Shades of Hiawatha

"A century ago, it was U.S. government policy to sever the tribal allegiances of Native Americans, limit their ancient liberties, and coercively prepare them for citizenship. At the same time, millions of new immigrants from Asia and Europe sought freedom in America by means of that same citizenship. In this work, Alan Trachtenberg argues that the two developments were, inevitably, juxtaposed in myriad ways: Indians and immigrants together preoccupied the public imagination, and together changed the idea of what it meant to be American."--BOOK JACKET.