How important was World War II in the formation of Wilson's identity as both an American and an African American? Were these identities for him overlapping, distinct, or contradictory?

More than 600,000 immigrants passed through Ellis Island in 1912, the year residents of the Lower East Side wrote this letter to President Taft criticizing the disparaging remarks of the New York commissioner of immigration. Unlike earlier waves of immigration, increasing numbers hailed from Southern and Eastern Europe, including Jews and other groups that many Americans feared as radical and inassimilable. This anxiety led to a study published in $1911$ by the Dillingham Commission recommending immigration restriction, which would later be enacted in the early $1920$s. Here, a citizens' committee of the Lower East Side responds by affirming their identity as Americans.

What stereotypes about ethnic groups are these residents challenging in their letter (Citizens Committee of Orchard, Rivington, and East Houston Streets, New York City to William Howard Taft, April $9, 1912$) of protest? How do they defend themselves against the commissioner's representations?

How does Private Wilson frame the paradox of race and democracy as he experienced it? From his perspective, how did America's involvement in international crises like World War II affect debates over national identity?

What sort of society does Kallen want America to become, and how is ethnic identity a part of his vision? What metaphor does he prefer to "melting pot"?

How did Moreno's civil rights activism on behalf of Latinos compare with similar efforts promoting the interests of minority groups in America? What similarities or differences can you see?

Analyze Riley's essay (W. B. Riley, “The Faith of the Fundamentalists,” ) to see how he creates a fundamentalist identity in opposition to modernism. What definition of each emerges from his discussion?

To what extent did African American experiences during World War II, focus attention on public discussions regarding American national identity?

More than 600,000 immigrants passed through Ellis Island in 1912, the year residents of the Lower East Side wrote this letter to President Taft criticizing the disparaging remarks of the New York commissioner of immigration. Unlike earlier waves of immigration, increasing numbers hailed from Southern and Eastern Europe, including Jews and other groups that many Americans feared as radical and inassimilable. This anxiety led to a study published in $1911$ by the Dillingham Commission recommending immigration restriction, which would later be enacted in the early $1920$s. Here, a citizens' committee of the Lower East Side responds by affirming their identity as Americans.

Examine the role of ethnic identity in shaping both the Commission of Immigration's characterization of Lower East Side residents and their response. To what extent did their ethnicity define them in their own minds?

What role did the Great Depression play in shaping public debates regarding American national identity as they related to minority groups like Latinos? How did the economic crisis focus these debates?

Why do you think Kallen set "democracy" against "melting pot" in his title? How does he define the relationship between these ideals?

Why do you think Kallen set "democracy" against "melting pot" in his title? How does he define the relationship between these ideals?

What role did the Great Depression play in shaping public debates regarding American national identity as they related to minority groups like Latinos? How did the economic crisis focus these debates?

What were the goals of American isolationists?

Circle the word which does not belong to the group.

Une vache, un cheval, un coq