History 1710: U.S. History: Race, Ethnicity, Immigration

A historic effort in the summer of 1964 to shatter the foundations of white supremacy in what was one of the nation’s most viciously racist, segregated states.

Following the American Civil War, decommissioned Confederate soldiers in Pulaski, Tennessee established the Ku Klux Klan in 1865 as a fraternal social club. Documentary film about the history of the Klan and nativist ideas.

Examine the origin, history and impact of the 1882 law that made it illegal for Chinese workers to come to America and for Chinese nationals already here ever to become U.S. citizens. The first in a long line of acts targeting the Chinese for exclusion, it remained in force for more than 60 years.

Archive of documentary about the Asian American Experience.

See both online exhibits and digital image collections.

The people of North America came from many cultures and spoke different languages long before the founding of the United States, even before European contact. In creating the new nation, early leaders envisioned a country that promised opportunity and freedom—but only for some. As the population grew, the people who lived in the United States found ways to negotiate, or work out, what it meant to be American. That negotiation continues. This exhibition explores how the many voices of people in America have shaped our nation.

Within the fabric of American identity is woven a story that has long been invisible—the lives and experiences of people who share African American and Native American ancestry.