Intro -- Contents -- 1 "One People" Nationalism -- PART I -- 2 How to Become an American -- 3 Why Not All Groups Are Equal -- 4 Choosing New Members: The Rise of Immigration Restriction -- 5 The Drive for Authentic Americans: World War I Nationalism -- PART II -- 6 World War II and the Challenge to Assimilation -- 7 America Abroad at Home: International Pressures and Nationhood -- 8 Renewing the American Nation -- Conclusion: America's Post-Multiculturalist Settlement -- Notes -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z.

Spanning the entire twentieth century and encompassing immigration policies, the nationalistic fallout from both world wars, the civil rights movement, and nation-building efforts in the postcolonial era, The Liberty of Strangers advances a major new interpretation of American nationalism and the future prospects for diverse democracies. Tracing how Americans have confronted and relinquished, but mostly clung to group identities over the past century, Desmond King here debunks one of the guiding assumptions of American nationhood, namely that group distinction and identification would gradually dissolve over time, creating a "postethnic" nation. The divisions in American society have consistently proven themselves too strong to dissolve and, for better or for worse, the often-disparaged politics of multiculturalism are here to stay, with profound implications for America's democracy.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2018. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.