|
By David M. Brownstone
and Irene M. Franck
The massive, worldwide
emigration to the United States has been a major feature of world
history for more than five centuries and into the present day. Facts
About American Immigration explores this extraordinary saga,
focusing on who came to the U.S. and from where, their reasons for
coming, the nature of their journey, and where they settled, starting
with the earliest Americans, who crossed the Bering Land Bridge into
Alaska between 12,000 and 15,000 B.C. The volume is a practical
resource for historians and sociologists, as well as a boon to
genealogical researchers.
The work opens with an overview,
including extensive statistical materials, to place the process of
immigration in a wide historical context. This section also includes
-
A survey of the efforts
to restrict immigration
-
A portrait of the
immigrant journey over the centuries
-
A discussion of Native
Americans and immigration
-
A chronology of immigration
The main section of the book
delves into immigration experiences, numbers, and motives, by
region of emigration: Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Oceania.
Each section begins with a brief introduction to the region, followed by
a series of articles focusing on specific countries or groups of
countries. Articles include tables and graphs that summarize and portray
statistical information relating to immigration, as well as related
Internet and print resources. Each regional section ends with tables and
graphs summarizing the pattern of immigration from the region, plus
general Internet and print resources.
Annual Immigration
Statistics
An in-depth section of tables generated from official records kept by
the U.S. government since 1820 follows the main section of the book. The
most current official immigration statistics available as of mid-2001
are presented in more than 50 pages of data.
Six appendices present
additional information:
Appendix A: General Immigration Resources describes valuable
Internet sources for researchers (complete with contact information of
the sponsoring organization), and lists a multitude of books, including
publisher and publication year.
Appendix B: Immigration and Naturalization Legislation
provides an overview of the legislative history of immigration to the
U.S., with brief descriptions of immigration and naturalization statutes
in chronological order.
Appendix C: Estimates of Emigration and Illegals
covers the
number of people who leave the U.S. to live elsewhere, as well as the
number and characteristics of persons residing in the U.S. illegally.
Appendix D: Tips on Genealogy includes genealogical
resources, both Internet and print, relating to individual countries and
regions.
Appendices E and F are a guides to the use of the National Archives
and Records Administration and census Soundex data system. After the
appendices, Facts About American Immigration features in-depth
glossary of immigration terms.
Readers seeking information
about specific countries or regions can look either at the detailed
table of contents or in the index at the back of the book. A full list
of all the tables and graphs—well over 400 of them—is also provided.
◘
818 pp.
◘ 892 photographs
◘
400 tables and graphs
◘
2002
◘ ISBN 0-8242-0959-1
◘
$120
◘
$140 (outside U.S. and Canada)
Other volumes in the "Facts About" series:
|
|
