I have always heard this claim that America, unlike Canada, is a melting pot. Canada, has always tried to provide for a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic state. Canada, at least compared to the United States, has welcomed diversity. At least mostly. Now it seems things are changing. How did we get to where we are?
As Fareed Zakaria said,
“American has long prided itself on the healthy vibrant melting pot—a nation that lives in harmony with its newcomers. But if we look back at our history honestly, more often than not the story is filled with resentments, restrictions and backlash.”
In the middle of the 19th century, Ireland was suffering a horrific famine and many Irish people flocked to America seeking better circumstances and opportunities. It is not that different now, as millions of South Americans and Central Americans are flocking to the United States for the same reason, but this time the Americans are actively trying to keep them out and they have legislation and international law to back them up to some extent. Seeking better opportunities is not grounds for seeking asylum.
The Irish who arrived in America usually found jobs and opportunities, but, as Zakaria said, “their arrival also sparked the rise of the xenophobic Know Nothing Party. It called for restrictions on immigration and even violence while electing 100 congressmen, 8 governors, and a presidential candidate.”.
Of course, none of this is new. It has happened over and over again. As Randall Kennedy of Harvard Law School has said, “what is happening now has a very long lineage.”
The same thing happened with the Chinese immigrants. At first it accepted Chinese workers to help open the west. That led directly to another violent backlash. It ushered in the Chinese Exclusion Act which prevented them from immigrating to the United States. It was signed by a Democratic president. One poster gleefully proclaimed: “Hip! Hurrah! The White Man is on top Let every DEMOCRAT and all other GOOD citizens turn out and Ratify this Democratic Measure.”