Immigrant Epistolary and Epistemology: On the Motivators and Mentality of Nineteenth-Century German Immigrants
The question of what nineteenth-century immigrants knew of their destination before immigrating, and how they knew it, lies at the heart of the issue of immigrant mentality and motivation. This, in turn, is inextricably entwined with the question of what historians know and can know about immigratio...
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Veröffentlicht in: | Journal of American ethnic history 2009-04, Vol.28 (3), p.34-54 |
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Format: | Artikel |
Sprache: | eng |
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Zusammenfassung: | The question of what nineteenth-century immigrants knew of their destination before immigrating, and how they knew it, lies at the heart of the issue of immigrant mentality and motivation. This, in turn, is inextricably entwined with the question of what historians know and can know about immigration, and how they know it. In both enterprises, immigrant letters have played an important, perhaps crucial, role. One reflection of this importance is the publication of scholarly editions of immigrant letters from varying nationalities. Indeed, except for soldiers, immigrants probably represent the nonelite group whose writings have been most frequently edited and published. Here, Kamphoefner explores the parallel case of German immigrants and their correspondence, above all as it relates to the migration decision and the rationality or irrationality of the enterprise. |
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ISSN: | 0278-5927 1936-4695 |
DOI: | 10.2307/40543427 |