July 22, 2019
In this accessible introduction, journalist and English professor Railton explores the dichotomy of inclusivity and exclusivity that has defined the American ethos since the country’s inception, highlighting some of this struggle’s villains and heroes over five centuries. He begins with insightful commentary on the “melting pot” metaphor; is it a vessel that accepts multiple cultures and melds them into an America built on diversity, or are those cultures poured into the pot to become homogenized and assimilated? Eight chapters follow, each devoted to a different moment of exclusionism in American history. He celebrates authors who used their voices for political ends, including novelist Ruiz de Burton (who in the 1880s drew on her own experience to raise awareness about the theft of land from Mexican-Americans), as well as activists, such as Toyosaburo Korematsu and Yuri Kochiyama, who were sent to Japanese internment camps during WWII and devoted their lives to fighting discrimination. This brief book gives only a surface analysis of some 500 years of history, but Railton effectively makes the material relevant to today, particularly in the final chapter on Muslims in America and the conclusion, which connects these historical episodes to current immigration policy and treatment of native people. Readers already knowledgeable about American history won’t find too many new ideas, but this book serves as a solid primer for students.