http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/795466015

Guarding the golden door American immigration policy and immigrants since 1882

The federal government's efforts to pick and choose among the multitude of immigrants seeking to enter the United States began with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Conceived in ignorance and falsely presented to the public, it had undreamed-of consequences, and this pattern has been rarely deviated from since. [In this volume, the author] shows, America's inconsistent, often illogical, and always cumbersome immigration policy has profoundly affected our recent past. Immigration policy, [he also] shows Americans at their best and worst, from the nativist violence that forced Theodore Roosevelt's 1907 "gentlemen's agreement" with Japan to the generous refugee policies adopted after World War II and throughout the Cold War. And in a conclusion drawn from today's headlines, Daniels makes clear how ignorance, partisan politics, and unintended consequences have overtaken immigration policy during the current administration's War on Terror. Irreverent, deeply informed, and authoritative, Guarding the Golden Door presents an unforgettable interpretation of modern American history.-Dust jacket.

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