Lincoln, the Know Nothings, and Nativism Old and New
Earlier I wrote about my disgust with both Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich's demagoguery concerning Muslims in America. Actually, Palin's rant wasn't as dangerous as Gingrich's. But both are what some call "Christianists," and in their understanding of "real American" is quite narrow. The Nativism that is driving the debate in Arizona and in New York is not new. It has a fairly strong pedigree, that goes back to the early days of the Republic. It fueled the dispossession of Native Americans from their lands, kept blacks in servitude, excluded Asians, and targeted Catholics, especially Irish Catholics.
Back in the 1850s a political movement emerged that came to be known as the "Know Nothing Party" -- a party that targeted Catholics. It had some political success and even recruited a former President to run on its behalf in 1856 -- Millard Fillmore. The response that Abraham Lincoln gave in a letter to friend Joshua Speed dated 1856 speaks clearly to what is happening today. Although the majority of the letter speaks to the question of slavery and the impending admission of Kansas to the union, the letter also speaks volumes not only to the situation then regarding immigration and the other, but to that which exists today.
I am not a Know-Nothing. That is certain. How could I be? How can any one who abhors the oppression of negroes, be in favor or degrading classes of white people? Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we began by declaring that "all men are created equal." We now practically read it "all men are created equal, except negroes" When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read "all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics." When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretence of loving liberty -- to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocracy [sic].
So, in response to Gingrich's demand that no mosque be built whilst churches can't be built in Saudi Arabia, perhaps we who love liberty should move not to Russia but to Saudi Arabia, for if the "Know Nothings" of today take over, then at least we'll not live with they hypocrisy of our pretensions of liberty for all.
Comments
What exactly are the founding dreams? And, whatever they are, are we as a nation, compelled to accomplish them precisely as the founders imagined? Are we allowed, as a nation, to go beyond those early dreams and seek to accomplish our own dreams, dreams which the founders never could have imagined? Is this our country or their's? Is our countyr or our children's?
John
Cornwall brought up the subject of the "founder's dreams".
Personally, I would stop all immigration immediately, both legal and illegal, if I had the power to do that.
Fair enough, but don' t you think that as a nation we have benefited from the steady inflow of new blood, cultures, ideas, and enthusiasm for the "American Dream?"
My personal guess is that most enthusiastic Americans are the newest ones. The rest of us just seem to take what we have for granted and/or spend much time hand wringing over how to hang on to whatever it is we have.
John
Some who have come here have been assets, and some have been liabilities. I'd be willing to trade some of the people we now have for some better ones, if that could be arranged.
I knew you had a practical side.
John