immigration – History in the Margins

A Great Book About American Immigration Law

By Pamela | July 10, 2020 |

I have often complained that one of the failures of American history class as I experienced it in high school* was that everything after the civil war was taught as a series of legislation punctuated by two world wars. The world wars were taught as story, and subsequently stuck with me . But the history…

Déjà Vu All Over Again: Evil May Day

By Pamela | May 1, 2018 |

In the spring of 1517, working class Londoners were suffering from the effects of an economic downturn, caused in part by an expensive war against France and in part by a hard winter. Artisans and merchants alike complained that foreigners enjoyed unfair advantages that allowed them to take work and trade away from Englishmen. The…

From the Archives: Déjà Vu All Over Again: The Immigration Law of 1924

By Pamela | January 31, 2017 |

If you’ve been hanging out here in the Margins for a while, you probably have a pretty good idea about where I stand on political issues in general even though I try not to shove my opinions in your face because this is a history blog, not a political blog. One thing I feel strongly…