We the People is a interesting and informative book. The author has clearly done his research but could have used other valuable information from others to also make his point.

WE THE PEOPLE: The 500-Year Battle Over Who Is American by Ben Railton is part of the American Ways Series from Rowman & Littlefield. Railton is Professor of English Studies and Coordinator of American Studies at Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts. In this new text he provides a general introduction, noting that 'we' is "an ambiguous pronoun" which has "consistently moved between two poles," an exclusionary one and an inclusive one. Railton then uses eight chapters to discuss specific "case studies" from the history of the Americas, such as the Conquistadors, later Indian removal, Chinese exclusion, Japanese internment and discrimination against Muslims to illustrate his points, often by citing actions AND reactions of lesser known figures. The xenophobic and white supremacist comments he includes from the 1920s are chilling. Of course, this is also such a timely topic – The New York Times recently ran an article on What Makes an American? and today published a story on changing policy relative to green card holders.

Although Railton clearly favors one perspective, he advocates for greater understanding and notes a significant number of sources, many of which, like Roger Daniels' Coming to America, are in our collection and used frequently. One that Railton neglected to mention is A Place at the Table by Maria Fleming which is similar in that it discusses (although much more briefly) several of the same examples of exclusionary practices in a generally chronological format. Also worth noting is Linda R. Monk's use of numerous primary sources (and again, a chronological presentation) in her text titled Ordinary Americans that looks more at everyday experiences. Overall, Railton's additional suggestions appear especially useful in that they encompass a number of publishers and relatively recent titles.

Links in live post:
https://rowman.com/Action/SERIES/_/AMW/American-Ways
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/09/sunday-review/immigration-assimilation-texas.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/12/us/politics/trump-immigration-policy.html