Teddy Roosevelt on Assimilation

A good friend and reader sent along an email item featuring a statement by Teddy Roosevelt from the turn of the 20th century on the importance of requiring immigrants to assimilate into the American way of life:

"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all! We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

I have to always be a little suspicious of items like this emailed to me, but after checking at Snopes.com, verified that this statement was indeed made by Teddy in a letter written shortly before his death in 1919 (the email that is circulating claims the statement was made in 1907, but Snopes clears that up).

Americans have pretty much forgotten the importance of assimilation, especially when it comes to language. I was recently visiting the new Lowes Home Improvement store in Aliso Viejo, an area not known for many Mexican immigrants (unless they're working as nannies or gardeners). Every sign in that store, all the way down to the gift cards, is written in both English and Spanish. Quite frankly, it bugs me. We're not doing anybody a favor by making it easier for them to operate in our society without learning English. We're just reinforcing the walls that already divide us.

Most of our politicians today could use a good refresher on the principle of assimilation, since with our bilingual education programs, cultural awareness days, and whatever else the lefties come up with, we've completely diluted the concept of an "American" culture. The immigrants that came to America with my ancestors understood the importance of becoming Americans. They kept their own cultural ties within their communities, but they understood to that really make it in America that had to become Americans, and there were no coddling politicians discouraging them from doing that. That's why so many of the Irish, Italian, Eastern European, Asian and other immigrants from years past have become such smashing successes in America. They've become Americans.

Teddy Roosevelt made many good statements on immigration and assimilation that should be words of wisdom to today's politicians. Snopes has a number of those statements here.