Process Paper
Every year, I strive to pick a topic that has a bearing on my life and has far-reaching consequences geographically and over time. The whole area of Immigration History is a relatively new one, begun in the 1950’s by Oscar Handlin. As the son of first-generation immigrants who entered the US through the work-preference category of the 1965 Act, I am also a part of this topic. I was intrigued by this topic, for the changes it brought in our nation’s demographics over time was not fully evident at the time of its passage or in the next two decades, but today, it is a centerpiece of the multi-cultural nation we are.
I first went to my school library, and checked out over 15 encyclopedias on immigration. I read President Kennedy’s Nation of Immigrants and Abba Schwartz’s Open Society to understand the context of the pre- and post-1965 period pertaining to this revolutionary Act. I visited the US Citizenship and Immigration Services in Washington, D.C. At their Historical Research Library, I obtained many primary sources, met with immigration historian, Stuart Phelan, who guided me in gathering resources, and told me much about immigration. I carefully read 1965 Congressional Records of the 89th congress. I also read congressional debates on the 1924 Act that marked a period of xenophobia and hostility towards immigrants not from North-Western Europe. I contrasted the pre-1924 and 1965 periods to determine the turning point that 1965 was. I interviewed Professor Stephen Klineberg, an immigration historian at Rice University. He was a valuable resource that offered a deep perspective on the Act. I also interviewed Professor Gabriel Chin, an immigration historian at UC Davis School of Law. He too immensely enriched my understanding of the historical context and significance of the Act.
A website lies between a documentary and paper, yet fails at being either. During the 1950-60s there was ample media products by government and commercial organizations, so I knew I would have print, photo and video resources to build a telling website to present my argument on the far reaching impact of the 1965 Act whose reverberations have changed our nation’s ethnic diversity and continues to do so.
My topic fits perfectly with this year’s theme. By 1924, it was clear that there was to be little immigration into the US and it was to be all North-Western European. It was obvious to Americans then that such a policy would not change the racial composition of our nation and that it would stay as it always had. However, in 1965, following on the heels of liberalism and equality, there was a desire to right the wrong of decades of immigration discrimination. The 1965 Immigration Act purged ethnic origin out of immigration; an absolute turning point in immigration history. Immigrants could now come from any continent or country. This year's theme and my topic reinforce the fact that this nation was founded on the simple idea of freedom and equality and will be guided by events that will quietly transform a people who will always reinvent themselves.
I first went to my school library, and checked out over 15 encyclopedias on immigration. I read President Kennedy’s Nation of Immigrants and Abba Schwartz’s Open Society to understand the context of the pre- and post-1965 period pertaining to this revolutionary Act. I visited the US Citizenship and Immigration Services in Washington, D.C. At their Historical Research Library, I obtained many primary sources, met with immigration historian, Stuart Phelan, who guided me in gathering resources, and told me much about immigration. I carefully read 1965 Congressional Records of the 89th congress. I also read congressional debates on the 1924 Act that marked a period of xenophobia and hostility towards immigrants not from North-Western Europe. I contrasted the pre-1924 and 1965 periods to determine the turning point that 1965 was. I interviewed Professor Stephen Klineberg, an immigration historian at Rice University. He was a valuable resource that offered a deep perspective on the Act. I also interviewed Professor Gabriel Chin, an immigration historian at UC Davis School of Law. He too immensely enriched my understanding of the historical context and significance of the Act.
A website lies between a documentary and paper, yet fails at being either. During the 1950-60s there was ample media products by government and commercial organizations, so I knew I would have print, photo and video resources to build a telling website to present my argument on the far reaching impact of the 1965 Act whose reverberations have changed our nation’s ethnic diversity and continues to do so.
My topic fits perfectly with this year’s theme. By 1924, it was clear that there was to be little immigration into the US and it was to be all North-Western European. It was obvious to Americans then that such a policy would not change the racial composition of our nation and that it would stay as it always had. However, in 1965, following on the heels of liberalism and equality, there was a desire to right the wrong of decades of immigration discrimination. The 1965 Immigration Act purged ethnic origin out of immigration; an absolute turning point in immigration history. Immigrants could now come from any continent or country. This year's theme and my topic reinforce the fact that this nation was founded on the simple idea of freedom and equality and will be guided by events that will quietly transform a people who will always reinvent themselves.