No welfare state at the time.
No Irish affirmative action at the time.
No Multiculturalism at the time.
Your argument ignores the current historical context.
No Irish affirmative action at the time.
Tammany Hall. It isn't so much immigrants who are taking up affirmative actions slots (Asians certainly get no benefit from AA), but native-born minorities.
No Multiculturalism at the time.
Catholicism was seen with much the same jaundiced eye.
Besides, multiculturalism tends to be a phenomenon of native-born, overly-idle leftists. Yeah, we'll get a few native rites for a generation or two, then they'll either disappear or be moderated into the mainstream, like St. Patrick's day and Christmas trees. Your argument ignores the current historical context.