Nothing like a 170 year old arguement

Reader comment on: Anti-Immigrant Sessions

Submitted by Lyle (United States), Jan 29, 2014 14:19

It's the same arguement that has been used since immigration first became an issue in the 1840s . Always the immigrants were going to take folks jobs away.In fact I suspect based upon reading a Magnificent Catastrophy (the election of 1800) that this sort of argument was one used in passing the Alien and Sedition acts during the first Adams administration. It definitely motivated the American (know nothing ) party in the 1850s also. It appears that this theme occurs primarily when the group of immigrants are not the same as the existing population (in 1840-1850 the irish and catholics, in the 1910-1920 period southern europeans (Italians etc), and so on). It's part of the objection that the country is not the one one grew up in but has changed its culture.

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