The Guarded Gate

Bigotry, Eugenics and the Law That Kept Two Generations of Jews, Italians, and Other European Immigrants Out of America

By: Daniel Okrent

Narrated by: Daniel Okrent

NAMED ONE OF THE “100 NOTABLE BOOKS OF THE YEAR” BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

From the widely celebrated New York Times bestselling author of Last Call—this “rigorously historical” (The Washington Post) and timely account of how the rise of eugenics helped America keep out “inferiors” in the 1920s is “a sobering, valuable contribution to discussions about immigration” (Booklist).

A forgotten, dark chapter of American history with implications for the current day, The Guarded Gate tells the story of the scientists who argued that certain nationalities were inherently inferior, providing the intellectual justification for the harshest immigration law in American history. Brandished by the upper class Bostonians and New Yorkers—many of them progressives—who led the anti-immigration movement, the eugenic arguments helped keep hundreds of thousands of Jews, Italians, and other unwanted groups out of the US for more than forty years.

Over five years in the writing, The Guarded Gate tells the complete story from its beginning in 1895, when Henry Cabot Lodge and other Boston Brahmins launched their anti-immigrant campaign. In 1921, Vice President Calvin Coolidge declared that “biological laws” had proven the inferiority of southern and eastern Europeans; the restrictive law was enacted three years later. In his trademark lively and authoritative style, Okrent brings to life the rich cast of characters from this time, including Lodge’s closest friend, Theodore Roosevelt; Charles Darwin’s first cousin, Francis Galton, the idiosyncratic polymath who gave life to eugenics; the fabulously wealthy and profoundly bigoted Madison Grant, founder of the Bronx Zoo, and his best friend, H. Fairfield Osborn, director of the American Museum of Natural History; Margaret Sanger, who saw eugenics as a sensible adjunct to her birth control campaign; and Maxwell Perkins, the celebrated editor of Hemingway and Fitzgerald. A work of history relevant for today, The Guarded Gate is “a masterful, sobering, thoughtful, and necessary book” that painstakingly connects the American eugenicists to the rise of Nazism, and shows how their beliefs found fertile soil in the minds of citizens and leaders both here and abroad.

Critic reviews

"Daniel Okrent narrates his extensively researched work on the history of eugenics in the United States, illuminating a largely forgotten dark chapter of American history. Given the abundance of detail, Okrent's comfortably relaxed pace is beneficial as he thoroughly describes the birth of the American eugenics movement and its key figures. . . . Okrent's knowledge of the material and his presentation are assets to the production."

Another Story in History that amazes me

Amazing to see how this truly evil thinking was the precursor to what happened in Nazi Germany. A definite must read to better understand the history of the 20th Century.

Monumental

Really a must read for anyone interested in American history. The intersection of race, “science” and immigration under the umbrella of eugenics flows seamlessly thru American immigration and straight into the horrors of Hitler and the Nazis. I knew of eugenics but had no idea of it’s widespread acceptance in America.
Beautifully read by the author, how many times can you say that! 👍

Is history actually ‘repeating itself with Trump/Stephen Miller Policies?

Recommended by Farid Zakaria who has not steered me wrong yet!

This is an important historical review to place, in context, some of the current policies, as informed and justified by the same false nationalist fears that informed the “No Nothing movement” in the early 1900’s.

So, consider what vision of America’s future is grounded in a world that does not exist in 2019, even questionable in 1919, a hundred years ago.

A Must Read to fully grasp the implications of current misguided policies which may be taking us to a place than no Real Americans (Remember “E Pluribus Unum”) want to inhabit. very important book.

Troubling insight, excellent detail

Amazed at the amount of work put in to an act to promote stereotypes while subverting basic human rights under the guise of "pro American" (master race - white) eugenics. Really puts into perspective where we stand as a society today, worldwide. Surprising detail throughout the history of these initiatives presented in a narrative that is terrifying and compelling.

Enlightening

It shows how the same tired arguments against immigrants back then are still being used on a new set of immigrants today. Great reminder for anyone of Italian decent that once it was us.