9781422274095

period there were so many English citizens migrating to the colonies that the English Parliament briefly to consid- ered a total ban on allowing British citizens to immigrate to the colonies. During the lead-up to the American Revolution, many of the colonists began to think about the role that the colonies played in providing refuge to those wishing to escape conditions in their home countries. In 1776, Thom- as Paine published “Common Sense.” In this pamphlet, he argued the case for the colonists to become independent of England. Paine writes, “Europe, and not England, is the parent country of America. This new world hath been the

“I had always hoped that this land might become a safe and agreeable Asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of mankind, to whatever nation they might belong.” 4

—George Washington

11

A History and Overview of Immigration

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