The Atlantic

The People Who Want to be Americans

Amid the roar of the immigration debate, there are still those working quietly and diligently to become citizens.
Source: Mike Blake/Reuters

On a brisk evening at the New York Historical Society in Manhattan on Tuesday, a handful of green card holders were gathered to learn about the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. The group ranged in age and origin: a young man and a young woman in their twenties and a mother in her late forties were all from the Dominican Republic; an older couple was from the Netherlands; a middle aged woman was from Peru.

All of the attendees were taking part in the , a series of free classes offered by the Historical Society to help green card holders prepare for requires applicants correctly answer 6 out of 10 questions about American government and history that are drawn from . It is not multiple choice).

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