A Nation of Immigrants

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First edition cover

A Nation of Immigrants (ISBN 978-0-06-144754-9) is a 1958 book on American immigration by then U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts.

The name of the book is a reference to the fact that the United States is a country whose population is predominantly made up of non-native people, who settled the country following the European colonization of Americas and the establishment of the Thirteen Colonies.

History[]

The book was written by Kennedy in 1958, while he was still a senator. It was written as part of the Anti-Defamation League's series entitled the One Nation Library.[1] In the 1950s, former ADL National Director Ben Epstein was concerned by rising xenophobia and anti-immigrant rhetoric, so he reached out to then-Senator Kennedy to write a manuscript on immigration reform.[2][3]

Subsequently, after gaining the presidency, Kennedy called on Congress to undertake a full reevaluation of immigration law; and he began to revise the book for further publication. In August 1963, excerpts of the 1958 pamphlet were published in The New York Times Magazine.[4] He was assassinated before completing the revision, but the book was posthumously published in 1964 with an introduction by his brother, then Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.[5]

The book was re-issued by the Anti-Defamation League in 2008.[6] The 2018 edition was endorsed by Former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio.[7]

Summary[]

The book includes a map.

The book contains a short history of immigration from Colonial America onwards, an analysis of the importance of immigration in US history, and proposals to liberalize immigration law.

References[]

  1. ^ "Book by President Kennedy To Be Published on Oct. 7". The New York Times. 1964-09-03.
  2. ^ "ADL and Harper Perennial Release 60th Anniversary Edition of John F. Kennedy's Classic Essay, "A Nation of Immigrants"". Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  3. ^ "How a Jewish Charity's Long Game Readied It for Today's Turbulence". www.philanthropy.com. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  4. ^ Kennedy, John F. (1963-08-04). "A Nation of Immigrants". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
  5. ^ Kennedy, John Fitzgerald (1964). Kennedy, Robert F. (ed.). A Nation of Immigrants. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-091367-3.
  6. ^ "John F. Kennedy's A Nation of Immigrants". Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  7. ^ "A Nation of Immigrants - John F. Kennedy - Paperback". HarperCollins Publishers: World-Leading Book Publisher. Retrieved 2020-06-18.

External links[]


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