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The Deportation Express
A History of America through Forced Removal
Series: American Crossroads
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The Deportation Express
$5699
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
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Description
A history of the United States' systematic expulsion of "undesirables" and immigrants, told through the lives of the passengers who travelled from around the world, only to be locked up and forced out aboard America's first deportation trains.
The United States, celebrated as a nation of immigrants and the land of the free, has developed the most extensive system of imprisonment and deportation that the world has ever known. The Deportation Express is the first history of American deportation trains: a network of prison railroad cars repurposed by the Immigration Bureau to link jails, hospitals, asylums, and workhouses across the country and allow forced removal with terrifying efficiency. With this book, historian Ethan Blue uncovers the origins of the deportation train and finds the roots of the current moment, as immigrant restriction and mass deportation once again play critical and troubling roles in contemporary politics and legislation.
A century ago, deportation trains made constant circuits around the nation, gathering so-called "undesirable aliens"βmigrants disdained for their poverty, political radicalism, criminal conviction, or mental illnessβand conveyed them to ports for exile overseas. Previous deportation procedures had been violent, expensive, and relatively ad hoc, but the railroad industrialised the expulsion of the undesirable. Trains provided a powerful technology to divide "citizens" from "aliens" and displace people in unprecedented numbers.
Drawing on the lives of migrants and the agents who expelled them, The Deportation Express is history told from aboard a deportation train. By following the lives of selected individuals caught within the deportation regime, this book offers a dramatic image of the forces of state exclusion that accompanied the epic immigration of early twentieth-century America. These are the stories of people who travelled from around the globe, only to be locked up and cast out, deported through systems that bound the United States together, and in turn, pulled the world apart. Their journey would be followed by millions more in the years to come.
Series: American Crossroads
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The Deportation Express
A history of the United States' systematic expulsion of "undesirables" and immigrants, told through the lives of the passengers who travelled from around the world, only to be locked up and forced out aboard America's first deportation trains. The United States, celebrated as a nation of immigrants and the land of the free, has developed the most extensive system of...Hardback$5699Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
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Health as Property shows how responses to racism can be predatory, harmful, and dangerous to poor people of colour. Nic Ramos examines a Black-led academic medical centre known as King-Drew that was built in response to the 1965 Watts Uprising. Forged by the political willingness of white voters to experiment with anti-poverty programmes in poor neighbourhoods of colour, the health...Hardback$29800Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Ethan Blue's The Deportation Express is praised for its insightful examination of early 20th-century U.S. immigration enforcement and the mechanical process of deportation via rail. Reviewers highlight its effective use of microhistories to expose the racial and economic injustices of the time, illustrating how the immigration system was embedded in state control and violence. The book is commended for its blend of detailed historical research and accessibility, providing a nuanced exploration of the socio-political dynamics shaping U.S. citizenship and racial capitalism. Additionally, it's recognised for contributing significantly to various scholarly fields by uncovering the intricate ties between deportation practices and race.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780520304444
Publisher: University of California Press
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 19 October 2021
Country: United States
Imprint: University of California Press
Illustration: 11 maps, 14 b-w photographs
Audience: Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 38.0mm
Width: 152.0mm
Height: 229.0mm
Weight: 816g
Pages: 448
About the Author
Ethan Blue isΒ Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Western Australia. He has published widely on the United StatesΒ and Australian penal systems. He lives in Perth, Australia.
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