Transforming America

Book excerpt: Utilizing multiple perspectives of related academic disciplines, this three-volume set of contributed essays enables readers to understand the complexity of immigration to the United States and grasp how our history of immigration has made this nation what it is today. Transforming America: Perspectives on U.S. Immigration covers immigration to the United States from the founding of America to the present. Comprising 3 volumes of 31 original scholarly essays, the work is the first of its kind to explore immigration and immigration policy in the United States throughout its history. These essays provide a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives from experts in cultural anthropology, history, political science, economics, and education. The book will provide readers with a critical understanding of the historical precedents to today's mass migration. Viewing the immigration issue from the perspectives of the contributors' various relevant disciplines enables a better grasp of the complex conundrum presented by legal and illegal immigration policy.