The Historic Saga of US Immigration
By Henry Piarrot
Historically, the North American continent was basically populated by four great migrations. The first were the prehistoric hunters from the steppes of Asia, a belt of grasslands that sweeps for roughly 5,000 miles from Europe to China . Most anthropologists believe these people crossed a bridge of
land that then extended across the Bering Sea and Strait. Their descendants, the American Indians, then developed scores of vibrant and complex cultures prior to the arrival of the Western Europeans in the late 15th Century.
The founding of St. Augustine on the Florida peninsula, followed by the construction of the English settlement of Jamestown in 1607 and the landing of the Pilgrims in 1620, marked the beginning of a Western European quest for expansion, riches, fertile land and religious freedom. The British ultimately conquered the Spaniards, as well as the vast eastern wilderness to establish the Thirteen Original Colonies along the eastern seaboard that would eventually launch a
new nation. Unfortunately, with them came a massive and unwilling immigration of slaves from West Africa . The natural talents and incredible endurance the Africans enabled them to survive the horrors and indignities of bondage long enough to become willing contributors to the American civilization.
Finally, in ever increasing numbers throughout the 19th and 20th Centuries came the outpouring of immigrants from across the globe that made a reality of poet Walt Whitman’s vision of America as “not merely a nation, but a teeming
nation of nations
.” Since the birth of the US, almost 75 million immigrants have flocked to this
country in search of opportunities denied them in their native lands. Among them have been men and women of every nation seeking freedom, religious and political dissidents searching for sanctuary, adventurers, misfits, merchants and artists. However, most of them have been ordinary people with strong backs, hope and the will to succeed.
Ever since 1886, when her great torch was lifted into place 305 feet above Bedloe’s (now Liberty Island
) in New York Harbor, the colossal statue of "Liberty Enlightening the World” has symbolized America for millions of eager newcomers. Many wept as they neared the American shoreline, recalling all they left behind and anxious of what they might find in their strange new home. But with their first glimpse of the statue, they were steadied by the correctness of America’s symbol of
freedom and found the strength to dry their tears.
The book in Liberty ’s hand symbolizes our Declaration of Independence and on a tablet within the pedestal is inscribed with the last five lines of a sonnet, “The New Colossus,” by Emma Lazarus. An immigrant herself, she wrote,
“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to be free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Some say we are still experiencing the fourth migration, while others claim we are well into a fifth. Either way, the bad news is that the process to citizenship has become less controlled. However, the good news is that with unshakable optimism, hard work and grit, most have made, or are making a go of their adventure. They have carved homes from American’s wilderness, peopled her cities and towns, transformed her politics and manned her farms and factories. Consequently, the saga of the US immigrant’s struggle to make a new life in a foreign and often unfriendly land is among the most inspirational chapters in the history of our country.
Henry Piarrot is a hotel manager in Sevier County . Please send all story recommendations to henry@lifeisvoluntary.ws
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