iran's Diverse Peoples: A Reference Sourcebook" documents for the first time the major ethnic groups that emerged during each era and traces their evolution to the present day.

Written by a social anthropologist educated in Iran and England, this analysis presents vital statistics on the Persians, Kurds, Turks, Lurs, Assyrians, Arabs, and other pastoral and urban groups of Iran, highlighting...

The stories of these 400 eminent ethnic Americans are a testimony to the enduring power of the American dream. These men and women, from 90 different ethnic groups, certainly faced unequal access to opportunities. Yet they all became renowned artists, writers, political and religious leaders, scientists, and athletes. Kahlil Gibran, Daniel Inouye, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Thurgood Marshall, Madeleine Albright, and many others are living proof that the land of opportunity sometimes lives up to its name.

Alongside these success stories, as historian Elliot R. Barkan notes in his introduction...