The 4th of July a celebration for immigrants?
For many immigrants to the U.S. in the late 19th century, July 4th was deeply significant: Their own home countries were fighting for independence.
Perhaps I was hasty when I said there would be no blogs. There are some ideas that come to my attention that I would like to share. But I remain a blog curmudgeon. This may not happen often.
Just before July 4th I came across this article in Jstor. I thought it was important enough to put on the first page of my website — just not not important enough to keep it there forever. But I would like to hang on to it. Thus this blog. Now I have two.
Celebrating Immigration on the 4th of July
This JSTOR Daily article tells us how the 4th of July was celebrated by immigrants in the late 19th century. “The 4th of July is a celebration of the nation’s birth. But it has historically also been a celebration of a country that defines itself by its incorporation of people from around the world through immigration.”
What has happened to that incorporation of people from around the world? How long has it been since we celebrated immigration?
A fe days before 4th of July celebrations were organized by various ethnic groups, but celebrated by all.
“In the nineteenth century, leaders of immigrant communities insisted that a love of the home country was completely compatible with American patriotism.”
What a novel idea! Why must we insist that newly arrived immigrants must denounce their home country, denounce their home language, the moment they hit our shores?
Read the entire article at JSTOR Daily.
