[Loovikeillilen]

Theodore Roosevelt on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN

Are we "SLOW LEARNERS" or what?

Theodore Roosevelt on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN

"In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man's becoming in very fact an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt, January 3, 1919 I've always hated the hyphenated American label! I'm of Irish descent but many generations have passed since my family migrated here so above everything else, I'm an American.
Politicians are so afraid to say what Teddy Roosevelt did because they're afraid of offending someone, particularly the Latino voter. Can any of you imagine a politician today saying that we have room for only one language...English?! For the record, I think that anyone wanting to become a citizen should be required to speak our language first. I don't like calling a business in Texas and being told to "Press 1 for English..." That's BS!
Maybe one day, we'll get another politician that is willing to voice the same thoughts as Roosevelt, but I'll not hold my breath!

[PypeDeft]

Mrs M,

Thank's for quoting TR. That you do so is a source of interest for me, as TR policies (esp domestic) would be most vexing to you- if they were to be our guiding philosophy now.

[EnubreBense]

Mrs M,

Thank's for quoting TR. That you do so is a source of interest for me, as TR policies (esp domestic) would be most vexing to you- if they were to be our guiding philosophy now.

Yes, they contradict current conservative thinking. I've been doing a study of this for History class.

Ben

[Elisabetxxx]

Ben,

Look specifically at TR actions as they related to the coal mining industry.

He was the first Prez to intervene on the worker's side.

[Lydiaswingert]

Ben,

Look specifically at TR actions as they related to the coal mining industry.

He was the first Prez to intervene on the worker's side.

Yes, and Thank God.

Ben

BTW, reading about him and knowing how things were at that time will keep me from being a Libertarian.

Ben

[Alexeric]

Yep,

I've always believed that to be a Libertarian it is necessity NOT to know the past 130 (+) years of US History.

But the good thing about 'em is that they are (as a group) so altruistic and naieve (helluva a mixture!) that they will always act on what they believe to be the truth.

[FsQGF1Mp]

Correction: should say 'a necessity'.

For my 10th-grade English Teacher.

[@Aerodyno@]

Mrs M,

Thank's for quoting TR. That you do so is a source of interest for me, as TR policies (esp domestic) would be most vexing to you- if they were to be our guiding philosophy now.

Can I not agree with TR on this matter without having to agree with everything he said?

[vernotixas]

Yep,

I've always believed that to be a Libertarian it is necessity NOT to know the past 130 (+) years of US History.

But the good thing about 'em is that they are (as a group) so altruistic and naieve (helluva a mixture!) that they will always act on what they believe to be the truth.

That's why "knowledge is power," I guess.

*runs*

Ben

[PersonalLoansBank]

The United States has no official language.

[apannamma]

Yes, and Thank God.

Ben

BTW, reading about him and knowing how things were at that time will keep me from being a Libertarian.

Ben

It is disingenuous to say he intervened "on behalf of the coal miners," for the first time. At the time corporations often flouted the concept of justice and forcibly (with either thugs or actual governmental assistance - pay attention, those who want to claim that America was fully capitalist, to the latter instance) dispersing unions with violence - certainly, not in adherance with the rule of law.

TR's great accomplishment in this case was to ensure the rule of law was followed, on both sides. He made sure that it was clear he would forcibly put down any attempt at violence at either side, and then offered himself as an aid to any negotiations they would be having. Eventually the negotiations did come to a successful conclusion, though TR himself was frustrated with the coal mine owners' inability to do anything but sit and say "No, not budging" until the very end. I cannot comment specifically on if that coal company had previously used strongarm tactics (it seems likely, given that they tried it very briefly to begin with,) but to say that those situations are somehow an indictment of capitalism is patently absurd. The situations previous were indictments of anarchy or corporatism; neither is capitalism, by far.

As a side note, proving his impartiality in these situations, months later he sent troops to put down and disperse another coal miners' union that had decided it was time to riot. He was not, as far as I can tell, "for the little guy." He attempted, in all his dealings, to be just. While I disagree vehemently with many things he did (particularly his abuse of the antitrust act [in fairness, it was designed to be abused] and his policy on restricting asian immigrants,) I still admire the man as one of the most honest (if misguided) presidents we've ever had.

[kmjbbT3U]

MiB raisis a good point:

In our former fascist period (The Gilded Age) as now, it was often dicfficult to tell where the government ended and the corporations started.

However, the fact remains that in the 1902 Coal Strike he forced the miners and mine owners to sit down, which was de-facto a victory for the mine workers in their effort to unionize the mines. Prior to that, his predecessors in the Republican Party had condoned the murder of miners and their families by the Pinkertons (from whom had come the US Secret Service- an example of that seamless government/corporate partnership which is a trademark of fascism.)
I would also point out other actions of TR's Progressive Admin- The Elkins Act and its ofspring the Hepburn Railway Act (1906), as well as the Meat Inspection Act of the same vintage.

In short, he went after the Trusts as McKinley had claimed, but failed, to do.

So, thank God for Leon Czolgosz!

Which brings me back to immigration and TR:

It was commonly believed in the Republican Party (both Progressive and Corporate wings) that the immigrant of the day (circa 1900) was of an inferior type to that of the early 1800's, and TR seemed to suscribe to that notion which was based on the racism of the day, although 'ethnicism' is a more descriptive term.
As Mr Czolgosz illustrates the 'inferior type' was the Eastern and Southern Eurpoean- the Italian, Hungarian, Slovak, along with the Japanese and Chinese. These groups were the subject of TR's speech in the OP; they had inferior genes, worshiped 'the devil' (eg, were Catholic) and were leading to the downfall of America by speaking funny languages and failiing to assimilate (sound familiar?).

In fact, they were assimilating: learning English, working hard and changing the face of America then- just as the Lations are doing now.
And because they were rejected by the Republican establishment, they rejuvinated the Democratic party of the day by providing the foot soldiers for Tammany and other big-city political machines.

So, by extrapolation, where would ol' TR stand on today's immigrants- as based on his actions then?

Well, obviously Teddy was a racist (or ethnecist) and would have railed against the Mestizo culture of the Mexicanos and Central Americans; bitching about how they tended to congregate in certain areas, and had newespapers in Espanol. That sort of thing.

However, as evidenced by his concern for the average worker and his so-called 'Gentleman's Agreement' with Japan , Teddy would have also demanded decent wages and working conditions. No 'guest worker' program for him which served to lower wages for the pleasure of big business.
Remember the fact that Congress had passed laws effectively ended the practice (so akin to today's 'free trade') of corporate reps going over to the old country (back then Italy (Sicily) and the docks of Odessa were their favored haunts) and signing up immigrants for work in America at 'old world' wage rates. So, it would seem our entire political system was (although just as corrupt) a bit smarter then than it is now when it came to actions which destabilized the entire society.

But then, our present 'Robber Barons' are even brazen enough to pass themselves the only recorded tax cut during wartime. So perhaps it is not 'smartness' which that measures, but rather 'sleaze'.

[Flirigor]

I think it is fine if immigrants want to identify with the culture they came from. Live and let live.

[sleelverrex]

I've always hated the hyphenated American label! I'm of Irish descent but many generations have passed since my family migrated here so above everything else, I'm an American.
Politicians are so afraid to say what Teddy Roosevelt did because they're afraid of offending someone, particularly the Latino voter. Can any of you imagine a politician today saying that we have room for only one language...English?! For the record, I think that anyone wanting to become a citizen should be required to speak our language first. I don't like calling a business in Texas and being told to "Press 1 for English..." That's BS!
Maybe one day, we'll get another politician that is willing to voice the same thoughts as Roosevelt, but I'll not hold my breath!

I think it is fine if immigrants want to identify with the culture they came from. Live and let live.

Myself, I rarely use a hyphenated label. I have grown up being called American and Irish interchageably because both things are true regarding my background and citizenship. It simply reflects the truth of the way it is in my situation. I feel enriched by both, and would repudiate neither. Both things have made me a better American insofar as this topic is concerned.

Very few places on Earth am I familiar with that could aptly be called the 51st state than Ireland. A quarter of this nation shares some Irish heritage, and my own family contributed to that. The Irish and their descendants in America have offered and given this nation tremendous gifts and sacrifices. And in Ireland, the bonds of brotherhood with America are felt equally strong. Even the Irish declaration of independence and the national anthem both mention the assistance of Americans of Irish descent who helped get that freedom. I know of no other nation that recognises America as such. America inspired the Irish as a hope for liberty and freedom. Even its own United Irishmen rebellion of 1798 was inspired by the American Revolution:

The emblem reads: "Equality--It is new strung and shall be heard."

My paternal grandfather who fought for Irish independence had most of his relatives before him, most of his siblings who survived the war, most of his wife's family, and most of his children come to the US. He was here over 20 times or so. Although he never immigrated here himself, he always called himself an American too given he loved and identified with the nation as part of himself given his visits and connections here. When he died, I placed the following pin above his heart when he was buried at his request before he died:

The claddagh heart and hands mean love, loyalty and friendship.

My family always became American citizens after arriving here and made their mark as being strong community assets who valued America, and they strived to sacrifice to make America a better place for themselves and the country that admitted them. Nothing less would be expected in my family, and the Irish have generally felt that way apart from my family. John Fitzgerald Kennedy said how the Irish feel on such matters: "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." But they and their descendants never forgot from where they came either, and have been of the utmost help back in Ireland and by keeping their Irish culture in America that contributes to the wonderful melting pot of culture to be found here.

[shashaffff]

Democratic people have proven so far they can not adopt. Yet they keep displaying the very same discourse: becoming like them and got treated like them. Erasure of the acquired differences to reduce to inherited difference.

But peoples have learned: they know that as soon as one is getting culturally identical to a democratic one, one is still rejected this time on matter of biological features.

They say "speak like us, have the same culture as us and you will be consider a sibling" Once it is done, they say" my parents' face did not look as yours. How can you want to be a sibling to me?"

On the identification slide, on one tip: there is the white being and on the other, there is the black being.
A democratic german being will be considered a sibling the day he opens up his mouth to speak in english whereas the black one with ten generations of ancestors living on the americas continent will be considered a less if not totally un -democratic us american.

What makes latinos a bit closer to democratic us people? The democratic us black people. Democratic people look at the two faces and say "I am still closer to the one. The negro looks too different."

If there were no longer negroes in the democratic us, others will take their place and the exclusion process will keep moving.

During democratic honest abe's times, democratic people spoke more directly:

You and I are different races. We have between us a broader difference than exists between almost any other races. Whether it be right or wrong, I need not discuss; but this physical difference is a great disadvantage to us both, as I think. Your race suffer very greatly, many of them by living amongst us, while ours suffer from your presence. In a word, we suffer on each side. If this is admitted, it affords a reason at least why we should be separated. The democratic people's identity was built against tyrants, against savages.
Without tyrants, without savages, democratic people face an identity crisis, losing their bearings, losing their sense of worth, losing their utility feeling on earth.

That is the reason why they can not adopt. They have no own identity.

They can keep requiring peoples to adopt their culture, their language, in the end, democratic people will keep rejecting these peoples.

A pragmatic reason why they can not be a single language in the democratic us and why there should not be one culture.

Democratic people can not adopt why do they keep pretending they can?
They have absolutely nothing universal in them.

[Qesomud]

Myself, I rarely use a hyphenated label.

I hate the hyphenated label. Hell, I'm American.

[Mugflefusysef]

TR was a racist, sexist, asshole who believed in white supremacy. Sorry if his opinions on immigration and hyphenation don't exactly speak to me.

[Indidockobeni]

Man, Corp, what a way to ignorantly mischaracterize the man. You take the cake for absolute on-the-spot generation of sick fantasies about people who disagree with you.

[zlopikanikanza]

MiB pretty much, most white men in politics thought that way back then. Learn your history.

[Nidsstese]

Myself, I rarely use a hyphenated label. I have grown up being called American and Irish interchageably because both things are true regarding my background and citizenship. It simply reflects the truth of the way it is in my situation. I feel enriched by both, and would repudiate neither. Both things have made me a better American insofar as this topic is concerned.

Very few places on Earth am I familiar with that could aptly be called the 51st state than Ireland. A quarter of this nation shares some Irish heritage, and my own family contributed to that. The Irish and their descendants in America have offered and given this nation tremendous gifts and sacrifices. And in Ireland, the bonds of brotherhood with America are felt equally strong. Even the Irish declaration of independence and the national anthem both mention the assistance of Americans of Irish descent who helped get that freedom. I know of no other nation that recognises America as such. America inspired the Irish as a hope for liberty and freedom. Even its own United Irishmen rebellion of 1798 was inspired by the American Revolution:

The emblem reads: "Equality--It is new strung and shall be heard."

My paternal grandfather who fought for Irish independence had most of his relatives before him, most of his siblings who survived the war, most of his wife's family, and most of his children come to the US. He was here over 20 times or so. Although he never immigrated here himself, he always called himself an American too given he loved and identified with the nation as part of himself given his visits and connections here. When he died, I placed the following pin above his heart when he was buried at his request before he died:

The claddagh heart and hands mean love, loyalty and friendship.

My family always became American citizens after arriving here and made their mark as being strong community assets who valued America, and they strived to sacrifice to make America a better place for themselves and the country that admitted them. Nothing less would be expected in my family, and the Irish have generally felt that way apart from my family. John Fitzgerald Kennedy said how the Irish feel on such matters: "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." But they and their descendants never forgot from where they came either, and have been of the utmost help back in Ireland and by keeping their Irish culture in America that contributes to the wonderful melting pot of culture to be found here.

You've had the best of both worlds, America and Ireland. I'm proud of my Irish heritage but sadly, will probably never see the country of my ancestors. I think Americans should honor their heritage but always remember that first and foremost, they're American. If I must be hyphenated, I would prefer to be American-Irish.
My biggest beef though, is the language. Though we have no "official" language, English is what we speak and I think those wishing to become American citizens should learn it.
My Vietnamese manicurist came here as a young girl and she told me the first thing her parents did was enroll the whole family in an English class and apply for citizenship. I really respect that and most of the Vietnamese community in N.O. did the same thing. Many of them pay for their children to go to parochial schools and seldom do you seem them on welfare. In other words, they have become true Americans and give back to the system instead of taking from it.