Immigration Debates, 1921

Today’s newspapers are full of debates about immigration and the partisan divide appears to be deep. A look at the February 11 and 14, 1921 issues of the Norwich Bulletin, newly digitized and uploaded to the Library of Congress’s newspaper database known as Chronicling America, may provide some historical perspective. On February 11, the front page carried a report about a debate in the U.S. Senate and on February 14 the page covering local news carried a story on one local response to the tumult.

Norwich Bulletin, February 11, 1921

Norwich Bulletin, February 14, 1921

Have you looked for what else might be found in Chronicling America about the Connecticut experience of immigration and the various responses of state residents to the Progressive Era policy debates on this question? You will be surprised at the wealth of reportage, anecdote, and editorial opinion that can be recovered for the period from 1910 to 1922.

The Norwich Bulletin from 1914-1922 is newly digitized and provided to the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America site by the Connecticut Digital Newspaper Project, all thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Look for 1910-1913 soon and look for the Bridgeport Evening Farmer, 1910-1922 to go online next year.