Whitewashing Britain by Kathleen Paul

Whitewashing Britain by Kathleen Paul

Kathleen Paul challenges the usual explanation for the racism of post-war British policy. According to standard historiography, British public opinion forced the Conservative government to introduce legislation stemming the flow of dark-skinned...

A well-researched study

* Foreign Affairs *

This is not just a well-documented study of an underdeveloped area of research. Sensitive to the complexities of how terms such as citizen and nationality are constructed, it brings to light not only much new information on this important issue, but new ways of looking at the creation of British identity in this late-imperial context.... A most thoroughly researched and convincingly argued book, which should be widely read by all those who seek to understand postwar Britain in all its dimensions.

* Labor History *

Paul uses parliamentary debates, official documents, speeches, and memoirs to demonstrate successfully how British emigration and immigration were controlled and manipulated by the post-WW II governments to preserve the 'Britishness' of the dominions and the 'whiteness' of Britain.... This cogently argued, well-researched book provides valuable insights into British politics of race. It ranks with other pathbreaking works.... Highly recommended.

* Choice *

This work offers an exhaustively researched account of the development of British immigration policy in the post-war period. In a break with the conventional assessment of British policy, Paul... finds that government ministers and civil servants were the driving force behind opposition to immigrants from Commonwealth nations in Africa, South Asia, and the Caribbean, rather than 'racist' popular opinion.... This robust work of scholarship should find readers in British and Commonwealth studies as well as migration and citizenship studies.

* Library Journal *

Paul's book contributes to the debate about what constitutes membership in society and identifies key differences in the British immigration policy.

* International Migration Review *

This book casts an interesting new light on British citizenship and immigration policy in the postwar era. Based on substantial archival research (that is presented in a very readable fashion), this is an often compelling historical account of the maneuverings of the British political elite in defining nationality policy, particularly in the early years of immigration.... A well-researched, well-written, and interesting new approach to the history of British immigration and citizenship policy-making since 1945.

* British Politics Group Newsletter *

Kathleen Paul is Associate Professor of History at the University of South Florida and Editor of The Historian.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780801484407
ISBN 10	0801484405
Title	Whitewashing Britain
Author	Kathleen Paul
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Cornell University Press
Year published	1997-04-17
Number of pages	272
Prizes	Winner of Winner of the 1999 Morris D. Forkosch Prize (Ameri.
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable