Americanization: Then and Now

How have the politics and rhetoric of US immigration policy shifted over the past century? Consider this 1919 pamphlet promoting "Americanization."

The Pamphlet

While the Americanization pamphlet is a product of an elitist organization circulated during a nativist period, it contains rhetorical features that might surprise contemporary readers.

National Security League

The Americanization pamphlet circulated in early 1919, just months after the conclusion of WWI, during a period of increasing resistance to immigration and hostility toward immigrants during the First Red Scare.

Members

The creator of the pamphlet, the National Security League, underwent a rapid and significant transformation in the aftermath of World War I.

About this Project

In addition to revealing the breadth and depth of the APS catalog, the discovery of this pamphlet attests to the role of serendipity in archival research.