When the Know-Nothings get control, it [the Declaration of Independence] will read: "All men are created equal except negroes, foreigners and Catholics." When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty -- to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy. Abraham Lincoln - 1855
Does the description of the "American Party" in the 1850s, more commonly known as the "Know Nothing Party", sound all too familiar?
The Know-Nothings and their anti-immigrant and anti-Irish fervor became a popular movement for a time....Many Americans, of course, were appalled by the Know-Nothings....
The basic premise of the party was a strong, if not virulent, stand against immigration and immigrants. Know-Nothing candidates had to be born in the United States. And there was also a concerted effort to agitate to change the laws so that only immigrants who had lived in the US for 25 years could become citizens.
Such a lengthy residency requirement for citizenship had a deliberate purpose: it would mean that recent arrivals... would not be able to vote for many years.
Source for quotes
Along with the resurgence of such strong anti-immigrant sentiments, Sharon Angle is echoing the words of Senator Joseph McCarthy.
How very sad that from 1850 until now, if we were to add up all the steps we've taken, we'd find we haven't gotten very far at all.
How sad that some United States citizens are so worried about stopping illegal immigration that they fail to understand that those men and women are literally risking their lives to get to our country. Must that be part of anyone's campaign platform? Must we close the door to those who believe entering our country is something for which they are willing to risk dying to achieve?