From Ellis Island to JFK: New York's Two Great Waves of Immigration. (Reviews).

From Ellis Island to JFK: New York's Two Great Waves of Immigration. By Nancy Fone (New Haven, Yale University Press, 2000. x plus 334 pp.).

Anthropologist Nancy Foner has produced this imaginative analysis comparing experiences of the major immigrant groups to New York City at the beginning of the twentieth century--Italians and Jews--with those who arrived during the last three decades of the century--mostly Asians and Central Americans. Her chapters focus on why people chose to come to the United States, how they traveled to get here, where they lived, worked, and were educated, the status of women and the consequences of existing prejudice. The discussions not only enhance our knowledge but they encourage us to look at familiar material from new perspectives.

Of course we know that people came to America for economic opportunities and that foreigners now fly here (hence the title of this book) rather than take days, or even weeks, to arrive in crowded and unsanitary ships. And, if we stop to think about it, we know that perhaps a third of the new immigrants are professionals who are highly skilled when they arrive and therefore can enter the labor market at much higher rates of pay than the immigrants of yore. Furthermore, our memories of early twentieth century Jews and Italians are that they lived in dilapidated tenements, some without adequate light, plumbing, or water. Contemporary immigrants, thanks to state and local requirements, are housed much better even if their dwellings are still not ideal. Moreover, the more successful of the newcomers have chosen abodes in middle class suburban neighborhoods.

Just as living accommodations have changed, so too, has the status of women. There are vast contrasts between their experiences in the first decades of the century and those at a later time. To be sure, teenaged Jewish and Italian immigrant daughters worked before marriage and brought their earnings back to their families; today, most of the young women who work outside of the home no longer have to do that. Women and girls were also more sheltered in the earlier period. Educational and occupational opportunities for females today are abundant rather than circumscribed. Contemporaries also have greater earning power, more control over their lives and those of their children, and can live adequately, economically speaking, without husbands. Furthermore it is no longer a stigma to be a female breadwinner.

Foner's work is well supported by tables and statistics. We learn that most of the professional newcomers arrive from Asia and Eastern Europe, that they earn more money than people whose origins are in Latin America, and that they live with greater comforts than either the immigrant Jews or Italians, or contemporaries who are less well educated. In contrast to the early part of the twentieth century, perhaps a third of today's immigrants to the city know some English, are familiar with American culture, and have an opportunity to obtain a better education than did Italians or Jews. Unlike previous decades, public schools no longer disparage ethnic heritages and they teach "Americanization" more subtly. "Multiculturalism" is the buzzword of the day and children of different backgrounds are encouraged to share aspects of their own family cultures with others.

For the most part Foner's presentation works well. Everyone knows that bigotry is wrong and contemporary American rhetoric and institutions foster tolerance. No matter that this goal is only sometimes achieved and that Americans of all stripes harbor negative feelings towards individuals who possess different backgrounds, values, and skin color. But this is a vast difference from the racist views prevalent earlier in the century; then respectable members of society passed along foolish thoughts and dubbed them scientific analyses. Sociologist E. A. Ross of the University of Wisconsin published The Old World in the New in 1914 and two years later New York aristocrat Madison Grant wrote The Passing of the Great Race. Both of these authors disparaged southern and eastern European immigrants while lauding "Nordics"--blond, blue eyed people from northern and western Europe. The level of their analyses may now seem absurd but they were considered sophisticated in their day. Inordinate significance was given to bodi ly shapes and features. Thus Ross wrote, "It is unthinkable that so many persons with crooked faces, course mouths, bad noses, heavy jaws, and low foreheads can mingle their heredity with ours...."(quoted on p. 145). Fortunately, today only crackpots would give credence to such an interpretation.

In explaining differences in educational progress. Foner rests her argument almost exclusively on social class and racism. While not disparaging the importance of these forces, they do not suffice to explain individual achievement. A small number of accomplished scientists have overcome these barriers. Moreover, parents who come from cultures that value education, which set clear and unambiguous goals for their children, and who are willing to make sacrifices to help their offspring reach desired goals, also contribute to success. Foner does not explore religious values and teachings but these, too, might influence accomplishment. In other words, while not ignoring the combination of lower class status and societal racism that create inordinately high barriers to achievement for most people, we must also recognize that there are a number of other factors that might help to explain failure or success in school.

Despite these caveats, however, From Ellis Island to JFK provides thoughtful comparisons and analyses. We often have false memories about how our parents and grandparents adapted to life in the world's most exciting city. Foner tries to clarify previous events and bring some reality into our understanding both of previous generations of immigrants and the newcomers amongst us today. Although not everyone will agree with her positions, there is no doubt that they will foment lively discussions among readers who assess immigrant experiences differently.