Process Paper

Does a genuine American culture exist? I sought the answer when hunting for my ideal NHD topic, and I desired a piece of history that defined the United States of America as a nation shaped by its diverse people. At the time of my search, an American history magazine that I subscribed to published an article about the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. This obscure act of Congress reformed the course of American immigration in incredible ways, and its history intrigued me, especially with its involvement of immigrant families like mine. Despite the 1965 immigration acts lack of fame, it actually held a substantial database of information and an inspiring story that was close to home, so I chose it for my NHD topic. Preliminary research began at my local library system, where I stumbled upon useful secondary resources about American immigration history. Accompanying them were invaluable primary resources written by advocates of immigration reform, which contributed enormously to my research. Online articles, documentaries, and interviews about the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 further expanded my range of resources along with the Library of Congress Online Prints & Photographs Catalog, which yielded countless related images. Other images were pulled from various educational sites. I continued my research by contacting the John F. Kennedy and the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Libraries for book recommendations and copies of Congressional archive materials for approximately $100. I discovered additional legislation and newspaper resources on ancestry.com, while a wealth of articles and editorials presented themselves in the New York Times archives. However, the archives requested payment for access to the best publications, and I was unwilling to spend more on research. My choice of presentation category was directly influenced by the versatility and manageability of the Weebly website editor. Its ability to fuse the aspects of a paper, exhibit, and 1

documentary into one organized, easily manipulated platform appealed greatly to me. With the website presentation, I could easily customize the HTML coding in default Weebly themes to suit my aesthetic needs, insert my own header image collage, arrange pages in chronological order to guide viewers, and conveniently arrange content. Although the 1200 word limit and 100 MB size limit occasionally frustrated me, they compelled me to make more practical and wiser decisions when it came to deciding what to integrate into my website, heightening my organizational skills and application of primary resources. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 embodies American reaction, reform, and revolution. This radical change in American immigration history allowed immigration policy to finally reflect the American ideal, disposing of decades of prejudice from citizens that feared deluges of new immigrants. No longer judged by their ethnicity, these foreigners were all given equal eligibility to live the American dream. The act not only presents proof of the nations systemic flaws, but also manifests the United States of America as an evolutionary country that reacts promptly to injustice, boldly revolutionizes its mindset, and humbly reforms itself.