Asylum for Mankind: America, 1607–1800

Ever since the Age of Discovery, Europeans have viewed the New World as a haven for the victims of religious persecution and a dumping ground for social liabilities. Marilyn C. Baseler shows how the New World's role as a refuge for the victims of political, as well as religious and economic, oppression gradually devolved on the thirteen colonies that became the United States.She traces immigration patterns and policies to show how the new American Republic became an "asylum for mankind." Baseler explains how British and colonial officials and landowners lured settlers from rival nations with promises of religious toleration, economic opportunity, and the "rights of Englishmen," and identifies the liberties, disabilities, and benefits experienced by different immigrant groups. She also explains how the exploitation of slaves, who immigrated from Africa in chains, subsidized the living standards of Europeans who came by choice.American revolutionaries enthusiastically assumed the responsibility for serving as an asylum for the victims of political oppression, according to Baseler, but soon saw the need for a probationary period before granting citizenship to immigrants unexperienced in exercising and safeguarding republican liberty. Revolutionary Americans also tried to discourage the immigration of those who might jeopardize the nation's republican future. Her work defines the historical context for current attempts by municipal, state, and federal governments to abridge the rights of aliens.

About the Author :
Marilyn C. Baseler is currently Assistant Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin.

Review :
"Well researched... Recommended for undergraduates and above."-Choice "Baseler's study of immigration policy will be sought out by historians and graduate students and is likely to stand as an authoritative treatment of the notion of American Asylum."-Journal of American History "Baseler skillfully weaves her close examination of British mercantile thought and American republican rhetoric into a detailed analysis of the immigration policies that shaped the settlement of early America. The result is a fresh account of the original debates on immigration's role in American society. The book is suitable for graduate students and upper-level undergraduates, but should appeal to all readers interested in the origins of American immigration policy and the complex and contested images of the American asylum."-Philip Otterness, Perspectives on Political Science "Baseler addresses in thoughtful and persuasive ways the extent to which the promise of freedom and opportunity was realized in the lives of American immigrants. Complex motives and ambiguous effects constitute the fundamental theme of this balanced and comprehensive study... This is a valuable, compelling, and highly recommended study."-James H. Kettner, Annals of the American Academy "Richly documented, well written, and systematically argued, ... Baseler's study of the colonial and revolutionary years offers new insights into America's role in the Atlantic world."-Nonald MacRaild, Immigrants and Minorities "This study establishes the primacy of the colonial period in laying the foundation for America's subsequent experience with immigration... In dense and often fascinating detail, she locates the origin of the idea of America as asylum in seventeenth-century England."-American Historical Review "Asylum for Mankind succeeds admirably as a political and intellectual analysis of migration policy in Britain and the new American republic. It is a book that, in filling an interpretive gap, has also opened up a new range of questions about the initial populating of the United States."-James A. Henretta, Journal of Social History "Readers will find this work valuable... The book is notable for its range, its assiduous references to recent scholarship, and its orientation to the Atlantic world... Thought-provoking."-Anita Tien, William and Mary Quarterly