In the years after the world war that ravaged the Ottoman Empire, Hassan left his native village in modern-day Lebanon to join his parents and siblings in the growing Midwest town of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. To do so, he had to sidestep the stringent immigration quotas newly implemented by the US. But years later, when the authorities learned that he entered and was living in the US illegally, he was threatened with deportation. Through Hassan's story, we'll learn about the experience of Arab migration to the United States and get to know the Syrian-American community that despite numbering in the hundreds of thousands by the 1920s, found itself repeatedly compelled to prove its worthiness to be included in a society where nativism was on the rise and being entitled to full citizenship often meant being considered white.
The Many Faces of Nativism
The Many Faces of Nativism
While many Americans would prefer to think of their homeland as a "nation of immigrants," nativism has been a potent social and political force for most of the nation's history. This exhibit centers on a few of the high-water marks of anti-immigrant sentiment.
Nativism in the 19th Century
View Connections20The Immigration Act of 1917
View Connections12Quotas, Scientific Racism and the 1920s
View Connections20The Many Faces of Nativism
Quotas, Scientific Racism and the 1920s
Syrian in Sioux Falls
In the 1920s, Syrian-Americans were compelled to prove their worth in a society where nativism was on the rise and citizenship often meant being considered white.Seeking Asylum
View Connections20Donald Trump & the "Muslim Ban"
View Connections20