Today massive immigration from south to north is roiling the North American continent. The U.S., the most powerful nation in the world, is helpless to stop the invasion, or so we are told.
Immigration to the present-day U.S. began when British settlers arrived in Virginia in 1607 and Plymouth Bay in 1620. The official story is that they were religious refugees. But not those who settled in Virginia. Theirs was a commercial enterprise. The English arrival is not without its myths and legends. Native Americans, not immigrants, do not accept the official (white) story of the Thanksgiving holiday. They do not celebrate. Some tribes have begun to label it a National Day of Mourning and others, Truthsgiving.
Prior to independence, the British expelled the French from North America. The British agreed to protect the Native’s lands from the aggressive American colonists. This required a standing army, an expense they couldn’t bear. In addition, they also needed more revenue to administer their new lands. Unable to meet their new expenses, His Majesty’s government and Parliament resorted to imposing new taxes on the 13 colonies. Unable to resolve the issue, the colonies chose rebellion. The successful rebellion led to the independence of the 13 colonies.
Soon after independence, the former colonies began to face the needs previously experienced by the British empire. Among the several urgent needs included finding new markets since the British controlled their former markets in the Caribbean. Money was also needed to pay for the expenses incurred during the war. In order for the economy to take off, they also needed, in addition to new markets, labor to develop their natural resources.
The vast new lands acquired were of very limited use without the labor force to help develop the abundant national resources available which included forests, rivers for waterways, (like the Mississippi river,) precious and non-precious metals. Absent labor the economy would have develop at a very low pace. The three basic ingredients needed to develop their economy were land, labor and capital. There was plenty of land, but not enough of the other two.
The first U.S. census in 1790, revealed a 3.9 million population, (900,000 of which were slaves,) with a population density of 4.5 per square mile. These numbers could hardly satisfy the labor needs of the new nation. Ironically, the young American nation was facing the same problems faced by the British after removing the French from North America. Now it was their turn to find the money to pay for the administration and defense of the new territories. Adam Smith, well-known economist, observed back in 1776, that national wealth is not measured in money, but rather in the productive power of labor.
The “myths” that immigrants came to America believing that the streets are the land of milk and honey are just that “myths.” It was the French and the British who first saw the continent as a land of milk and honey and pursued their dream by the force of arms. The colonial powers came to destroy and enslave; labor came to build.
The nascent Industrial Revolution showed that without a significant source of labor, the gains would have been meager. By the 1890s the U.S. had become an industrial power. Skilled and unskilled labor continued to arrive feeding the industrial machine. They made possible such things as the building of the railroads, including the first Transatlantic Railroad built betwen1863 and 1869. Chinese labor played a significant role in this enterprise. The railroads led to the growth of cities near the railroad tracks, as well as commercial farming which in turn helped feed the growing populations in the East coast. The railroads, farming and mining were labor intensive enterprises.
The arrival of large numbers of immigrants have always led to opposition, and some violence. Large numbers of German and Irish Catholics arrived during the 30 years preceding the Civil War. Nativists reacted and led the resistance, not just against immigrants but Catholics as well. They organized “The American Party,” also known as the “Know-Nothing Party.” They viewed the Catholics as a threat to the nation. They supported white Protestants as the best choice to run local and national governments.
The gold rush in the 1850s attracted a large number of men from many corners of the world, among them Chinese immigrants. The violent reaction by the white miners in the mining camps, forced the Chinese out.
Beginning in the 1850’s Denis Kearney, an Irish immigrant and labor leader in San Francisco, fought for the rights of the unemployed. The unions were also facing tremendous challenges. They were fighting for the right to unionize and against the power of the railroads who had the state legislature under almost total control. It was during this period that the unions led by Kearney began to agitate against their fellow workers, the Chinese. The “Chinese Must Go” movement began. Eventually the U.S Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This legislation lasted until 1943. It was the first time in America that immigrants were expelled because of their race.
Immigrants are the heart of the making of this nation. The current immigrants claim to be political refugees, but most likely they are fleeing poverty. They are also reviled and welcomed. It’s clear that neither supporter or detractors of the current wave of immigrants are happy with the situation. Incendiary political rhetoric is not the solution. We need constructive criticism and creative solutions. We cannot ignore the impact on schools, health care, social services, housing, and a fair resettlement system among other things. As we all must know, there are no simple solutions, only intelligent choices. Let’s get to work.
Ternot MacRenato resides in Chula Vista.
