Easier communication. Thousands of people each living far apart had no way to amplify each other. Immigrants were mostly centered around cities, thus the rural divide.
The USA prided itself on a nation of immigrant, heck even the Statue of Liberty says it. When did immigrants (US citizens from the old world) become anti immigrant and why?
Submitted 2 weeks ago by Patnou@lemmy.world to [deleted]
Comments
fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 2 weeks ago
mugita_sokiovt@discuss.online 2 weeks ago
This was done to keep our Catholic roots in check. I’m no longer a Catholic-aligned guy as a result. My producer was Catholic-aligned and Jesuit-associated for his entire life until he started making changes he felt was right with his higher power.
muntedcrocodile@hilariouschaos.com 2 weeks ago
The us has always been anti illegal immigration and accepting of legal immigration. Its incredibly harmful that the 2 concepts are being combined and treated the same now.
Fondots@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The us has always been anti illegal immigration
The US actually made it almost the first hundred years of its history without many meaningful immigration laws
I’m sure someone will argue otherwise, but one thing commonly cited as the first US immigration law was the steerage act of 1819, which was pretty much just “you can’t overcrowd your ships, you have to have enough food and water for everyone, you have to have a list of your passengers and account for anyone who died on the way”
So not really limiting immigration, more making sure that the ships bringing immigrants here were providing at least basic livable conditions for the trip.
Immigration overland was totally unregulated.
And with some minor alterations here and there, that was pretty much the state of things until the 1870s and 80s with the Page Act and Chinese Exclusion Act. Until then there really wasn’t such a thing as “illegal immigration” and borders were pretty much wide-open.
To be thorough, between 1776 and the Page Act, we did have the Alien Friends and Alien Enemies acts to allow the US to deport non-citizen immigrants under certain circumstances, and we took a few steps forwards and backwards at times regarding the naturalization process, but we also had the 14th amendment and “An Act to Encourage Immigration” in there as well.
And of course after that, shit went downhill pretty damn quickly.
So it’s a bit of a mixed bag, but again for almost half of US history there really wasn’t any such thing as “illegal” immigration for anyone to be against (general anti-immigrant sentiments are another story)
diptchip@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
When hate can be used to divide the masses. We must be divided lest we decide that a system that protects unethically gained wealth is unethical regardless if it protects ethically gained wealth.
badbytes@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Distraction is the point.
shalafi@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I have a take no one else has talked about. I think much of the recent hate is down to there being too many damned people, and suddenly it seems a lot of them are brown.
Young me honestly wasn’t quite sure what Hispanic meant because there weren’t any around. LOL, imagine my culture shock when I moved to Chicago! Then I came down to Florida, and once again, no Hispanics. They were so rare it was kinda freaky. Then Hurricane Ivan flattened us, loads of immigrants showed up to build and never left.
Now people are looking around and seeing America on the first downward trajectory since the Great Depression. They’re casting about to lay blame. Know what’s different? Well lookee here, millions of new brown people that weren’t here before!
I don’t think liberals understand just how many immigrants came across the southern border in the last 20 years. When I brought up that there was indeed a crisis at the border during the Biden admin, I got beat up here and on reddit. Y’all can stick your fingers in your collective ear, but shitloads of people were piling up to get it. It was a humanitarian crisis.
Not saying the hate is logical, but I can at least understand where it’s coming from. It’s a little more nuanced that screaming RACIST at everyone.
Adderbox76@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
When said immigration switched from primarily being Europeans emigrating from a post WW2 Europe, and instead became primarily brown folk coming from all the countries that the U.S. itself bombed to shit.
It’s not immigration that they hate. It’s brown immigration.
Never forget that.
Kurallier@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
The Irish would like to have a word with you
CatDogL0ver@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The US didn’t welcome Irish and Italian
BakerBagel@midwest.social 2 weeks ago
They became anti-immigrant once they had kids and saw other people arriving to the boat. My sister in law’s family are refugees from El Salvador. Now they are all raging Trumpers, despite half of them not being naturalized yet.
gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
Historically, I’m quite certain that the “small” people (e.g. peasants, and such) had always had incredibly right-wing views, including tribalism (we’re better than anyone else, for no reason, we just are), “hard-work” ethics, who doesn’t work doesn’t deserve to eat, and such.
The landlords couldn’t care less about immigration. As long as the immigrants pay their taxes, the landlord is happy. Why would they bother?
It’s the peasants who see their land occupied (sothat their own land’s relative share decreases) who get furious at the foreigners who take their jobs and eat their food, while also possibly bringing infectious diseases and an inferior way of life.
__siru__@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
They have always been anti-immigrant. Gor the longest time they simply tolerated it, but no more.
As for the the statue of liberty, a, it was built by the French not Americans, b, I can also happily say that I pride myself on being a great person, while in truth being a terrible peraon.
skisnow@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
So it turns out that the Statue of Liberty never represented the opinions of all Americans to begin with
HubertManne@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
Once we took everything from the natives fully to the west coast we stopped being keen on it.
dangling_cat@piefed.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
Because immigrants don’t participate in politics. They are too busy to do actual work that creates value for the country instead of voting or being social butterflies and running champions.
Lembot_0004@discuss.online 2 weeks ago
Somewhere after the Great War. No idea why though.
Successful_Try543@feddit.org 2 weeks ago
There have been resentments against different groups of immigrants even before, e.g. Italians, Irish, or Chinese.
Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
There’s a great fictional movie called Gangs of New York that covers the real life anti immigration riots that happened in New York City during the civil war.
prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
Daniel Day Lewis is so good in it
Endymion_Mallorn@kbin.melroy.org 2 weeks ago
The Statue of Liberty wasn't something commissioned by the USA. It was just how one French guy saw us. The New Colossus is not law, it's a poem.
We've never really been proud of immigration. The only President with a reasonable take on immigrants was Teddy Roosevelt - and his belief was that the only path forward is full assimilation.