Donna Gabaccia, “‘Is Everywhere No Where?’ Nomads, Nations, and the Immigrant Paradigm of American History,” Journal of American History, Vol. 86, No. 3 (December 1999): 1115-34.

In this article Gabaccia uses the topic of Italian migration historiography through her work with the Italians Everywhere project to bring into question the hegemony of nation-building in regards to the study of migrant history, particularly in American historiography. This article argues that migration historians must be historians of the world, of several nations, and of the ethnic, religious, and regional loyalties in order to sustain and motivate migration (Gabaccia, 1115).

The Italians Everywhere project revealed that the common national narrative of Italy’s migration history is fundamentally incorrect, making me wonder if the common narrative of migration in United States History cannot be debunked through our in depth analysis of specific regions migration historiographies (1112). I am also wondering if through Patrick and I’s project we may be able to tell a story of the Granite State’s migrant history as having an impact on nation building throughout history, or vice-versa. Did migrant groups in the Granite State place more of their culture into the American “Melting-Pot” or was their culture lost through a quick assimilation into American society?

Adam Goodman, “Nation of Migrants, Historians of Migration,” Journal of American Ethnic History, Vol. 34, No. 4 (Summer 2015): 7-16.

The topic of Adam Goodman’s article is that of the United States being referred to throughout history as A Nation of Immigrants. Goodman argues that this phrase and others like it reinforce inadequate and inaccurate stereotypes of immigrants and of America (Goodman, 7). As I read Goodman’s article I am tempted to focus on those non-European immigrant groups that were or are present in New Hampshire, for in the past these groups have been depicted as secondary actors (8). In this article I also found tips for being a historian of migration such as, “utilizing multiple methods, rely on sources in multiple languages, and incorporate an interdisciplinary approach that, when necessary, pulls from sociology, anthropology, geography, political science, and legal studies” (8). On top of that, in this article as well as Gabaccia’s article I notice the praise on historians who focus on migration rather than immigration so as not to reinforce the nation of immigrants myth or privilege the history of one-way migration and community formation (9). Lastly, I take from these articles the advice to study through a transnational lens when conducting my own research.

(worldmapsonline.com)

Immigration , the act of moving to a foreign place with the intent of staying.  Hundreds of years ago settlers immigrated to colonies like Massachusetts, founded on the hope of economic prosperity and religious freedom creating towns and cities where ever the went.  Surrounded by acres of forests, miles of river, and many mountains, sits the city of North Adams.  Through out this class I hope to dive into the history of one of the smallest cities in Massachusetts that I my self have migrated to like so many others.  While at the current moment I do not plan on staying in North Adams post graduation, every time I cross the one of the many bridges into town I cannot help the sense of homecoming I feel.  I love learning about local history so this project seems like the perfect challenge to undertake.  While my partner and I are not quite sure which direction the project will end up going, I believe we are looking to study the early twentieth century period of North Adams.  A time when factories and mills were the heart and soul of the Northern Berkshires where our city is located.  I am also extremely excited to learn about the cultures and histories of my classmates towns and cities.  Connecting to others across our country, and the world for that matter, is so important for growing as a society as we have seen from our readings.

Being a college town, much of the population that makes up North Adams is transient. Like Goodman states not every migrant intends to stay . During the beginning of the nineteen hundreds people from all over the world came to stay however, and carve out a life for themselves and their families.  That all changed as the years went on and the mills and factories began to close.  The affects can still be felt today as North Adams works to recover from the closing of our last factory during the 1980s, causing hundreds to emigrate in search of employment elsewhere.  It will be interesting to see the similarities between people separated by time.

Bibliographic Information

Taparata, Even. 2016. “The US has come a long way since its first, highly restrictive naturalization law.” Public Radio International.  accessed 27 Aug 2017. <https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-07-04/us-has-come-long-way-its-first-highly-restrictive-naturalization-law>

“General and Personal” The Atlanta Daily Sun. 20 Dec 1872. accessed 26 Aug 2017. <https://hyp.is/DKBlvotgEee1U0_e9mJFwQ/gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn83016187/1872-12-20/ed-1/seq-2/>

“The Question of Immigration” The Atlanta Intellegencer. 5 Dec 1866. accessed 26 Aug 2017.<https://hyp.is/oOLUiIqcEeelx8f29qoQoA/gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn89053739/1866-12-05/ed-1/seq-1/>

Hobbs, Billy. “Hancock resident, prosecutor, places in national farm event” Union Recorder. 13 Feb. 2017. Accessed 26 Aug 2017. <https://hyp.is/bBmBqotrEeea0ufQLc4ZuQ/www.unionrecorder.com/news/hancock-resident-prosecutor-places-in-national-farm-event/article_c8bf97b2-efdc-11e6-98e8-ef4cfa60d0ef.html>

Peebles, Jennifer. “Here’s how many refugees Georgia gets” Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 29 January 2017. Accessed 27 Aug 2017. <http://www.ajc.com/news/local/here-how-many-refugees-georgia-gets/tCHG8eH089V6MqbFqHiaBJ/>

“The Owners” Destiaethiopiankitchen.com. Accessed 27 Aug 2017. <http://www.destaethiopiankitchen.com/the-owners.html>

“Sevananda Natural Foods Markets” Sevenanda.coop. Accessed 27 August 2017. <http://www.sevananda.coop/>. 

Clayvon, Candace. “Photos: A guide to Your DeKalb Farmers Market” Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 21 March 2017. Accessed 27 August 2017. <http://www.accessatlanta.com/lifestyles/photos-guide-your-dekalb-farmers-market/KtMULOtw9rd2jWnu2VlYGJ/>

Chancey, Andrew S. 2013. “Koinonia Farm”. New Georgia Encyclopedia. accessed 27 August 2017. <http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/koinonia-farm>

1. Thesis/Topic/Hypothesis
   1. Since this is a piece trying to list all previous US naturalization laws, there is no strong specific argument. However the article’s title claims that the US has made net progress in creating more civil and humane naturalization laws despite any previous set backs; the last sentence in the introductory section merely claims that the US naturalization laws have “changed” over time.
2. How this reading pertains to my research.
   1. In some Georgia based newspapers I found in the archives, I found that many articles expressed objection to curbing immigration to the South, particularly of European immigrants. For example, in the December 20, 1872 issue of The Atlanta Daily Sun, discusses a plan to build steamships exclusively for bringing immigrants to Savannah in the “Personal and General Section”. This is because immigrants were needed to “develop our resources and stimulate our economy” as quoted by the aforementioned The Atlanta Daily Sun article from a Union Recorder article. In addition, according to the December 5, 1866 issue of The Weekly Atlanta Intellegencer, the article, “The Question of Immigration” argues that European immigrant labors can fill the void left by the freed slaves in Southern states; the article even further argues that New York is purposefully directing immigrants exclusively to its ports to create a surplus of labor to exploit.  For context in the aforementioned newspaper issue, this was posted on the same page as an article that vehemently argues against African Americans voting rights and another article from “Fenians of New York” calling for support for the Fenian Brotherhood in Ireland. I point this out to demonstrate how European immigration and an Irish rebellion were not nearly as taboo as African American suffrage. This is unusual compared the racism experienced by European immigrants in the Northeast. However I have not yet found any historic articles from Georgia newspapers that vehemently argue in favor of immigrants’ civil rights. More recently, the Febuary 13, 2017 issue of the Union Recorder, Skye Gess argued against strict immigration policy at a national convention for the Georgia Farm Bureau Younge Farmers Program and gained national recognition; she argued that in Georgia a large portion of labor on farms are foreign laborers. Unlike the historic articles, this recent article argues against anti-immigrant sympathies towards Latinos, rather than Europeans.
   2. Atlanta is currently home to a significant number of refugees according to the January 29, 2017 article, “Here’s How many refugees Georgia gets” in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Local restaurants, grocery stores, and other forms of business are opening up in neighborhoods and attracting business from locals as well as tourists and college students. For example, Desta Ethiopian Kitchen is booming in the North Druid Hills Atlanta area and is run by the local Ethiopian population (“The Owners”). Sevenanda, a communally owned grocery store in Little Five Points, stocks a diversity of goods and foods for peoples that have restrictive/alternative dietary and health practices due to religious or cultural practices (“Sevananda Natural Foods Markets” ). Lastly, the farmers market in DeKalb, dubbed as a “world market”, sells produce and spices from around the globe and has 148 flags of different countries hanging like banners from the ceiling (Clayvon). Pictures are even prohibited to be taken there in order to maintain refugee safety and to not violate certain religious believes (personal experience).
   3. Essentially, Georgia is become more dependent upon the diversity and economic activity that immigrants and refugees bring into the state. Even though Ethan and I are trying to focus on how the emigration and immigration of college students affect the Milledgeville community, a part of our investigation could be how many international immigrants are within the population of students and in the local population. We can then look further how these have integrated into the local and college population and how these populations interact locally as well as in larger regions of the state. A lot of traffic from Atlanta and Athens occurs when college students transfer or enroll at Milledgeville, perhaps this could be further looked into.
3. Further notes on the matter
   1. Personally I have witnessed first hand how my home town, Americus Georgia, can be hateful as well as very supportive of Latino immigrants. In my high school we had a new transfer student that was adopted in order to go to school in the US; she occasionally visited her parents and called. Also a Mexican Grocery store, La Pasada, opened up caters to the local Latino community with a little bit of Korean flair coming from the store owners wife; they serve the best tacos in town (in my opinion) as well as Bulgolgi beef dishes.  However I have often heard the gripe about immigrants taking jobs and running down communities and creating drug dins. The very same high school that I and the other girl attended was originally a white-flight school and is still primarily white, middle to upper class locals. On the other hand, there is an old commune down the road from where I grew up called Koinonia Farm and was the first large community in the area to support desegregation and civil rights for African Americans (Chancey). I see some of these cultural frictions and stereotypes sprouting out of economic struggle from both the Latino and local communities. Therefore I do believe xenophobia is most definitely a reality; however, I also believe that it is inseparably tied into socioeconomic relations (in this specific case). This in turn if unchecked can completely halt any chance of immigrants’ upward mobility.

As I embark on uncovering and understanding our local migration history, I understand that in order to develop a full understanding of this history, it is important to also consider the whole migration history of both the sending and receiving nations.  In the assigned article “The US has come a long way since its first, highly restrictive naturalization law,” the author Evan Taparata writes of changes in immigration law throughout US history.  I feel this article will be important for each one of us to consider as we develop our projects.  How did US immigration laws influence the migration stories of our community.  How do current laws influence today’s migration stories.  Nothing that I read in the article was new to me, as I have studies immigration history in previous classes, but what stood out to me (or what was reinforced once again for me) was the constant struggle to define citizenship.  What is a citizen?  It seems like such a simple question, but it isn’t.  And that simple question generates so much emotion.   We allow that “simple” word to define so much of who we are.  In this nation it is a coveted concept.  I wonder how other nations around the world deal with the ideas of citizenship.   Does citizenship shape/define belonging?  Yes and no.  You can be a citizen and still not possess the feeling of belonging.  However, isn’t that how or nation defines belonging?  Citizenship.  And in reverse you can feel like you belong/are a part of this nation and not possess citizenship.  Is the fear of security and economic instability really what prevents citizenship and belonging to be more open?  Is it a justified fear?  I am aware of some of the fears “citizens” in my community have in regard to our current influx of Mexican immigrants, but what about the past.  What were the migration fears members in my community faced?  Were those fears overcome? How?  How does that history affect current migration stories?

Today Liz and I had our first meeting to discuss the project. She isn’t as familiar with the history of this area as I am, but I had a few suggestions as to groups of migrants that we could focus on. We also thought it prudent to visit UNCA’s Special Collections and the Western Regional Archives, the western branch of the state archives. It may be that the archivists at these locations will have the perfect collection for us to explore. If not, I am hopeful that they will be able to point us in the right direction of another institution that can help us. I am sure we will get these meetings nailed down within the next week.

As far as ideas that I had for groups that we can research, perhaps one of the biggest groups of people to settle in Western North Carolina is the Scotch-Irish. There is an annual event that takes place in WNC called the Highland Games, where descendants of these families gather. As luck would have it, the organizers of this event have kept records of the families and games, so this could potentially be a very large collection to work with. There is also a sizable Latin American population around Asheville, but I am not sure if a collection exists that would give us the evidence we need to create a robust site. There is also the possibility of working with the Black Mountain College collection. This particular school was active from 1933-1957 and was revolutionary, to say the least. During World War II it took in many refugees from Nazi occupied countries as well as many other countries from Europe, Asia, and South America. We thought that there may be a story here as well.

Liz and I were also curious about how far out in North Carolina was considered local enough. Would Charlotte be suitable? Or somewhere equally as far?

Finally, I wanted to reflect a little on the reading for tonight. Reading about the struggles that immigrants faced when trying to gain U.S. citizenship was… astounding. The ways that our government created to discriminate against others is amazing to me. Taking away a woman’s citizenship because she married a non-citizen? Deciding that Indians weren’t white enough and revoking their citizenship? As bad as attitudes toward immigration may seem today (and there is no denying that blatant xenophobia fuel the views of many on this topic), it is still apparent the progress that has been made. I’m sure I will keep this reading in mind when we finally decide on a topic. Was it hard for our migrants to gain citizenship? Were they ever in danger of having their citizenship stripped away? Regardless, I am looking forward to telling their story, whatever that story may be.