The Ethnic Dimension in American History

The Ethnic Dimension in American History is a thorough survey of the role that ethnicity has played in shaping the history of the United States.  Considering ethnicity in terms of race, language, religion and national origin, this important text examines its effects on social relations, public policy and economic development.

• A thorough survey of the role that ethnicity has played in shaping the history of the United States, including the effects of ethnicity on social relations, public policy and economic development
• Includes histories of a wide range of ethnic groups including African Americans, Native Americans, Jews, Chinese, Europeans, Japanese, Muslims, Koreans, and Latinos
• Examines the interaction of ethnic groups with one another and the dynamic processes of acculturation, modernization, and assimilation; as well as the history of immigration
• Revised and updated material in the fourth edition reflects current thinking and recent history, bringing the story up to the present and including the impact of 9/11

The Ethnic Dimension in American History is a thorough survey of the role that ethnicity has played in shaping the history of the United States. Considering ethnicity in the sense of race, language, religion, and national origin, this important textbook examines the effects of ethnicity on social relations, public policy, and economic development. Ethnic groups covered in the book include African Americans, Native Americans, and Americans of varied backgrounds from across the globe including Jewish, Chinese, European, Japanese, Muslim, Korean, and Latinos.

Examining the period from the first Americans before colonization to the present day, the fourth edition of The Ethnic Dimension in American History has been thoroughly revised and updated to reflect current thinking and recent history, including the impact of 9/11. This book presents ethnicity as a central dynamic in US history. It is not just concerned with the history of immigration, but considers the interaction of ethnic groups with one another, and describes the dynamic processes of acculturation, modernization, and assimilation, which have had such a great impact on the United States throughout its history.

James S. Olson is Distinguished Professor of History at Sam Houston State University. He is the recipient of the university's Excellence in Teaching Award and Excellence in Research Award. He is the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of more than thirty books, including Catholic Immigrants in America (1993); Winning is the Only Thing: Sports in America Since 1945 (1989); Where the Domino Fell: America and Vietnam Fifth Edition (Blackwell, 2006); and John Wayne American (1996), which won the Ray and Pat Brown National Book Award from the Popular Culture Association. His book A Line in the Sand: The Alamo in Blood and Memory (2001) won the Diolece Parmelee Award from the Texas Historical Foundation. His most recent book—Bathsheba’s Breast: Women, Cancer, and History (2002)—was nominated by The Johns Hopkins University Press for the Pulitzer Prize in History, won the History of Science Category Award from the Association of American Publishers, and was recognized by the Los Angeles Times as one of the best non-fiction books in America for 2002.