cc >> Beth Lemke: Welcome to
the Wisconsin Historical Museum, ladies and gentlemen.
Today we're here to listen to Mike Jacobs look at his
perspectives of immigration, both past and present, and the
propaganda relating to it. So if you could please give me a
warm welcome for Mike Jacobs. [APPLAUSE]
Mike Jacobs: So we're going to take a look at the propaganda
through the course of at least 150 years and
see how the nativist faction has tried to support its agenda.
But by emphasizing the similarities of this propaganda,
what I'm hoping to do is to demonstrate that the fears have
neither changed nor diminished. And I'm trying to assure both
sides, whichever side you are on, that our current debate is
neither epic nor final. And that's really my most
important point to you. Demographic changes in British
North America occurred rapidly during the 18th century, and
anti-immigrant sentiment existed even before this country
existed. The principal consideration at
the time, though, was not immigration but the kind of
immigrant, the kind of people that were coming.
Many British North American colonists were concerned about
the importation of convicted criminals, Irish papists and
German separatists. But that's not the focus of
today's presentation so let's start with the United States.
The United States did not have a uniform policy regarding
immigration. Traditionally the federal
government placed neither restrictions nor parameters on
immigration, and federal policies encouraged or
discouraged immigration indirectly through laws that
pertained to citizenship rather than actual travel or entry.
In 1798 the federal government passed the Alien Enemies Act
which were the first national restrictions on immigration.
Rather they were the first national restrictions on
immigrants not immigration. As these laws did not prevent
immigration but threatened immigrants with deportation or
imprisonment if they didn't behave in accordance with the
current administration's wishes. These laws were clearly partisan
and subjective and arbitrary, and thus they were unpopular.
This 1798 cartoon depicts a fight that broke out on the
floor of the United States House of Representatives between
Matthew Lyon, an Irish immigrant, republican
Congressman from Vermont, and Roger Griswold, an American-born
federalist from Connecticut. The democratic republicans
decried this unpopular federalist legislation to rally
support to their party. That's how they attracted
immigrants to them. Such was the earliest
controversy regarding immigration.
That controversy surrounded the kind of immigrant, rather than
immigration itself, comes as little surprise to me studying
this. The United States has almost
always had a dearth in labor. When there hasn't been,
immigration has slowed. If you take a look at this
chart, you will see that the slowest years are during the
Great Depression. We have this idea or we purport
this idea that people come to America for political freedom or
religious freedom, and that is certainly true for a very small
minority. Unless you're going to make the
argument that suddenly in the 1930s places around the world
were offering religious freedom and political freedom, therefore
people weren't coming. If you're familiar with fascist
Spain, fascist Portugal, fascist Germany, fascist Italy, those
arguments aren't that easy to make.
The reality is that the vast majority of the people who've
come to America have come for opportunity, particularly
economic opportunity. And you can see in the 1930s
that did not exist. And speaking of migrations, Beth
had mentioned that we had both moved here from Indiana to
Wisconsin, a migration because I found Wisconsin appealing.
I'd be curious what kind of migrations happened regarding
Wisconsin pertaining to what's going on outside.
As the United States started to supply belligerence engaged in
World War II, the need for labor in America was revitalized.
All were welcome, as depicted in this cartoon from the Detroit
Free Press. In fact, at this time the United
States was desperate for unskilled labor and inaugurated
the Bracero Program with Mexico which brought hundreds of
thousands of Mexicans across the border to work in American
enterprises that needed labor, particularly in agriculture and
railroads. While the Braceros were major
contributors to the American war effort and economy, they did not
always meet with acceptance in this country.
But the immigrants were deemed valuable enough that the Bracero
Program was continued even after the war ended for two decades
and maintained by the American government and the Mexican
government until 1964. If you were to look at illegal
immigration to the United States from Mexico, 1964 is when it
happens, when the program that had allowed for workers to come
here ended. It ended Mexico's incentive to
guard the border. They used to guard the border
not wanting people to move back and forth unless they could tax
them. But that incentive disappeared
with that program. World War II was not the first
time labor influenced American's opinions regarding the
desirability of immigration. This engraving from an 1855 book
by J Wayne Laurens called The Crisis; or The Enemies of
America Unmasked depicts a labor demonstration outside New York
City's city hall demanding relief for the unemployed during
the panic of 1854. This presentation here of
foreign labor demonstrators, mostly Irish and German, was
meant to alarm readers. It's one of the very few
antebellum images of organized labor and tame by the standards
of anti-immigrant propaganda. During the post bellum era,
immigrant laborers were not a threat to capital but to other
laborers. Native labor organized against
cheap immigrant labor that might drive down their wages or
replace them. In both of these pieces
emanating from California, the Chinese are the culprits and the
prescribed solution is clear: physically remove the Chinese by
force or political action. And the story hasn't changed.
Labor is warning Americans of the danger of illegitimate
immigrant labor. But the demonization of
immigrant labor has gone beyond organized labor and become a
grassroots campaign as Americans fear for their economic future.
And corporate America has shouldered the blame.
And corporate executives and upper middle-class Americans
have warned about the presence of such undocumented workers.
But that has not stopped such segments from using and
benefiting from that very labor. The Bush Administration
supported continued practice of moderate immigration enforcement
and was criticized for the apparent motive.
As this cartoon suggests, it is compassionate to assist these
poor immigrants with any work and useful for the American
economy. The competing forces at work are
displayed here on the page of June 8, 2006, edition of
the San Antonio Express. The top article, Texans proposal
would make some deportations easier saying that how they
could get rid of undocumented or undesirable immigrants.
The second article suggests that President Bush believed that
immigrants were useful, but they should conform to the American
macroculture. My favorite is the bottom
article. At the bottom of the page brings
the issue full circle by pointing out that 25% of those
who are cleaning up New Orleans after hurricane Katrina lack
proper papers. As much as people who do not
want them here, as much as the president would like to strip
them of their historic culture, these people are helping America
and Americans. This desire for cheap and
abundant labor has even compromised homeland security
measures according to this piece of propaganda.
Click to enlarge indicates that even this formula is flexible as
needed. Nativist forces were quick to
link America's immigration policy with the 9/11 terrorist
attacks. Even Osama bin Laden is able to
enter the United States in this 2003 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
cartoon by Stuart Carlson. And nativist forces on the
ground picked up on that notion. And fears can be worn on your
sleeve or jacket or lapel. But in many cases the terrorist
bugaboo is simply a cat's paw for other objectives.
The message here is morphed to suit other tastes.
And they transform the message and images to appeal to older
generations of Americans as well.
Every avenue is explored and exploited.
Neither the ploys nor the fears were new.
Post-World War I cartoons suggested that America's liberal
immigration policies opened doors to those who would destroy
us. The jingoism is particularly
noticeable in this cartoon from the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Now Memphis has little history as an immigrant city.
In 1920 only 3.6% of its population was foreign-born,
ranking it 47th among America's 50th largest cities.
Yet they still have a concern about what is going to happen.
And the remedy did not change either.
Nativists warned Americans about those determined to destroy us
long before World War I as this 1892 New York publication
demonstrates. And the loyalty question has
surfaced as well. Even if these new immigrants are
bent on America's destruction, they seem to have a dual
loyalty. The clinging to traditions is
more easily understood when one considers the transitory nature
of some migrations. For example, prior to the
immigration act of 1924 as many as 60% of Italians who came to
America returned to Italy within five years.
America would be a temporary place to earn money or to test
to see if they like. Almost a hundred years ago
Woodrow Wilson warned Americans of such people who clung to the
traditions of their birth place. During World War I,
German-American immigrants particularly faced prejudice.
In 1918 Life magazine ran this cartoon with the accompanying
jingle of My Country 'Tis of Thee.
My country over sea, Deutschland is sweet to me, to thee I cling.
For thee my honor died, for thee I spied and lied, so that from
every side culture might ring. But it didn't require the United
States to be at war to inspire such fears as instructed by
Uncle Sam in 1915 to cut off that hyphen.
The term hyphenated American entered the American slang in
the early 1890s referring to immigrants who had not fully or
satisfactorily acculturated. In this 1899 cartoon from Puck,
Uncle Sam inquires "why should I let these freaks cast whole
ballots when they are only half Americans?"
One of the first concerns regarding dual loyalty had
little to do with foreign national powers.
It was the Catholic church that nativists feared.
In this 1853 Currier & Ives lithograph Pope Pius IX lands on
American soil with a cross in one hand and a sword in the
other. One of the Bishops hooks the
boat ashore by a shamrock, suggesting that the Irish are in
complicity in making this happen those who are already in
America. Brother Jonathan who was a
precursor to Uncle Sam is whittling in the back and fails
to act. Therefore, it is up to the youth
of America to challenge this religious invasion.
This 1870 cover of Harper's Weekly sends a similar message
of the Catholic church's sights on America.
Note the skeletal face of the priest on the far right and the
raised weapons in the rear preparing for their strike.
This 1873 cartoon from Harper's Weekly suggests that Catholics
are to subvert American institutions such as schools.
Students at the right are forced to worship at non-Christian
alters and are being indoctrinated in Asian
philosophies and religions. Thomas Nast, the most famous
cartoonist in American history, produced one of the most
infamous anti-immigrant works of the 19th century with his
warning of Catholic invasions. Notice the crocodiles that are
coming to shore are actually Bishops.
The Vatican has taken over the government in the background.
The public school is falling apart.
The American flag is inverted. Catholic-Irish thugs are hauling
away a woman at the top of the cliff, and the gallows are
prepared in the upper right-hand corner.
And into the 20th century the fear had not subsided.
A deadly Catholic Bishop replaces the Statue of Liberty
because Americans are not sufficiently on guard.
But there was an antidote realized in the 1920s.
The Klan would be America's savior from foreign menaces.
It's a good thing that religious bigotry and superstition has
gone by the wayside and no longer enters into the
immigration debate. In the early part of the 19th
century, Catholic and Irish were used interchangeably in many
parts of America. Not only was their religion in
question, but their economic situation was feared to be a
burden for America. And this concern about
immigrants has not changed as this bumper sticker suggests.
This 1852 plate considers the physiognomy of the Irish,
likening them to dogs. This type of pseudoscience
encouraged people to treat immigrants as less than human.
This 1882 cartoon from Puck depicts the Irish as subhuman.
Uncle Sam reprimands him "look here you everybody else is quiet
and peaceable and you're all the time a kicking up a row."
The editorial that accompanied the cartoon asserted "the raw
Irish in America is a nuisance. His son is a curse.
They never assimilate. The second generation simply
shows an intensification of all the bad qualities of the first.
They are a burden and a misery to this country."
Such characterizations led to the popularization and general
acceptance of no Irish need apply or NINA as some newspaper
ads proclaimed. Or as Puck suggested in this
1889 cartoon, the Irish simply are not mixable.
Chinese immigrants would face even greater discrimination than
the Irish. Columbia here guards the weary
Chinese immigrant in this 1874 engraving from Harper's Weekly.
She warns the Irish pursuers that America "means fair play
for all men." Notice the barbaric faces on
the Irish and all the anti-Chinese propaganda on the
wall behind. Secretary of State James G
Blaine protects the African American and says no to the
apparently high-cultured Chinese.
Less than two years later, Harper's Weekly changed its
editorial policy towards Chinese immigration.
This propaganda on the wall depicts whites pushing American
Indians west and Chinese pushing Americans east.
The American Indian observes "pale face 'fraid you crowd him
out as he did me." You can see this up here.
Go west and go east. And the Chinese immigration
issue could prevent the freefall of the democratic tiger on the
left or pull both parties down as Thomas Nast suggests on the
right. Frank Leslie's illustrated
newspaper warned the working man of the coming of the destructive
Chinese labor in 1877. This montage of cartoons by
Joseph Keppler called the Chinese invasion from an 1880
issue of Judge warned that the Chinese would push others from
the workforce and the center they are clinging to the life
preservers offered by Columbia. The WASP magazine, from
California, warned that the immigrant Chinese sought
monopolies in certain trades, especially laundries, cigar
making, dry goods and manufacturing.
Chinese came to dominate the laundry trade in a number of
cities, and they became a target because of the competition.
In this trade card, Columbia points to the wall no more
Chinese cheap labor. Business owners tried to depict
themselves as patriotic by finding ways of replacing the
Chinese. In this trade card, Uncle Sam is
kicking the Chinese back to the sea, replacing them with the
George D Company's magic washer. To the satisfaction of so many
Americans depicted here, Columbia is escorting the
immigrant Chinese from the school.
Note the ironing board and opium pipe carried in his hands.
Indeed, Chinese immigration proved a rallying point for a
disparate group of Americans. Emanating from the new Statue of
Liberty is filth, immorality, and ruin to white labor.
The WASP hope to stop the threats on both shores: Chinese
from the Pacific and communists from the Atlantic.
When the fear of Chinese immigration was halted by
restricted immigration policies directed at that country, a new
threat from Asia emerged. The tide of turbans failed to
materialize, as the nativists claimed it would, but the
propaganda machine was prepared. And during World War II Japanese
immigrants or natives were targets of American jingoism.
Immigrant Asians are no longer singled out as a threat to
American wages and taxes but Americans are still warned about
migrant labor. And migrant labor, or labor
wasn't the only concern of the nativist, but they have to use
it to advantage. In this turn of the century
drawing from Judge magazine, the caption warns "our peaceful
world districts as they are liable to be infest if this
Russian exodus of the persecuted Hebrews continues much longer."
This 1896 cartoon published in The Ram's Horn indicates the
assortment of undesirable baggage brought by immigrants
including Sabbath desecration, anarchy, poverty, superstition,
and disease. This 1883 F Grats cartoon warns
of health hazards, specifically cholera, entering the country
through immigration. This more recent cartoon
suggests American immigration policy is more strict on
potentially contaminated beef than humans with serious
communicable diseases. But Chinese, Irish, Catholics
and communicable diseases are not at the forefront of the
current immigration debate. It is clear where nativists
believe the problem originates.
And what the end result could mean.
And they will employ scare tactics to achieve their
objective. And nativists have criticized
the policies of the most recent past president.
Some have their own martial remedies.
They try to instill fear in the American public that the new
immigrants from south of the border will overwhelm existing
peoples and political systems. One theory widely held by
Americans that has assuaged fears of immigrants unique
habits, traditions, qualities, and beliefs is that the
differences will disappear in the great American melting pot.
But the melting pot idea, as historian Leonard Dinnerstein
has noted, is a more recent ideal than a historical
expectation. He writes one must not ignore
the prevalent American view that existed for centuries.
America should remain a white protestant nation and all others
must either assimilate or be relegated to a permanent
inferior status. That is not to say the melting
pot is not the end result. Whatever the ingredients, a
standardized formula emerges, according to this cartoon.
Dinnerstein adds most second and third generation Americans of
foreign ancestry are not anxious to remain ethnic as they are to
blend into the dominate society. Consider first generation
letters back to the old country. Did second and third generations
follow suit and maintain the traditions?
Do any such letters to the old country exist for fourth
generations? Fourth generations are more
likely to have anonymous overseas pen pals than to write
their families back overseas. But historically, even this
recipe, as a path for immigrant, acceptance has come under fire.
Some groups simply were not assimilable.
The remedy? Close the chute.
Perhaps it had gone too far while Uncle Sam had his back
turned, as this 1921 Gale cartoon, Spoiling the Broth,
insinuates. Pouring too many immigrants into
the mix has been a detriment to the country, according to the
Saturday Evening Post in 1930. So this bumper sticker is
nothing new. In fact it's less pungent than
the propaganda of earlier generations.
But some still hold out hope, as this 2006 editorial cartoon
suggests. For good or for not, I'm not
altogether certain that there's not a melting pot of some sort
as three generations of recent immigrants from Afghanistan
demonstrate the Macarena. [LAUGHTER]
One thing that has changed over the course of the last century
regarding American's attitudes towards immigrants is that
many want immigrants to speak English.
Ethnic ghettos and villages were so common and insulated in the
19th century that speaking English might not be deemed
necessary or even desirable for some.
Notice the ironic land of the free flag in the background.
That changed in the 20th century.
And not only did many Americans want new arrivals to speak
English, they wanted them literate.
In this 1914 cartoon from Puck called The Undesirables, Abraham
Lincoln, the martyred president pleads, "I stand among you, good
people, my father could never have passed."
And standardization became a rallying cry in the land of the
free. Americans are ordered to speak
American in this poster issued by the American government
during World War II. Using non-English languages,
especially German, Italian and Japanese, was considered
disloyal. And efforts to serve and/or
accommodate non-English speaking immigrants has been ridiculed
recently. And opposition to a polyglot
nation has become vitriolic. And fears have been codified.
Insulated Iowa with just 3.1% foreign-born population in
the census of 2000 passed a law that made English its official
language. While once concerned that
immigrants would the not adapt to America, would not appreciate
American institutions such as suffrage, many nativists fear
the opposite, that immigrants will participate in the
political process. Some outspoken people such as
Pat Buchanan have tried to use this issue to rise to national
providence, if not national office.
Disgruntled nativists accused the last president of pandering
to this potential constituency. To them, Bush has compromised
America's sovereignty for his own political future.
Or to achieve another unrelated political agenda.
However upset those forces are with the former President Bush,
their propaganda leaves little doubt with which party they
believe they have the best chance of achieving their goals.
In this 2006 flyer, nativists propose that by voting
democratic you are cooperating with the wishes of the Mexican
people. There's little doubt immigration
will be a highly contested issue in our future major election
cycles. And it's not the first time such
battles were waged. California senator and famed
opponent of Japanese immigration James Phelan's campaign poster
promised to stop the silent invasion.
Riffraff immigrants might subvert the political process,
damage our ideas, institutions, as Uncle Sam fears here.
And this concern predates the 20th and 21st century.
"What weight can my vote have against this flood of ignorance,
stupidity and fraud," the American citizen asks in this
1896 cartoon from The Ram's Horn.
In this election day fiasco, liquor-drinking Irish and German
immigrants run off with the ballot box to determine the
election's victor. Finally, in this cartoon dubbed
the naturalization mill, judges and party hacks grind immigrants
into democratic votes. Whether or not they will be
participating in politics, the sheer volume of immigration is a
concern to nativists.
But 80 years ago, the Ku Klux Klan warned America of the same
phenomenon in its pamphlet on immigration.
And the Klan was carrying on a strong tradition of the nativist
concern about the volume as well as the character of immigration.
In this 1891 cartoon from Judge, senator Henry Cabot Lodge
lectures Uncle Sam, "If immigration was properly
restricted you would no longer be troubled with anarchy,
socialism, the mafia and such kindred evils."
The caption on the sign in the background reads "Entry for
immigrants, baggage the only requisite."
Captions on immigrants include "Polish vagabond, Italian
brigand, English convict, Russian anarchist,
Irish pauper." In this 1893 Life magazine
lithograph contains the caption "An interesting question:
how long will it be before the rats own the garden
and the man gets out?" Uncle Sam has nodded off
permitting the vermin to take command of the American garden.
This F Beard cartoon is called Columbia's Unwelcomed Guest.
As immigrants emerge from the sewers of other countries, if
you see in the background. In this early piece of
propaganda, the pied piper leads the rats across the ocean to
America. Notice the Statue of Liberty in
the background and the rats swimming toward it.
Today's propaganda remains with the patriotic theme by employing
images of Uncle Sam. More tangible efforts are
suggested as well. Not that all concerns are
groundless, but certainly some of the alarmists lack rational
arguments. For example, note this sign in
Tennessee, a state that ranks 33rd in the percentage of
immigrants, approximately two-thirds below the national
average. The volume of current
immigration, some nativists suggest, will overwhelm the
United States. So great that the new immigrants
will not assimilate but will hoist their culture upon the
existing one, wrecking the traditions known to most
Americans. The American will become a
novelty, as with this 1922 James Montgomery Flagg cartoon
portrays the last American in captivity.
Flagg copied the idea from the Last Yankee, first published in
Frank Leslie's illustrated newspaper in 1888 but reprinted
frequently over the next 30 years.
Uncle Sam is literally devoured by Irish and Chinese immigrants
in this early depiction. This is the first cartoon of a
three-part series. Let's see how it ends.
America has drawn so many immigrants because it is the
land of opportunity, a land of bounty.
In this 1880 Joseph Keppler cartoon called Welcome to All,
Uncle Sam welcomes immigrants of all nationalities and a sign
lauds America's features: political freedom and economic
opportunity. A Judeo-Christian theme is
utilized in this Puck cartoon in which Uncle Sam plays Moses
leading immigrants from oppression and intolerance to a
new day that is America. Today immigrants choose America
for the same reasons: opportunities.
But nativists today are less liberal and not prepared to
share the opportunities of this great country.
Now comparatively, United States is not alone among English
speaking nations in limiting access to resources as well as a
means to discourage immigration as this 1899 cartoon from
New South Wales, Australia, indicates.
"A white colony" and "mineral wealth" are guarded against
"black labor" and "minority rule."
And in England, God save the King.
And even more recently in nearby Canada.
And there is little difference in the warning.
And America should heed a warning too.
English speaking countries haven't been the only ones in
the world who discourage particular people from living
among them. And America's immigrant policy
has had foreign policy ramifications.
The Japanese considered exclusion of their nationals as
an insult to their national honor.
This 1915 cartoon suggests that America's doors are open to just
about any kind of immigrant except the Japanese.
The link to Pearl Harbor is not as direct as the treatment of
Irish-Catholic immigrants in the America army in the 1840s.
Several hundred of them deserted the American army and fought for
Mexico in the Mexican-American War.
The Los San Patricios are officially celebrated in both
Ireland and in Mexico. Nativists designed laws that
discriminated against immigrant Irish and prevented Japanese
immigration. Recent complaints by nativists
argue that the laws in place are not enforced.
Indeed, salutary neglect has been America's policy towards
illegal immigration from Central America.
Bush's plan to legitimize illegal immigration came under
fire from nativists as well. Those most responsible for
securing the borders have been criticized also.
The INS shirked its principal function and has been complicit
in this disregard for the law according to these recent
characterizations.
Legal measures have been taken before trying to curb
immigration in 1921. And again three years later.
In 1924, the Ku Klux Klan tried to take credit for a restrictive
legislation. The Klan is still active in the
nativist movement. Other national right wing
organizations, such as the national socialist movement,
also feed on anti-immigrant sentiment.
Most ultra-conservatives know that the history of those two
groups preclude them from effectiveness or even being part
of the national dialogue. So they created the Minuteman
Project, employing patriotic symbols to rally people to their
cause. Even more bland is US English.
This organization pushes for immigration restriction and
English as the official language of the United States.
Madison Grant, the vice president of the Immigration
Restriction League, was best known for his warnings in the
passing of the great race and the introduction to fellow
restrictionist Lathrop Stoddard's The Rising Tide of
Color Against World White Supremacy.
And before the Immigration Restriction League there was the
Order of United Americans. And the short-lived political
party the American party. Its precursor, the Native
American party, commonly known as the no nothings or the don't
knows. Two aspects of the immigration
debate have degenerated. For one the message was formally
less vehement. And the isolationists were on
the fringe of American society. But in the 21st century,
nativism has obtained mainstream status, including young, old,
and middle-class. And the message has lost all
polish. The message has become
malicious. Venomous.
The irony of American's immigration policies have not
been lost on previous generations.
Hendrik van Loon asks in this 1924 cartoon, what if the
original Americans opposed immigration?
Even the debate on terrorism has been put into perspective.
"Give me your tired, poor, your huddled masses yearning
to breathe free, the wretched refuse of the teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my
lamp beside the golden door !" Do the nativists, the
defenders of America's traditions, want to revise
America's traditional promise?
They wouldn't be the first, as this 1921 Lute Pease cartoon
indicates. Even to implement the nativist
popular solution to halt immigration seems rather ironic.
On both sides of the border.
And it is not without historic precedent.
In this 19th century work, the immediate descendants of
immigrants are doing the work of building the wall.
Recent immigrants have been more vocal than in the past.
Demanding a measure of equality. I see it's just about 1:00,
so I will open it up for questions.
[APPLAUSE]