Why do people say the U.S. is a nation of immigrants like it is unique?
Answer:
I agree most nations in North and South America are land of Immigrants, most 1st world natiions in Europe are that way too now
we dont say that, stupidd
People say this to justify the invasion of criminal aliens.
While America was built by people that came from other countries, they came here legally, assimilated, and learned English.
so i can go thru every ones damn head immigrants arent only latin there from around the world why do they only block latin sates cuz ur racist
Because NO American (besides the Native Americans) has ancestors that go back more than 400 years.
Which "people"are you referring to? I've never heard anyone say that before. And no, I'm not a hermit, and yes, I do get out.
Many nations are not "a nation of immigrants," at least not historically. Until the last two decades many European nations were mostly French, German, Norwegian, etc. Only with the exodus from Africa and to some extent Asia have the nations experienced their own wave of immigration. Until the sun finally set on the British Empire, England was overwhelmingly Anglo-Saxon.
Contrast this to the United States where virtually all settlers from Native Americans to the newest arrivals were immigrants.
Because the migrations occurred recent enough in history to have political/social/economic relevance to the people living here now. Nobody cares if someone migrated here thousands of years ago.
When the native American people came to North America, the United States was not a NATION. The United States became a NATION when European immigrants came to North America, settled, then fought the Revolutionary War against England and established the United States as a nation. It then became settled by immigrants from many other nations. Yes. many other natons have many immigrants also, but the base of their populations are people who have populated those nations for hundreds or thousands of years. For example, Japan has a mostly homogenous population...it is not a nation made up mostly of immigrants from other parts of the world. Canada and Chile ARE nations made up of mostly people who came from other parts of the world AFTER they were established as nations.
Well it was the european immigrants that founded most of the locations for the cities you have today. They brought industrialization, technology and other things to this continent.
The structure for the society here is based on ideals brought with them, the system of law etc with some changes was imported.
Without the immigrants north america would not have developed as it has. Think how different it would be if things had developed at a much later date (over 200 years later).
The difference between the US and other countries is most other countries are built around a core group of indigenous people, original Chinese, Germans, Italians, whatever. They have historic roots in the lands they occupy today. Even the Jews have claims to the lands of Israel, though the Arabs try to dispute it.
America literally sprang from the sea and grew from beliefs, faith and doctrines of a few educated immigrants. Sure some atrocities were committed along the way, no country has a spotless record, not even yours. But unlike most other countries, America examines its mistakes openly. How many of our detractors can make the same claim.
They are talking about the present day not the past, and I guess one reason they call it a nation of immigrants is because the U.S. is probably one of the biggest nations that doesn't have it's own set nationality. You know, American isn't really a nationality you can put on your birth certificate. Yes, Native-American, but they aren't the dominant nationality like in other countries and the U.S. has such a variety of majority nationalities like Caucasian, African-American, Mexican, Spanish and so on.
Example of other countries majority population:
Japan= Japanese
China= Chinese
France= French
Russia= Russians
Africa= Africans
India= Indians
Portugal= Portuguese
Spain= Spanish
But...
U.S. = ? (*My guess is Caucasian, but the point is it's not the Native populace)
Of course the U.S. isn't the only nation like this, look at the South American countries a lot of their nationalities are Spanish or Portuguese.
Sometimes I like to think the U.S. just wants to feel like they are the center of the world. :D
I might be wrong, but that is how I look at it.
Yes, all countries have immigration and immigrants. However, the United States is a relatively young country, that was formed by people of several nations. It is not like some countries of Europe, that have had a unique identity for thousands of years. Yes, there were native indians here for thousands of years, but there were so many different tribes, it is difficult to label them as a single nation or ethnic group. And, other than the Chinese Exclusion Act, the US has always accepted people from all countries - where other countries have had much more restrictive immigration standards in their histories.
Actually the immigrants aren't the ones saying that..it's actually Americans here who support them
Immigration and migration are two different ideas. Most nations on Earth were established relatively recently and the population there was largely homogeneous. Different races (for the most part) coming into a country lawfully is termed immigration. Migration is a mass movement of a race or races and is often unlawful and/or disregards the traditions of the people already there. The USA was a prosperous (#2 PCI in the world in 1776) but sparsely populated country consisting of two primary races; British in the north and Scots/Irish in the south. The native Americans welcomed Germans, Slavs, Italians, Scandinavians, Chinese, etc into the country because, basically, there were not enough people to be secure (politically and economically). The indigenous natives didn't exactly like being overrun so fought a war of genocide against the mostly European invaders (a migration), European countries were quite imperialistic, and a small economy would mean dominance by outside countries. Other countries in the world wished to maintain their homogeniality. The USA wanted security and immigrants were the means to this so the USA became a country built by immigrants.
People say the U.S is a nation of immigrants because the first immigrants were the pilgrims who by the way killed as many native Americans as they could. However, time has changed and I understand that not everyone can come and live in this country. Nevertheless, It kills when I see how some Americans take advantage of these poor immigrants who are also humans.
Usually this is just used by illegals and their supporters to justify why it is okay for them to break our laws
Yes, but we were the first nation formed completely from immigrants (in the past 300 years), apart from the Native Americans, who were here long before that. It's all relative to time, most of the other countries already had people living there for thousands of years and then became a nation (like Greece or Italy).
Most people of different nations are immigrants of their country. America could be the most visible country of immigrants but if you read the history of most countries, the people are mostly immigrants.
So many people have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Some suggest we should tear down the Statute of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other
ports of entry.
Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like that why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer.
Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home.
They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture. Nothing was
handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them.
All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity.
Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany, Italy, France and Japan. None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their
parents had come from.
They were Americans fighting Hilter, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the United States of America as one people. When we liberated France, no one in those villages were looking for the French-American or the German American or the Irish American. The people of France saw only Americans.
And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.
And here we are in 2006 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country.
I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about.
I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900s deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags.
And for that suggestion about taking down the Statute of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about
dismantling the United States just yet.
The Immigration information post by website user , MyTend.com not guarantee correctness.
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