Refuge or Refusal: Stories of American Identity and Immigration Heritage

View Fullscreen

This Website shares how visitors to Refuge or Refusal: Turning Points in U.S. Immigration History, created by the Museum of History and Holocaust Education (MHHE) at Kennesaw State University, answered three questions: 

  • How do you define American identity?
  • How long have you or your family been in the United States? 
  • What role, if any, does immigration play in your story?

We invite you to contribute your own answers to these questions by clicking here.

We also asked visitors to share what motivated them or their families to seek a new home, if known. The dots on the map are color-coded accordingly.

  1. Blue: Unknown
  2. Yellow: Seeking Economic Opportunity
  3. Green: Seeking Education
  4. Purple: Seeking Religious Freedom
  5. Pink: Fleeing Persecution
  6. Red: Fleeing War/Conflict
  7. Brown: Fleeting Natural/Environmental Disaster
  8. Orange: Both Seeking Opportunities and Fleeing Problems