Description: Examines the gendered dimension of Progressive-Era debates about literacy and immigration in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century America.
Review Quotes: Jeanne D. Petit's new monograph on Progressive Era debates over immigration restriction through the lens of the literary test is a well-researched, thoughtful, and provocative addition to the historiography. Petit is one of the first historians of this subject to focus on the intersection of gender and race as central, intertwined elements in the arguments for and against immigrant restriction.-- "JOURNAL OF AMERICAN HISTORY"