In The Alien, reformer and former U.S. immigration official Frederic C. Howe challenges the fear, prejudice, and economic exploitation surrounding immigration in early twentieth-century America.
Howe argues that the so-called “immigration problem” is fundamentally economic rather than racial. Earlier generations of immigrants were welcomed when land was plentiful and labor was needed, yet newer arrivals from southern and eastern Europe increasingly faced suspicion, restrictive laws, poor working conditions, and demands for forced “Americanization.”
Drawing on his experience overseeing Ellis Island, Howe rejects claims of inherent Anglo-Saxon superiority and describes immigrants as ambitious people seeking the same opportunity that transformed earlier arrivals into Americans. He condemns deportation abuses and argues that genuine assimilation comes not from stripping newcomers of their culture, but from giving them economic security, fair treatment, education, and a meaningful stake in society.
Originally published in the 1922 anthology Civilization in the United States, The Alien offers a striking historical critique of nativism, labor exploitation, immigration policy, and the contradictions within America’s treatment of newcomers.
This historical work contains terminology and assumptions reflective of its era.
Narrated by Brett Carter.
