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Guarding the Golden Door: American Immigration Policy and Immigrants since 1882
As renowned historian Roger Daniels shows in this brilliant new work, America's inconsistent, often illogical, and always cumbersome immigration policy has profoundly affected our recent past.
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 undreamt of consequences, and this pattern has been rarely deviated from since.
Immigration policy in Daniels' skilled hands 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 Two and throughout the Cold War. And in a conclusion drawn from today's headlines, Daniels makes clear how far 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.
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 undreamt of consequences, and this pattern has been rarely deviated from since.
Immigration policy in Daniels' skilled hands 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 Two and throughout the Cold War. And in a conclusion drawn from today's headlines, Daniels makes clear how far 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.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 15, 2004
43 people are currently reading
328 people want to read
About the author
Roger Daniels
91 books17 followersA past president of the Society for Historians of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era as well as the Immigration History Society, Roger Daniels is the Charles Phelps Taft Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Cincinnati. He served as a consultant to the Presidential Commission on the Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians and is a planning committee member for the immigration museum on Ellis Island.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 17, 2019
This well-organized history of immigration in America was an eye-opener for me as I strive to learn more about this issue.
Essentially, it tells the story of our inverted bell shape curve on immigration -- heavy immigration numbers in the late 1800s and early 1900s as mostly male eastern and southern Europeans streamed into America to work in its factories, followed by severe immigration restrictions from the 1920s to the 1960s, and bookended by another huge surge in immigration with a very different set of characteristics, dominated by Mexicans, Central Americans, and Asians.
Daniels is obviously pro-immigration, even though he never explicitly says so. It is clear in his focus on the injustice and racism of past immigration laws and regulations and his quick dismissal of most arguments about immigrants taking away jobs from native-born Americans or burdening the welfare system.
A couple of factoids really stood out: 1) the dominant source of immigrants is family members, and they are NOT subject to the numerical country-based quotas that exist for other immigrants. That "chain effect" of migration is what has most changed the character and statistics of America today. A smaller but also non-quota group that has helped reshape the landscape is refugees, particularly those from Southeast Asia, eastern Europe and parts of Africa. And for some reason, I was struck by the fact that Ronald Reagan presided over legislation that codified the practice of letting large numbers of Mexican and other Latino agricultural workers come into America without serious restrictions.
The book ends around 2000, with a post-9/11 epilogue, so the last decade or so of immigration experience (and Congressional gridlock) is missing. Also, at times Daniels' writing is overly laden with statistics and minutiae, but all in all, this is an important and very fine introduction to U.S. immigration history.
Essentially, it tells the story of our inverted bell shape curve on immigration -- heavy immigration numbers in the late 1800s and early 1900s as mostly male eastern and southern Europeans streamed into America to work in its factories, followed by severe immigration restrictions from the 1920s to the 1960s, and bookended by another huge surge in immigration with a very different set of characteristics, dominated by Mexicans, Central Americans, and Asians.
Daniels is obviously pro-immigration, even though he never explicitly says so. It is clear in his focus on the injustice and racism of past immigration laws and regulations and his quick dismissal of most arguments about immigrants taking away jobs from native-born Americans or burdening the welfare system.
A couple of factoids really stood out: 1) the dominant source of immigrants is family members, and they are NOT subject to the numerical country-based quotas that exist for other immigrants. That "chain effect" of migration is what has most changed the character and statistics of America today. A smaller but also non-quota group that has helped reshape the landscape is refugees, particularly those from Southeast Asia, eastern Europe and parts of Africa. And for some reason, I was struck by the fact that Ronald Reagan presided over legislation that codified the practice of letting large numbers of Mexican and other Latino agricultural workers come into America without serious restrictions.
The book ends around 2000, with a post-9/11 epilogue, so the last decade or so of immigration experience (and Congressional gridlock) is missing. Also, at times Daniels' writing is overly laden with statistics and minutiae, but all in all, this is an important and very fine introduction to U.S. immigration history.
December 30, 2019
This is an excellent primer on the history of US immigration policy, written with a refreshingly frank and blunt tone. However, it is perhaps best used as the starting point for more in-depth research and study of immigration rather than for a casual understanding of US immigration policy. That being said, if you can work your way thru Daniels’ effective but dry use of immigration statistics, you will come away with a clear understanding that US immigration policy has largely been a conglomeration of smoke and mirrors to mask the undulating waves of the United States’ struggle with its racist origins. This is not presented in a condemning way, but rather as Daniels writes frankly in the opening sentences:
“In the beginning Congress created the Chinese Exclusion Act. Like much of what Congress has done about immigration since then, it was conceived in ignorance, was falsely presented to the public, and had consequences undreamt by its creators.”
This, in many ways, is a two sentence summary of the whole book. All evidence presented in the following pages supports and explores this concept.
“In the beginning Congress created the Chinese Exclusion Act. Like much of what Congress has done about immigration since then, it was conceived in ignorance, was falsely presented to the public, and had consequences undreamt by its creators.”
This, in many ways, is a two sentence summary of the whole book. All evidence presented in the following pages supports and explores this concept.
April 14, 2021
In this statistically-laden and data-driven history of American Immigration Policy from 1882 to 2002, Roger Daniels crafts a portrait of a system caught in seemingly endless internecine war between nativist restrictionist impulses and the fable of the United States as the refuge of "the wretched refuse of your teeming shore." Daniels traces the threads of government Immigration policy - from the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 to the establishment of ICE under the Department of Homeland Security in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. Impeccably researched and fiercely proving his central argument that restriction - whether Chinese Exclusion or the infamous Johnson-Reed Act - is the aberration rather than the rule to overall trends in immigration policy.
July 22, 2022
This book was a page turner and many assumptions were put to rest and unknowns were revealed about our country’s complex history. I loved the data and storytelling with data and legislation. Very helpful to get s better understanding of immigration, attitudes, snd the reality of the affects of actual practice vs assumptions.
November 30, 2024
A thoroughly researched historical presentation of America's immigration struggles. Starting from the very beginning of the country to more present day. This book provides a most interesting series of facts shaping the American love/hate relationship with immigration.
April 27, 2018
reading for GEOG/SOCY/LATS 48: Immigration, Race, and Ethnicity
July 26, 2018
Interesting background on one of our country's greatest shames.
November 15, 2019
A great introduction the the racism and often illogical decisions that have guided American immigration policy for the last two centuries.
May 22, 2025
I really enjoyed this book. It has a lot of tables, graphs, and statistics and I'm a numbers guy so I really like to read that stuff.
June 3, 2015
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 undreamt of consequences, and this pattern has been rarely deviated from since. As renowned historian Roger Daniels shows in this brilliant new work, America's inconsistent, often illogical, and always cumbersome immigration policy has profoundly affected our recent past.
Immigration policy in Daniels' skilled hands 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 Two and throughout the Cold War. And in a conclusion drawn from today's headlines, Daniels makes clear how far 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.
Immigration policy in Daniels' skilled hands 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 Two and throughout the Cold War. And in a conclusion drawn from today's headlines, Daniels makes clear how far 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.
July 10, 2012
An intense review of the history of immigration legislation in the United States. I read this book and then heard Daniels speak about it in a grad course. I agree with other reviews that the writing style can get a little dry at times, but having read an extreme amount of history books, this was by no means the worst. He provides a great deal of information showing the extensive research needed to write such a book. This is the book I recommend to others when having discussions of immigration policy in US history. It shows that immigration policy has not been one of open doors into the United States, but one of restriction, quotas, limitations, regulations, etc.
January 10, 2014
The writing, especially in the first part, is a weave of facts and numbers. But don't let this deter you. Aside from serving as information, the numbers are also symbolic of the immigration policy--from quotas to the dizzying breakdowns of immigrant classification--that Daniels concisely describes. Sometimes Daniels' writing has him appear arrogant or all-knowing. But these examples are few. The absence of a discussion on Middle Eastern immigration left me disappointed. Overall, though, this is a good book to introduce its reader to the political history of U.S. immigration.
April 9, 2009
Overall I gave the book two stars because although it had a great deal of good information and presented it in a fairly clear manner, the author's bias came through nearly every page. Since I came to the subject with little factual knowledge of the major immigration legislation, I can say that id did a good job of educating me in that regard. However, I am afraid his bias colored pretty much everything else.
August 28, 2016
Lots of good information in this book. Not really impressed by Daniels' writing however; he's a historian and writes like one. The book got slow a few times and it seemed to just end without any real resolution. Still, the best overarching review of immigration history in the states I've come across.
July 8, 2008
Most of what I know to be an educated yet emotional response about immigration into the US. Balanced, policy-centric, and intense. j
September 20, 2012
Very liberal, but well written. Repeats many passages throughout the book. A scholarly read.
July 23, 2016
So much information from this book is taken from his other- 'Coming to America'- sometimes word-for-word.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews