Lawrence Fuchs facts for kids

Lawrence Howard Fuchs (born January 29, 1927 – died March 17, 2013) was an important American scholar and writer. He was an expert in American studies, which is the study of American culture, history, and society. He also became a leading expert on immigration policy. Lawrence Fuchs started the American Studies department at Brandeis University, where he was a well-known professor.

Early Life and Education

Lawrence Fuchs was born in The Bronx, New York, in 1927. His parents were immigrants from Austria. His brother, Victor Fuchs, later became a famous health economist, someone who studies how money is spent on healthcare.

During World War II, Lawrence Fuchs served in the U.S. Navy. He worked as a medic, helping to care for injured soldiers. After the war, he began teaching at Harvard University in 1952. He earned his highest degree (doctorate) from Harvard in 1955. That same year, he started teaching at Brandeis University.

Teaching at Brandeis University

In 1970, Lawrence Fuchs founded the American Studies department at Brandeis. He was the head of this department for 25 years. He taught many courses, including one on American politics. He even taught this class with Eleanor Roosevelt, who was a famous former First Lady of the United States and a visiting professor at the time.

Helping the Country: Peace Corps and Government Work

From 1961 to 1963, Fuchs took a break from teaching to serve as the first director of the Peace Corps in the Philippines. The Peace Corps is a program where American volunteers go to other countries to help communities. He later wrote a book about his experiences called Those Peculiar Americans: The Peace Corps and American National Character. After that, he started a similar program in Massachusetts called the Commonwealth Service Corps, which helped people within the United States.

In 1979, Fuchs worked for the government during the Carter administration. He was the Executive Director of a special group that studied immigration and refugee policies. His hard work helped create important laws like the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 and the Immigration Act of 1990. These laws changed how people could come to live in the United States. The 1986 act was the first major change to U.S. immigration laws since 1965.

In 1990, Fuchs became the vice chairman of the United States Commission on Immigration Reform. This group advised Congress on immigration issues. In 1997, the commission suggested that employers who hire people without legal permission should be watched more closely.

Family and Later Years

Lawrence Fuchs married Natalie Rogers in 1950, and they had three daughters. Their marriage ended in 1970. Later that year, he married Betty Corcoran Fuchs. Betty had four children from a previous marriage, who became his stepchildren. Betty Fuchs passed away in 2012.

Lawrence Fuchs died on March 17, 2013, at his home in Canton, Massachusetts. He was 86 years old and had been living with Parkinson's disease.