Full Description
The Sweetness of Freedom presents an eclectic grouping of late nineteenth- and twentieth-century immigrants' narratives and the personal artifacts, historical documents, and photographs these travelers brought on their journeys to Michigan. Most of the oral histories in this volume are based on interviews conducted with the immigrants themselves.
Some of the immigrants presented here hoped to gain better education and jobs. Others—refugees—fled their homelands because of war, poverty, repression, religious persecution, or ethnic discrimination. All dreamt of freedom and opportunity. They tell why they left their homelands, why they chose to settle in Michigan, and what they brought or left behind. Some wanted to preserve their heritage, religious customs, traditions, and ethnic identity. Others wanted to forget past conflicts and lost family members. Their stories reveal how they established new lives far away from home, how they endured homesickness and separation, what they gave up and what they gained.
Contents
Contents
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Introduction
I Have a Beautiful Country to Work From
Where the Streets Were Paved with Gold
America Was the Best Country to Live In
We Wanted to Be American
Immigration Didn't Solve All Our Problems
We Weren't Always Welcome in America
Anything That I've Set My Mind to, I Usually Accomplish
No Mexicans Allowed!
The Trip Became a GreatAdventure
The Promiseof a Better Future
We Didn't Know How Our Future Would Be
We Have to Make the Best of the Situation
From Korea with Love
Call Your Brother in Michigan
We Belong to America Just as Much as America Belongs to Us
I Never Believed I Would Stay in America
I Can Almost Taste the Sweetness of Freedom
Be Like the Bees—Make Plenty of Hives and Honey
Afterword
