Posted on 02/10/2007 12:45:16 PM PST by BulletBobCo
Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN in 1907.
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."
Theodore Roosevelt 1907
http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/troosevelt.asp
I say "Bully!"
They use to call it Americanization
Why Teddy, your a racist!
sacr/
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here..."
----
The ONE Roosevelt that was an American, was a patriot, and not a socialist. And he understood Americanism, the importance of citizenship and maintaining soverignty.
Something lost on the elitists, globalists and liberals controlling Washington.
America is a Nation and not a mosaic of nationalities. The various nationalities that come here are not to remain separate, but to blend into the one American nationality—the nationality of Washington and Lincoln, of Muhlenberg and Sheridan. Therefore, we must have but one language, the English language. Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to learn English or to leave the country, for hereafter every immigrant should be treated as a future fellow citizen and not merely as a labor unit. English should be the only language taught or used in the primary schools. We should provide by law so that after a reasonable interval every newspaper in this country should be published in English. (April 27, 1918.) Roosevelt in the Kansas City Star, 143.
"Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to learn English or to leave the country,"
(This isn't directed at Walter Skinner)
We aren't so desperate for warm bodies that we need to establish hopes or goals for an immigrant to meet in the future.
If someone hasn't even learned the world's common language of English before making an effort to gain our homeland and it's citizenship, then why would we even entertain the thought of allowing them in?
Typical Republican racist
(sarcasm)
Wholeheartedly agree with your comment. We also must rid ourselves of welfare programs and I am in favor of everyone contributing to the tax base! I'll never be able to run for elected offices, ha!
Roosevelt in 1894:
"One may fall very far short of treason and yet be an undesirable citizen in the community. The man who becomes Europeanized, who loses his power of doing good work on this side of the water, and who loses his love for his native land, is not a traitor; but he is a silly and undesirable citizen. He is as emphatically a noxious element in our body politic as is the man who comes here from abroad and remains a foreigner. Nothing will more quickly or more surely disqualify a man from doing good work in the world than the acquirement of that flaccid habit of mind which its possessors style cosmopolitanism."
Over half of Great Migration (1890s-1910s) period Italians returned to Italy. Overall, upwards 1/3 of all immigrants during that period returned. TR was speaking not to that condition, but to the lack of assimilation. Only he missed out on what was really happening. Assimilation didn't begin until European migration was cut in the 1920s. Until that time, most immigrants expected to return to their homelands, and, therefore, had little interest in assimilating.
Indeed, Teddy was a racist. He be sayin' ah can't call
mysef a african-american.
And I believe I saw posted on a wall at Ellis Island, a quote by Teddy that said, "there is no such thing as a hyphenated American".
I found the info I was referring to at Ellis Island:
Former President Theodore Roosevelt insisted to an Irish Catholic audience in 1915 that ,
"There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism. When I refer to hyphenated Americans, I do not refer to naturalized Americans. Some of the very best Americans I have ever known were naturalized Americans, Americans born abroad. But a hyphenated American is not an American at all. ... The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities, an intricate knot of German-Americans, Irish-Americans, English-Americans, French-Americans, Scandinavian-Americans or Italian-Americans, each preserving its separate nationality, each at heart feeling more sympathy with Europeans of that nationality, than with the other citizens of the American Republic. ... There is no such thing as a hyphenated American who is a good American. The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else."
I completely agree. But who around FR is working on the issue?
I see lots of whining about "the border". I see lots of plans to arrest illegals, and prevent them from getting jobs. But I see no one taking on the PC education establishment and forcing English immersion, and discouraging foreign language media in the US, or removing foreign languages from bank teller machines or voter ballots.
Teddy doesn't look racist. He looks like a proud American, and wants to share this wonderful country with any and everybody who is willing to adapt and "be an American" like us.
It's the modern "Americans" who appear racist.
Two people in my life that I truly admire: My Mom (who's deceased) came to America from Ireland in 1923. She loved America and became very American by losing her Irish brogue, was a life-long Republican and married an American. From her and my father, I learned to appreciate and love my country. And then, my husband, who escaped Castro's Cuba at the start of the revolution. He told me he had to leave his parents in Cuba, which he did not want to do. It was a rush and his father said to him "Go, at least you will be in a free country". He left and never saw his parents again. He told me that when he arrived in Miami at the airport he saw the American Flag flying tears of gratitude came to his eyes. Without fail, every morning he hangs our American Flag outside. He is now an antique dealer and specializes in American antiques and collectibles. Through him I came to appreciate my country, America, all the more because I took things for granted and he never does. On July 4th we do a show in Cooperstown, NY and he hangs up the largest American Flag in our booth. Many people stop and admire and commend him for this.
Two people in my life that I truly admire: My Mom (who's deceased) came to America from Ireland in 1923. She loved America and became very American by losing her Irish brogue, was a life-long Republican and married an American. From her and my father, I learned to appreciate and love my country. And then, my husband, who escaped Castro's Cuba at the start of the revolution. He told me he had to leave his parents in Cuba, which he did not want to do. It was a rush and his father said to him "Go, at least you will be in a free country". He left and never saw his parents again. He told me that when he arrived in Miami at the airport he saw the American Flag flying tears of gratitude came to his eyes. Without fail, every morning he hangs our American Flag outside. He is now an antique dealer and specializes in American antiques and collectibles. Through him I came to appreciate my country, America, all the more because I took things for granted and he never does. On July 4th we do a show in Cooperstown, NY and he hangs up the largest American Flag in our booth. Many people stop and admire and commend him for this. My Mom and my husband are true Americans who came from other countries.
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