There have always been borders. Crossing borders has always been complicated. Paradoxically, cosmopolitan hospitality requires strong sovereign governments and strong national identities. How else can good behavior and tolerance be induced and compelled among large populations of longer-settled earlier arrivals? This course explores the historical complexities of crossing borders into and within the United States. We focus in particular on the nineteenth- and early twentieth-centuries. Mass migration into the US and the constitutional vision of free movement across internal borders have continuously challenged individuals, groups, localities and institutions in the US to revise and devise workable mechanisms for establishing and enforcing who owes what to whom. The work of the course incorporates readings, discussions, presentations, films, documentaries, case studies, and assignments meant to hone writing skills, creativity, ingenuity, and non-linear thinking.