Able to Be American
Disability in US Immigration Policy and the American Jewish Response
$60.35
- Paperback
304 pages
- Release Date
17 November 2026
Summary
Epilepsy. Heart disease. Varicose veins. “Feeble-mindedness.” In 1891, Congress unambiguously codified the popular sentiment that “defects” like these should preclude admission to the United States. Expanding the eugenics-rooted restrictions of the 1882 Immigration Act, the new law conflated illness, poverty, and disability with criminality and “moral turpitude,” starkly revealing Congress’s vision of the “ideal” American. Simultaneously, American Jews sought security and acceptance in the Un…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781469697772 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1469697777 |
| Author: | Hannah E. Zaves-Greene |
| Publisher: | The University of North Carolina Press |
| Imprint: | The University of North Carolina Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 304 |
| Release Date: | 17 November 2026 |
| Dimensions: | 25mm x 155mm x 235mm |
Critics Review
“An important contribution to both Jewish immigration history and the history of immigration policy in the United States. Hannah Zaves-Greene provides rigorous policy analysis while not forgetting the humanity of the individuals who were caught up in the machinery of immigration control.”—Douglas C. Baynton, author of Defectives in the Land: Disability and Immigration in the Age of Eugenics
“Hannah Zaves-Greene tells the story of how American Jews fought against the idea that disability was a reason to exclude immigrants from the United States. The book’s vibrant characters and careful historical description make it vital for understanding both the nation’s history and our current times.”—Sarah Imhoff, author of The Lives of Jessie Sampter: Queer, Disabled, Zionist
Hannah E. Zaves-Greene
Hannah E. Zaves-Greene is currently a Bernard and Audre Rapoport research fellow at the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives.
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