Composite Nation: A History of Immigrant Advocacy in the United States

The story of immigration is central to the making of America, but it rarely includes the contributions of immigrant advocates—the individuals and organizations dedicated to defending new arrivals to the country. In Composite Nation, Lane Van Ham addresses this omission by describing over 350 years of activity directed to immigrants’ rights and wellbeing, from mass meetings and marches to lobbying and litigation. Van Ham traces an array of events as far back as the colonial era to show how concern for immigrants combined with struggles for religious freedom, racial equality, and civil liberties to produce a tradition of incalculable impact. Timely and concise, it will interest anyone involved in the immigrant advocacy of today or seeking to understand that movement’s rich, underappreciated history.

Lane Van Ham is a lecturer in the Writing Program and the Department of Public and Applied Humanities at the University of Arizona. He is the author of A Common Humanity: Ritual, Religion, and Immigrant Advocacy in Tucson, Arizona (University of Arizona Press, 2011).