After creating a new country with its own constitution, the human rights have stepped up on the front line. According the Washington’s Thanksgiving Day Proclamation of the 1795 all Americans should render the USA as an asylum for the unfortunate people for the other countries. (Kennedy, John F.) These words are full of respect and compassion, as Washington understood that there are many other people, who are struggling in their countries just as they
did, so as this land once had become an asylum for them – it is important to show some respect for other immigrants and accept them in this society of the New World.
However, not everything was as easy as it was meant to be. Together with the development of the globalization, the attitude towards immigrants started to change. Later on, while giving immigrants a right to immigrate into the USA, the preference was mostly given to those immigrants, who were coming from China as they had proved themselves to be good and highly useful workers and citizens. As we may surely notice, the appearance or it is better to say - the emerging of the beneficial side of the immigration policy is more than evident. Later, it has become more and more evident that the numbers of new immigrants should be limited. However, such limitation has touched not only the quantity of immigrants, but also their diversion, in terms of national features and relations. For example, during the 1920ies, a person born in England or Ireland could migrate to the USA with no restrictions, but a person born in Central or Eastern Europe had to wait his or hers turn to get the desirable permission. (Kennedy, John F.)
In 1957 there was a legislation, which was passed to reunite families, separated by the restrictive immigration legislation. (Kennedy, John F.) Of course, there is doubt that it was a step forward, towards immigrants and their rights as humans and citizens. Still, not everything seemed as bright as it may look like from the first glance.
Again, going back into the history, it is clearly noticeable that Washington’s Thanksgiving Day Proclamation of the 1795 was not only followed, but it seemed like it was totally forgotten. As it was mentioned previously, the immigration, from the USA side, had its benefits, in terms of the cheap and highly productive labor force. In order to prove this statement, it is important to give one great example of such highly beneficial attitude during the 1960’. In California there was a transcontinental railway building process.
Of course, among other labors, the majority were Chinese workers. Sometime before the process of the construction some opponents of the Asians claimed that Chinese people were virtual slaves in the USA, that they are provoking unfair competition and depressing wages. (Kennedy, John F.) An interesting fact is that when the race of the building process was in full swing and the number of jobs was abundant – this particular issue, brought up by most West Coast workers, did not matter much. However, just after the finishing the job, it has emerged again, even with more rage and hostility. (Kennedy, John F.) So, what does this fact tell us about? It tells us about the beneficial side of the immigration policy. The country needed those people while they could do their job.
It was perfectly noticed by the author of the article “Ethnic Conflict and Immigration Restriction”, provided as a Chapter 4, that the Chinese people were useful for the country in terms of their working force and adaptation ability. (Kennedy, John F.) However, the Japanese people were taken as those, who cannot live on this land and that nobody wants it, as they do not even have such important for the country working ability. Still, between those times, when “Chinaman” was extremely needed, in terms of the labor, rapid restrictions were almost put on them. The heart of the movement towards the banning of the Chinese immigration into America was in California. (Kennedy, John F.) The decisive opposition had been represented by Dennis Kearney and the Workingmen’s Party. In his speech he proclaimed:
“The Chinaman must leave our shores. We declare that white men and women, and boys, and girls, cannot live as the people of the great republic should and compete with the single Chinese people coolie in the labor
market TO an American, death is preferable to life on a par with the Chinaman.” (Kennedy, John F.)
What does it look like? The answer is one and only – it is about the racism. It is the origin of the racism, the sharp issue of the nowadays society as we all know it today. Chinese, Japanese, Jewish people were under the strict control and extreme hostility.
Another interesting feature of immigration policy is hidden between the lines – it is pure human factor. On this stage of the essay, it is important to provide some strong evidences, in order to prove the statement given above. As it was claimed by John Fitzgerald Kennedy in the article “Ethnic Conflict and Immigration Restriction”, Chinese people were taking all the jobs or in other words – “they are provoking unfair competition”. Japanese people were highly hated by Americans in California as they were too successful in the agricultural sphere, which means that they were better growers and efficient workers. (Kennedy, John F.) Jewish people were considered to be someone, who has an incredible ability to make money out of nowhere and to keep them and, consequently, remain reaching, no matter what cataclysm would happen around in the world. One partician from the South has noted once with some envy and respect:
“[the Jew] has money to lend if not to burn and before he is ready to execute his will he owns the grocery store, the meat – market, the grog-shop, the planning – mill, the newspaper, the hotel and the bank” (Kennedy, John F.)
What do all of the mentioned above examples show the reader? The answer is evident: it is a feeling that somebody else, especially a foreigner, is better in some particular spheres of the human activity, mostly in the professional ones. Consequently, here the human factor is
showing up, as it was mentioned previously. What should we do with a person, who works better than we do? Try to be as he or she or make her or him leave the country, so that we could remain together with our beliefs and principles as we are now?
However, this aspect of the immigration as social, cultural and political phenomenon cannot be fully explored without another aspect, related to it – the xenophobia combines with the approach that one “race” or “nation” is superior then other. This aspect has been represented through the attitude towards immigrants form the Central and Eastern Europe. For example, the stereotyped image of Slavs, Italians and Jews predominated: Italians were considered to be outlaws and someone, who is dangerous for the society. (Kennedy, John F.) Together with the pure human factor, the xenophobia was putting sometimes even a bloody trace onto the history of the immigration and the approaches to its understanding.
Generally speaking, the immigration policy is an unstable document or it is better to say a set of rights, which is changing every time the humans are changing their minds. This fact is clearly represented in the Chapter 6 of the book “A Nation of Immigrants”: first Washington claimed about the respect and eagerness of accepting other people from other countries in the USA, considering the similar fate, which unites the first colonists and the immigrants. (Kennedy, John F.) Later on, after sometime, another important document appeared that has put a restriction onto the number of immigrants.
Only, after almost a hundred of years, after almost a decade has passed, the set of documents, such as the 1958 immigration law, which “amended to provide the Attorney General added discretionary powers to adjust the status of people admitted as aliens.“ The 1959 amendment facilitated the family’s reunion. The 1960 amendment gave the USA a right to participate in the resettlement of certain refugee – escapees. The 1961 a special status
amendment provided orphans a right to come to the USA for adoption by parents form the USA. (Kennedy, John F.) Looking back on those key documents and laws – did we indeed need that much time to wait to come to such beneficent and key decisions?
According to this, it is important to claim that the immigration itself is a simple and complex social, political and cultural phenomenon, which the highest stage of the development started in the 16th – 17th centuries. The immigration policy is being changing all the time as the politics is developing and the population of our planet is growing. However, while exploring the issue of the immigration and getting deeper into this particular problem, it is important to take to the consideration such aspects as the human factor, the xenophobia and the feeling of the superiority of one race or nation above another one.
As a conclusion, it is unacceptable to omit that fact that the analysis of all those three key components of the approach to the immigration’s understanding explains the majority of its policy’s aspects, gives answers to the majority of questions. In his book, especially in the Chapter 4, called “Ethnic Conflict and Immigration Restriction”, John Fitzgerald Kennedy has shown the human factor and the xenophobia as they are. More than decade should have pass before those key beneficent decisions on the mitigation of the strict immigration policy were made. As it was mentioned previously, the immigration – it is complex social, political and cultural movement, emerged on the basis of the globalization. John Kennedy let the reader understand that the immigration is not only the issue for the nation – it may be the way to its prosperity, if the population of the accepting country will learn some good things from the foreigners, and it is related not only to the USA, but to each and every country all over the world. Still, the attitude towards immigrants may be also changing, as it is strongly depending on the events that are happening in the modern world and are directly connected with people and human rights.
Works cited
Kennedy, John F. A Nation of Immigrants. Chapter 6. New York: Harper and Row, 1964. Print.
Kennedy, John F. A Nation of Immigrants. Chapter 4. New York: Harper and Row, 1964. Print.
