I was actually surprised to read about Roosevelt's views on immigrants. He expected them to conform to American ways and leave everything they came from behind. The quote about our flag really struck me, "He must revere only our flag; not only must it come first, but no other flag should even come second." Roosevelt felt that immigrants needed to shed their identity to become an American, to me what makes America is our unique mix of cultures from all over the world. America is unlike any other country because of that fact. I think Roosevelt thought we couldn't become a world power if we all weren't united as one distinct culture. But I think it's the contrary, what actually made America as powerful as it is today is our ability to accept everyone.
Do you think Roosevelt felt this way because he thought it would make America a stronger country?
I think he definitely thought that, but I agree with you. I think the fact that many view America as being one of the strongest countries in the world is because we are made up of so many different people. We have a mixture of so many different ideas and opinions that it makes it harder to come to conclusions, but, in my opinion, the conclusions are ultimately stronger since the journey to get to them is harder.
ReplyDelete