Lawrence Howard Fuchs (January 29, 1927 – March 17, 2013) was an American academic and author. He was a scholar of
American studies
American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, History of the United States, history, Society of the United States, society, and Culture of the Unit ...
and an expert on immigration policy who founded the American studies department at
Brandeis University
Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...
, where he was the Meyer and Walter Jaffe Professor of American Civilization and Politics.
Early career
Fuchs was born in
The Bronx
The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
in 1927, the son of Jewish immigrants from Austria. His brother,
Victor, went on to be a prominent
health economist
Health economics is a branch of economics concerned with issues related to Health care efficiency, efficiency, effectiveness, value and behavior in the production and consumption of health and healthcare. Health economics is important in dete ...
.
Fuchs served in the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
as a medic. He began teaching at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
in 1952 before finishing his doctorate there in 1955. He then began teaching at Brandeis in 1955.
[
]
Teaching at Brandeis
Fuchs founded the American Studies department at Brandeis in 1970.[ He chaired the department for 25 years. Among his courses was a seminar on American politics that he co-taught with ]Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...
, who was a visiting professor at the time.[
]
Outside the university
From 1961 until 1963, Fuchs was the first Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
director in the Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. He later wrote a book, ''Those Peculiar Americans: The Peace Corps and American National Character'', about his experiences with the Peace Corps. Fuchs later founded the Commonwealth Service Corps in Massachusetts, a domestic service organization similar to the Peace Corps.[
In 1979, Fuchs worked as the Executive Director of the Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy in the ]Carter administration
Jimmy Carter's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 39th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Jimmy Carter, his inauguration on January 20, 1977, and ended on January 20, 1981. Carter, a Democratic Party ...
. His efforts led to signing and passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA or the Simpson–Mazzoli Act) was passed by the 99th United States Congress and signed into law by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on November 6, 1986.
The Immigration Reform and Control Act legalized ...
, and later the Immigration Act of 1990
The Immigration Act of 1990 () was signed into law by George H. W. Bush on November 29, 1990. It was first introduced by Senator Ted Kennedy in 1989. It was a national reform of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. It increased total, o ...
. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 was the first major U.S. immigration reform enacted since 1965 and was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
.[ In 1990 Fuchs served as vice chairman of the United States Commission on Immigration Reform, a congressional advisory board. In 1997, the commission recommended increased policing of employers that hire illegal immigrants: a proposal that continues to be contested.
]
Personal
Fuchs married Natalie Rogers in 1950. They had three daughters together. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1970. That same year, Fuchs married Betty Corcoran Fuchs, who had one daughter and three sons from a previous marriage.[Alt URL]
/ref> Betty Fuchs died in 2012.[
Fuchs died from ]Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...
at his home in Canton, Massachusetts
Canton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,370 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Canton is part of Greater Boston, about southwest of Downtown Boston.
History
The area that is present ...
, on March 17, 2013, at the age of 86.[
]
Partial bibliography
Fuchs wrote over 10 books, ''The American Kaleidoscope'' being his seminal work.
Books
* ''Political Behavior of American Jews'' (1955)
* ''Hawaii Pono: A Social History'' (1961)
* ''John F. Kennedy and American Catholicism'' (1967)
* ''Those Peculiar Americans: The Peace Corps and American National Character'' (1968)
* ''American Ethnic Politics'' (1968)
* ''Family Matters: Why the American Family is in Trouble'' (1973)
* ''Black in White America'', principal scholar (1974)
* ''The American Experiment'', principal scholar (1981)
* ''The American Kaleidoscope: Race, Ethnicity, and the Civic Culture'' (1991)
* ''Hawaii Pono = Hawaii the Excellent: An Ethnic and Political History'' (1992)
* ''Beyond Patriarchy: Jewish Fathers and Families'' (2000).
Co-authored works
* ''Should United States Immigration Policy be Changed?'' AEI forums monograph, with Michael Novak
Michael John Novak Jr. (September 9, 1933 – February 17, 2017) was an American Catholic philosopher, journalist, novelist, and diplomat. The author of more than forty books on the philosophy and theology of culture, Novak is most widely known ...
(1987)
Journal articles and additional publications
* ''Trends and pressures in contemporary Jewish family life'' (1978)
* ''When to Count by Race: Affirmative Action, Quotas and Equal Opportunity'' (1986)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuchs, Lawrence
1927 births
2013 deaths
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
American male non-fiction writers
American people of Austrian-Jewish descent
Brandeis University faculty
Deaths from Parkinson's disease in Massachusetts
Harvard University alumni
Jewish American non-fiction writers
Military personnel from New York City
New York University alumni
People from Canton, Massachusetts
United States Navy personnel of World War II
Writers from the Bronx