"America: the land of opportunity." Many immigrants find America so appealing because of the numerous freedoms and opportunities available for them to experience. They often come with hopes of the possibilities in America and the dream of starting from nothing and working his/her way up the ladder of success. Even in the past, they were told that in America "all men were created equal" and were endowed with "certain unalienable rights", including Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. (MC 45) However, during the period of the American Revolution, not everyone was "created equal". In fact, only white American men were actually able to choose who was allowed to live in America and who was allowed to become an American. There were many different views on immigration and how immigrants should fit into and contribute to American society, including those of Prescott Hall and Grace Abbott. Hall's desire for conformity and Abbott's acceptance of differences have both influenced immigration in America; however, neither view is wholly accurate or justified.
English: Looking south from Top of the Rock, New Y...
English: Immigrants entering the United States thr...
American cultural icons, apple pie, baseball, and ...Prescott Hall said that the United States was a nation of "Teutonic" heritage which had been diluted by the mass immigration of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (MC 303, 305) Hall had a fascinating view on immigration and its overall effects on the American Identity. His arguments were based on the theory that each immigrant belonged to a group and each group had its own culture. These individual cultures created ethnic and race centered identities (Prescott Hall, Racial Effects of Immigration, AIE). He went on to say that the individual immigrant identities had the capability to influence the current American Identity. He felt that these effects would detract from our society instead of adding to it. (Prescott Hall, Social Effects--Assimilation, AIE) Also in his argument, Prescott...