Races and Immigrants in America

The author surveys the racial and immigrant composition of the United States from colonial settlement through later waves, analyzing social origins, selection processes, and the influence of class and religion. He treats the African American population separately, then examines industrial and labor relations that shaped immigrant experiences, urban life including crime and poverty, and the political consequences of demographic change. Emphasis falls on how social institutions, economic opportunity, and legal environment affect individual and group advancement, and the work closes with a discussion of patterns of amalgamation, assimilation, and institutional responses to immigration and racial diversity.