The American Fondue

At the turn of the century, immigration was really skyrocketing. People were coming in from all over, for all different reasons. Some came in for the money, some to escape disease or persecution or political unrest, or even just the chance to start fresh. These people were mostly poor folk from places like Ireland, Italy, China, and Eastern Europe. Most of them were looking for a way to make a life, or at least make enough money to bring over the rest of their families.

The Nativists, however, met these people with a rather poor welcome. They were not happy, no, not happy at all. These people brought over their strange cultures, their strange foods, their strange alcohols, and worst of all, their strange religions! These people made the cities horrible, so the nativists thought. It was their fault that the crime rate was so high, and that there were so many new bars.

These attitudes, however, didn't stop the American public from allowing them in, however. That would mean denying themselves cheap labor. After all, these unskilled, drunken degenerates could bolster the work force some. That would help everyone. These people could actually make themselves useful.

It's actually thanks to this kind of mentality that The United States is so diverse now. Before the era of immigration, everyone here was mostly English, German, Dutch, or Swedish. They were all in some shape or form Protestant. Now, after the importation of all these different nationalities, we as a nation have achieved a much more diverse unity of people. It has really made us a nation of many colors.

Now, after all these years, most of the reaction to these groups of people has died. The Irish are almost entirely assimilated into the populace, as are the Italians, and the Eastern Europeans. Now, the Racial backlash has shifted onto new cultures. The Mexicans and The Arabs are taking the most flak currently, even though it is not these people as a whole who are causing trouble. How long do you think it'll take America to get over this set?