Posted by
Loribme on Saturday, July 28, 2007 10:03:50 AM
Today, I read an article in Townhall from Nathan Tabor. Although the emphasis to his article was the disgusting murder of an innocent American girl possibly by an illegal alien, he made one error that seems to be taking root in our society. He wrote:
This nation was built through the courage, strength, and commitment of untold numbers of immigrants. Most of us, in fact, trace our ancestry to foreign lands. An immigrant who enters this country legally, who's willing to sacrifice for the sake of his or her newly-adopted country, represents the epitome of what makes this country great.
This is inaccurate. If you haven't read Pride in America on this blog yet, do so. This country was not built by immigrants. However, perhaps some clarification beyond what I wrote in Pride in America is warranted.
Once more, let's take a time trip to the colonial days.
After the accidental discovery of an entire continent by the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, British companies saw an opportunity to invest in the New World. Yes, there were other settlers but, again, we are focusing on the British colonists. Please note the usage of the words settlers and colonists as these people have always been referred to throughout our history.
When these settlers came, they found that no one owned the land, even though Indian tribes did occupy the land. Some of these tribes were warrior tribes preying on the more peaceful tribes. But there was no unified form of government between these tribes, no borders, no written laws, no currency-in short, nothing that established an Indian nation on this land. Even they did not claim to own the land. So, how can something be stolen if it isn't own by anyone? The settlers staked their claim on the land in the interest of the British crown, thereby, making the colonies British territory. You can claim that that was just a difference of perspective and you would be partly correct. However, that is just the way things were done then-you stake a claim on something no one owns and it is yours.
Every subsequent colonist that travelled from Great Brittain to the New World maintained their citizenship with Great Brittain and agreed to abide by British rule. The Mayflower Compact spells this out very clearly. For those who haven't read the Mayflower Compact, it was a contract between colonists that landed outside of British territory in the New World which stated even though they knew they were not on British soil they would still abide by British law. However, those who did land in established colonies, they were not immigrants as they never left their country of origin. Think of it as moving from the east coast to the west coast. Since I currently live in South Carolina, it would be like me moving from this state to California. I wouldn't be leaving the United States of America, would I? That, in effect, was what the settlers/colonists did. They never left Great Brittain until the Declaration of Independence was signed.
Now, let's fast forward to the Declaration of Independence. As I have stated before, none of the signers of this document were immigrants. They were all native to well established British colonies. These men were also brave enough to take on huge risks at personal expense to break away from the oppression they suffered under British rule. Another fact glossed over by those that say this country was built by immigrants is the FACT that ALL thirteen original colonies that formed this nation in the beginning were British. No other country could make a claim on any of these original colonies. All of the signers were from the original thirteen colonies.
Is it fair to say immigrants that came later contributed to the growth and progress of this nation? Yes, of course that is fair. Because it is true. We can recognize and appreciate that fact. But they did not build this nation. The men who signed the Declaration of Independence did. And none of those men were immigrants.