Immigration and the 4th of July

I am not sure what it means to celebrate the 4^th of July.  My town celebrates the 4^th with the usual family activities in the parks and the fireworks over the bay in the evening.    I do not mean to minimize family times, but we seem to be missing the whole point.  I have long imagined such celebrations to include a day of citizen seminars in libraries, bookstores, parks and homes all over the country where citizens actually read and discuss some the founding documents and their implication to current events.  What an inspiring education for our children. 

Well, I decided this morning to actually read the Declaration of Independence before the evening’s firework display.   All of us are familiar with the moving words from the beginning of the document:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

But I wonder how many of us actually have read the entire document.   So I decided to read more about the grievances that were enumerated and found this rather interesting one against King George III:

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither…

Apparently King George III was also concerned about immigration of non-British Europeans who would not be sufficiently loyal to the crown.  It looks like it was Germans especially that were the target in those days.

So here is my suggestion (which will never be a reality but I make it anyway as a candle in the dark). Let’s take some time today to actually read and discuss this document and perhaps relate it to the PowerPoint by Dr. Warren Blumenfeld that I featured in the post below on “Immigration as ‘Racial’ Policy” as a beginning.   It seems the founders were finding such immigration policies to be a grievance and an affront to freedom loving people.

Dr. Warren Blumenfeld’s PowerPoint Presentation on “Immigration as ‘Racial’ Policy”

For educators looking for a larger historical, political and social context within which to discuss the current issues surrounding immigration, see the link to Dr. Warren J. Blumenfeld’s PowerPoint presentation below. Dr. Blumenfeld places current issues in U.S. immigration policies in an historical context in the PowerPoint: “Immigration as ‘Racial’ Policy.”  His presentation highlights the long racial basis and animus that underlies so much of our immigration policy from its beginnings. One theme that runs through Dr. Blumenfeld’s presentation is our notion of the “other” and how we as a nation have reacted to those who are seen as the “other.”

Dr. Blumenfeld writes: “Though politicians and members of their constituencies argue immigration policy from seemingly infinite perspectives and sides, one point stands clear and definite: decisions as to who can enter this country and who can eventually gain citizenship status generally depends on issues of 'race', for U.S. immigration systems reflect and serve as the country’s official 'racial' policies.”

 Here is a link to the PowerPoint presentation:

https://www.slideshare.net/wblumen/immigration-as-racial-policy-103177858

For a written description, see:

https://www.academia.edu/35645999/Immigration_as_Racial_Policy_in_the_U.S

 

Educators: Please share how you are raising these issues in your own classroom and schools.