United States citizens have been anxious about immigration issues periodically through American history, says a 菠萝视频 University historian who can compare current concerns that some have about Muslims with past eras of hostility.
鈥淟ike it or not, President Trump鈥檚 aggressive nativism is not a deviation from American history, but flows from some of its main currents and gives them additional life,鈥� says , associate professor of history at 菠萝视频 University.
Previous eras where Americans were hostile to people considered outsiders include:
- The 1850s and 1860s, when many Protestants disliked Irish Catholic domestic workers;
- The 1860s, when white workers were unwelcoming of Chinese immigrants working on railroad construction;
- The 1890s through the 1920s, when believers in eugenics were alarmed at the prospect of race-mixing; and
- The 1950s, when some Americans, including many immigrants, were suspected of being Communists.
Kramer听is working on a book about intersections between immigration policy and U.S. foreign relations. He can talk about how the current situation fits into the history of U.S. immigration restriction and refugee policies.