Immigration: An American Story

The United States has often been called “a nation of immigrants” – an oversimplification, to be sure. American Indians were present before the nation’s founding and hundreds of thousands of Africans were brought to these shores in chains. Many Americans, however, descend from immigrants who fled religious or ethnic persecution, war, or economic hardship. Over time, each wave of immigrants has left its own imprint on public attitudes and policies throughout the country’s history. Immigration: An American Story presents documents, maps, and images to tell selected stories of those who came to America, some by force and others by choice in search of a better future for themselves and later generations.