Journal Years

RONALD H. BAYOR

THE JOURNAL OF American Ethnic History (JAEH) began publication in Fall 1981. Before the first issue appeared, there had been many discussions among Immigration History Society (IHS) members about the need for and role of such a journal as well as its fiscal viability. While immigration and ethnic history were not new fields of study, they saw an increased interest during the 1960s. The Immigration History Group was founded in 1965 and changed its name to the Immigration History Society in 1971. The 1963 publication of Beyond the Melting Pot, the increasing number of immigration- and ethnic-related monographs in the 1970s, and the publication in 1980 of the Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups spurred and refiected interest in the field.