The Positive Outcomes of Immigration

            After reading Chapter 23, I couldn’t help but disagree with the strong nativism that people harbored during the earlier times of immigration. I assumed that many Americans were against the idea of letting in more immigrants because they feared the loss of the Anglo-American culture. These new aliens, whether legally or illegally, were coming into their land, taking over their jobs, and a majority of them are opposing assimilation. However, I felt that some of actions that were taken against these immigrants went a bit too far. First of all, it was ironic that these so called “Americans” were trying to defend their country when they, too, came from family members that were once immigrants. Also, no matter how negative they felt against these immigrants, killing should never have been an option. For instance, the formation of the Ku Klux Klan and the crimes they committed was such horrifying moment in American history. It makes me so upset to think about the racism and discrimination that took place all because of the selfish need to preserve the "original" American culture.

            I actually look at immigration on a more positive light. Without immigration, America would not have turned out to be such a wonderfully diverse nation today. Also, many of the Americans' favorite pastimes and companies have would never have existed if it weren’t for the different ethnic groups that came here and invested their time, money, and ideas in the U.S. For example, the Italians played an important role in the musical life of this nation. Mozart was such a phenomenal, influential, and well-known musician that is still widely remembered even to this century. Also, an Italian by the name of Amadeo Pietro Giannini founded the small Bank of Italy in San Francisco, a bank that is now popularly known as the Bank of America. Another example would be the invention of movie theaters. The Greeks pioneered the massive industry of motion pictures. Alexander Pantage the developed one of the largest theater chains in the 1900s and his brothers controlled the 20^th century-Fox studios. These are only a few of the several men whose immigration and inventions had played a huge part in the development of America and its culture.