Now & Then

Immigration: Defining ‘Us’ and ‘Them’

How has American immigration policy shifted over our national history? What can these changes show about how the U.S. defines “us” and “them”? 

Heather and Joanne discuss the politics and prejudices surrounding the two 1790s Naturalization Laws, the Immigration Act of 1924, the 1965 Hart-Celler Act, and the current Republican rhetoric about migrants at the Southern border. 

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For references &amp; supplemental materials, head to: cafe.com/now-and-then/immigration-defining-us-and-them/

Now &amp; Then is presented by CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
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How can the past help inform today’s most pressing challenges? Every Wednesday, award-winning historians Heather Cox Richardson and Joanne Freeman use their encyclopedic knowledge of US history to bring the past to life. Together, they make sense of the week in news by discussing the people, ideas, and events that got us here today. Now and Then is produced by CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network.