AMERICANS ALL—IMMIGRANTS ALL

Twenty-six dramatic radio broadcasts, spotlighting the contributions of various cultural groups to the economic, social, and political development of the United States, presented by the United States Department of the Interior, Office of Education, and the Columbia Broadcasting System with the cooperation of the Service Bureau for Intercultural Education, and assisted by the Works Progress Administration.

Harold L. Ickes
Secretary of the Department of the Interior

William Dow Boutwell
Director, Radio Division, Office of Education

John W. Studebaker
Commissioner of Education

Rachel Davis-DuBois
Director, Service Bureau for Intercultural Education

THE STAFF

Program Executive: Philip H. Cohen, Office of Education.

Writing: Gilbert Seldes, Director Television, Columbia Broadcasting System.

Research: Philip L. Green, Office of Education; Rachel Davis-DuBois, Service Bureau for Intercultural Education; Ruth E. Davis, Office of Education.

Production: Earle McGill and William Robson, Casting Directors, Columbia Broadcasting System; Mitchell Grayson, Office of Education.

Music: Leon Goldman, Conductor, Columbia Broadcasting System; Rudolf Schramm, Office of Education; H. Charles Pantley, Office of Education.

Administrative: Richard P. Herget, Business Manager. Wm. A. Wheeler, Jr., Assistant.

THE PROGRAMS AND THEIR PURPOSE

The “Americans All—Immigrants All” programs are designed to promote a more appreciative understanding of our growing American culture through the dramatization of the contributions made by the many groups which are a part of it. What brought people to this country from the four corners of the earth? What gifts did they bear? What were their problems? What problems remain unsolved? This series dramatically presents the story of “Americans All—Immigrants All.”

1. Opening Frontiers.—New trails are blazed, frontiers are pushed westward, and foundations of our great democracy are laid by newcomers from across the seas.

Adams, James Truslow. The March of Democracy; the Rise of the Union, Vol. I. Charles Scribner’s Sons, N. Y. 1932.

Morgan, James. The Birth of the American People. Macmillan Company, N. Y. 1930.

2. Our English Heritage.—Rich experiences in self-government and basic liberties are introduced by the English in colonizing the northern Atlantic seaboard.

Brooks, Van Wyck. The Flowering of New England. E. P. Dutton Co., N. Y. 1936.

Williams, Ellis A., and Fisher, F. J. The Story of English Life. Coward-McCann, N. Y. 1936.

3. Our Hispanic Heritage.—The Spaniards build missions and bring Andalusian cattle and horses into the Southwest.

Otero, N. Old Spain in Our Southwest. Harcourt, Brace and Company, N. Y. 1936.

Santee, Ross. The Cowboy. Farrar and Rinehart, N. Y. 1928.

4. Scots, Scotch-Irish, and Welsh.—Sturdy Scotch-Irish and Scots, vanguard of march to the West, settle along frontiers. The Welsh, lovers of song, discover coal and develop our mines.

Ford, H. J. Scotch-Irish in America. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N. J. 1915.

Harries, F. J. Welshmen in the United States. St. David’s Society, N. Y. 1927.

James, Bessie Rowland, and Marquis, James. Courageous Heart. Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis, Ind. 1934.

5. Winning Freedom.—Through cooperation and willingness to sacrifice both wealth and life, colonists win independence and preserve priceless principles and ideals.

Beard, C. A. and M. R. The Rise of American Civilization. Macmillan Company, N. Y. 1937.

Eaton, Jeanette. Leader by Destiny. Harcourt, Brace and Company, N. Y. 1938.

6. The Negro.—From early colonial days, the Negro, who composes one-tenth of our population, plays large part in our economic and artistic life.

Brawley, Benjamin. The Negro Genius. Dodd, Mead, and Co., N. Y. 1936.

Brown, J. C. The Story of the American Negro. Friendship Press, N. Y. 1930.

Woodson, Carter G. The Negro in Our History. Associated Publishers, Washington. 1937.

7. The French and Netherlanders.—French fur traders and missionaries pioneer the Mississippi Valley; Netherlanders settle on Manhattan Island; French-Canadians work in lumber camps and mills of New England; diamond cutters come from Belgium; and French-speaking Swiss build up our cheese industry.

Coffin, Robert P. T. Kennebec: Cradle of Americans. Farrar and Rinehart, N. Y. 1936.

Repplier, Agnes. Pere Marquette, Priest, Pioneer, Adventurer. Doubleday, Doran, and Co., N. Y. 1929.

Wertenbaker, Charles. Before They Were Men. Liveright Publishing Co., N. Y. 1931.

8. Upsurge of Democracy.—Frontiersmen and newcomers unite to bring about decline of aristocracy. Eastern wage earners march in the ranks of the new democracy.

James, Marquis. Life of Andrew Jackson. Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis, Ind. 1938.

Roosevelt, Theodore. The Winning of the West. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, N. Y. 1895.

9. The Irish.—Sons of old Ireland develop canals, railroads, and factories, enter the ranks of public service, and bring song, humor, and literature of a high order.

Dunne, Finley Peter (Elmer Ellis, ed,). Mr. Dooley at His Best. Charles Scribner’s Sons, N. Y. 1938.

O’Brien, Michael J. The Irish in the United States. Phoenix Ltd., Washington, D. C. 1914.

(Continued on [page 15])

COLUMBIA BROADCASTING SYSTEM November 13-May 7
Every Sunday Afternoon, 2:00 E.S.T.; 1:00 C.T.; 12:00 M.T.; 11:00 P.T.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

In the Fall of 1935, President Roosevelt made the first allotment of funds to the Office of Education for educational broadcasting. In discussing the idea, he emphasized the need for programs that would make more significant the human struggle to achieve our freedom as safeguarded by our Constitution; the values of inter-American understanding and friendship; and the processes of building a finer and more enduring American culture by developing a greater appreciation of the rich heritages that have come to us through the many races and nationalities which make up our population.

Hence, the first series, “Let Freedom Ring,” traced the evolution of human freedom and presented the contributions which old-world settlers had made to our conception of civil liberty. Then came “Brave New World,” portraying the Latin-American contributions to democracy and to the general culture of the Americas. In April, 1938, the President in addressing the Daughters of the American Revolution unknowingly gave the title to the series “Americans All—Immigrants All” when he said, “Remember that all of us are descended from immigrants.”

(Continued on [page 16])

What Brought Us to the United States?

Have you ever played with a magnet and a bunch of iron filings? Wasn’t it amazing to see the bits of iron leap across space to reach and cling to the magnet? This story is about a magnet much larger and more powerful than you have ever imagined—one 3,000 miles long and 1,500 miles wide. A different kind of magnet, too, one that attracted not iron filings, but human beings, real live people. A magnet that attracted every type and variety of human being alive! White people, black people, yellow people; Catholics, Protestants, Huguenots, Quakers, Baptists, Methodists, Unitarians, Jews; Spaniards, Danes, Chinese, Japanese, Dutch, Bohemians, Italians, Austrians, Slavs, Poles, Roumanians, Russians—and I’ve only just begun; farmers, miners, adventurers, soldiers, sailors, rich men, poor men, beggar men, thieves, shoemakers, tailors, actors, musicians, ministers, engineers, writers, singers, ditch-diggers, manufacturers, butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers. That magnet was AMERICA.—From “We the People”—by Leo Huberman.

Ever since the dawn of history, man has been on the move, restlessly seeking new environments in an effort to satisfy his physical and other needs. In the main, his wanderings have been local in character, highlighted by occasional mass migrations which have had a marked effect upon the history of the world. Among such mass migrations may be cited the migration of the Israelites from Palestine to Egypt, of the Germanic tribes into the Roman Empire, of the Saxons and Danes to England, of the Moors from the north of Africa to Spain, and of the Mongols and the Tartars from the Orient to Central Asia.

Great as these migrations were and important as their effect was on the course of history, they did not compare with the stream of humanity that began to flow to this country early in the seventeenth century—a stream that assumed flood proportions toward the close of the nineteenth century.

Not only did the movement of peoples to our shores differ in magnitude from other migrations, it also differed in character. Whereas earlier mass migrations had consisted of the movements of tribes and distinct racial groups, the migration to the New World consisted of men of all races, nations, and creeds—a pageant of all the nations.

Great Historic Freedoms

What motives impelled these people to uproot themselves from their homelands and to transplant themselves to a country where it was necessary to adjust themselves to a new environment and culture pattern? Many came for the love of adventure, answering the challenge of the unknown. Some were mercenary soldiers seeking new exploits. Others came because they were friendless down-and-outers and “ne’er-do-wells,” seeking a chance to begin life anew. There were still others, like the Negroes, who although the majority did not come of their own free will, nevertheless contributed toil and labor to the making of America.

Commercial enterprise and the hope of economic gain have, of course, been important factors in the peopling of our country. So also has the search for freedom. In fact, the cherished moral ideals and objectives of the immigrants laid the foundations of our democratic ideals. These great historic freedoms include:

1. Religious liberty—freedom of conscience.

2. Personal and political liberty—freedom from political tyranny and oppression.

3. Economic liberty—freedom to use brain, brawn, and initiative to earn the best living possible.

4. Intellectual liberty—freedom of opinion, speech, assembly, and press.

5. Cultural liberty—freedom to establish institutions and to practice certain traditions and customs.

The search for human freedom can be advanced, with historical warrant, as the basic reason for the presence in this country of about 130,000,000 people. Without question, this is the common denominator of our democracy.

Religious Liberty

The vanguard of those seeking refuge from religious persecution arrived on the Mayflower and settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts. John Winthrop founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a refuge for Puritans. Maryland, later on, became the haven for persecuted Catholics. Rhode Island was founded by Roger Williams and his group of independent, religious free thinkers. Here, the Quakers found a ready welcome and the Jews, driven out of Europe, were allowed to build their synagogues. Toward the end of the seventeenth century, William Penn and his Quaker followers settled in Pennsylvania and cultivated the most friendly relationships with Indians, colonists, and new settlers alike.

To Manhattan Island and South Carolina came the French Huguenots, a group of French Protestants, whose guarantee of religious liberty had been revoked by the Edict of Nantes. During the nineteenth century, one of the early acts of the Mormons after settling in Utah was to contribute money toward building a Catholic church.

Personal and Political Liberty

To escape political tyranny and oppression, thousands of people left their homes and crossed the Atlantic. Following their unsuccessful rebellion against the English, the Irish came in large numbers. So did the Germans when the Revolution of 1848 failed. Likewise, the Jews left Russia toward the close of the nineteenth century in order to escape intolerable conditions.

Among the great champions of personal liberty has been Thomas Paine, who turned the tide of victory during the Revolutionary War when he declared, “This is the cause for which we are ready to suffer and to die—Freedom for ourselves and the rest of the world.” Another outstanding champion of personal liberty was Carl Schurz, one of the German forty-eighters, who supported men of principles and worthy causes regardless of political affiliations.

Economic Liberty

Coupled with other motives, the newcomer has almost always been imbued with the hope of making a livelihood or of making profits for himself or for his employers. The first permanent settlement was established at Jamestown by the London Company to profit from gold mining and trade. New Hampshire was founded by Georges and Mason for the purpose of profit from trade and farming. The Carolinas were founded by a group of nobles for the same purpose. It was a similar motive which led the Swedes to settle on the Delaware, the Netherlanders to settle on Manhattan, the English to conquer New Amsterdam, and Berkeley and Carteret to settle New Jersey.

It was the hope of gain which brought the French to Louisiana and the Spaniards to Florida, New Mexico, and California. Likewise, at the close of the nineteenth century, it was the high wages and high standards of living which attracted the tide of people who poured in from south and eastern Europe.

Intellectual Liberty

The fight of man to establish freedom of opinion, freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly is as old as man himself. For the last two hundred years, his fight for the freedom of the press has been equally important. Peter Zenger, who founded the New York Weekly Journal in 1733, registered a great triumph for the freedom of the press when he won his fight against Governor Cosby of New York. Men of strong principles and ideas have always clashed with those who would mold them to a definite pattern and so enslave their minds. In this country, the thoughts and ideas of all men may be expressed freely and analyzed by everybody.

Cultural Liberty

The United States has been greatly enriched as the result of cultural liberty. Here, the immigrant has often found the opportunity to practice and pass on to others those customs and traditions which have been handed down to him by his ancestors. The Christmas tree, Easter bunny, and New Year festivities are German in origin. Many of the festivals in California and the rodeo are Spanish in origin. Singing societies, folk dancing, games, cookery, and home life have been enriched by customs introduced from other lands.

Immigration has indeed proved to be a “wind that blows democratic ideas through the world.”

When We Came to the United States

The Development of Our Immigration Policy

“Those who have come to our shores, representing many kindreds and tongues, have been welded by common opportunity into a united patriotism.”—Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Long before the Revolutionary War, the colonies enacted restrictive immigration laws. Many of these laws were based on religious prejudices, which, although somewhat softened in intensity, still existed when the new nation was born. Fear and consequent hatred of foreigners and foreign influence were widely prevalent in the early years of the Republic.

John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Patrick Henry, John Jay, and other prominent statesmen opposed the introduction of aliens into the political or economic life of the country. Thomas Jefferson believed that natural expansion of the existing population would be sufficient to meet the country’s needs. Even George Washington, in 1794, said:

My opinion with respect to emigration, is that except of useful mechanics and some particular descriptions of men or professions, there is no need of encouragement.

The prevailing spirit found expression in stringent naturalization laws which, however, were soon modified.

The Open Door

While the Federal Government was not unmindful of its inherent right to determine who might or might not come or remain within its borders, yet for a hundred years after the Revolutionary War ended, the country’s doors were open to all who chose to enter regardless of race, of physical, mental, or economic condition, of religious or political affiliation, or even of moral character.

An era of comparative tranquillity prevailed toward immigration until the 1840’s when a great flood of immigrants focused hostility against the Germans and Irish, a feeling which continued until the outbreak of the Civil War. A strong movement developed in Congress in favor of regulating or even limiting immigration. But nothing came of it. In a message to Congress in 1841, President Tyler gave expression to a sentiment that grew stronger with the passing of the years. He said:

We hold out to the people of other countries an invitation to come and settle among us as members of our rapidly growing family, and for the blessings we offer them we require of them to look upon our country as their country and unite with us in the great task of preserving our institutions and thereby perpetuating our liberties.

The open-door policy continued, for Congress was reluctant to abandon the time-honored belief that the United States had been dedicated at the beginning as a refuge for the oppressed people of all nations. Such legislation as was enacted during this period, including three laws for the improvement of conditions on immigrant-carrying ships, indicated the sympathetic attitude of Congress toward the incoming multitudes.

Congress again favored the foreign-born by providing that aliens who had declared an intention to become citizens might enjoy the benefits of the Homestead Act of 1862. This privilege was later on destined to accelerate the settlement of public lands in the West.

Because man power in industry and agriculture had been depleted during the War Between the States, a Federal law to stimulate immigration was enacted in 1864, but it was soon repealed when peace was restored.

Federal Control

In the absence of federal action, several seaboard States attempted immigration control but, after many years of effort, the Supreme Court held that Congress alone had such power. Congress assumed this power in 1882 when it reluctantly passed the first general immigration law which provided only that idiots, lunatics, persons likely to become a public charge, and criminals other than political offenders should be denied admission. This law marked the beginning of a policy of quality selection which dominated all subsequent legislation.

In 1882, because of Western opposition, Chinese laborers were excluded—a policy subsequently extended to include practically all Orientals. In 1884, a law forbidding the importation of foreign labor under contract was passed but necessary skilled laborers and members of learned professions were exempted. Thus was Washington’s opinion unwittingly honored.

While Congress was developing a more stringent selective policy, immigration increased by leaps and bounds with a shift in the incoming tide from Northern and Western to Southern and Eastern Europeans. Unable to function economically, socially, or politically in their home lands, a steady stream of immigrants was spreading over the United States in answer to the demand for unskilled labor. For more than thirty years, the words of Emma Lazarus, carved on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, had vital meaning:

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, the tempest-tost, to me:

I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

Checking the Tide

The endless stream of newcomers, whose economic and political backgrounds differed from those of the earlier immigrants, led to a search for some method of checking the new immigration. With this end in view, the application of a literacy test was advocated. Presidents Cleveland and Taft had vetoed acts which contained this provision and President Wilson twice repudiated it. However, it became part of the General Law of 1917 over presidential objection. In a reference to the immigrants, President Wilson said:

Some of the best stuff in America has come out of foreign lands and some of the best stuff in America is in the men who are naturalized citizens of the United States.

In the meantime, during the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt, a Gentlemen’s Agreement had been made with Japan in 1907, whereby Japan undertook to check the emigration of Japanese laborers to the United States.

Immigration from Europe was largely suspended during the World War, but it rapidly increased thereafter until it was checked by the temporary Quota Limit Law of 1921 and definitely limited by the permanent Quota Limit Law of 1924. By this law, immigration was restricted to 150,000 annually, with quotas allotted to the various nations based on the Census of 1890. In 1929, the quota based on the Census of 1920 went into effect, bringing the total immigration quota to about 153,000 annually.

Our Present Policy

The theory that America should be a refuge for the oppressed of all nations has been quite generally honored in shaping our immigration policy. However, the United States is no longer a refuge for the oppressed peoples of all the world in the same way as it was in the past.

Our present policy is that immigration shall be limited to a fixed number, that such immigrants shall be of good character and well disposed toward American institutions. For, in the words of former President Coolidge:

Whether one traces his Americanism back three centuries to the Mayflower or three years to the steerage is not half so important as whether his Americanism today is real and genuine. No matter on what various crafts we came here, we are all now in the same boat.

Ourselves and Our Neighbors

A recent dinner in Chicago with Catholic friends, whose parents came from Italy, a conference with a group of 25 cultured Negro men and women at Chicago University, and a visit in Des Moines, Iowa, with a close personal friend of mine, a rabbi, are a few personal experiences which show in a very real way how a relatively free society enables us to enrich our lives through fellowship with men of different races and religions.

In this Nation, to which more than 38,000,000 immigrants have come during the last 120 years, the struggle of people of all races and of many creeds has been and is consciously toward the goal of human understanding and tolerance. This is an effort to elevate human welfare, irrespective of race, color, or creed; and to rise to new heights of civilization with the help of all contributions to our culture. A distinguishing characteristic of a true American is that he measures men of all races and creeds by their achievement, their honesty of purpose, and their humility.

J. W. Studebaker,
Commissioner of Education.

The Immigrant and Our Economic Progress

The greatest wealth of any nation is its people.—Allen H. Eaton.

To paint an adequate picture of the part which the immigrant has played in the economic progress of the United States, it would be necessary, as Rudyard Kipling says, “to splash at a ten-league canvas with brushes of comet’s hair.” The industrial and agricultural greatness of the United States has been made possible by the brawn and brain of the immigrants and their children.

Cotton

The important part played by the Negro in the agricultural life of the South is nowhere more vividly portrayed than by the story of King Cotton. Cotton production, which amounted to 85,000,000 lb. in 1810, doubled every ten years for the following three decades. By 1840, two-thirds of the world’s cotton supply was produced in the South and, by 1850, cotton valued at $98,000,000 was raised. In 1937-1938, the United States produced four times as much cotton as the rest of the world.

Much of the credit for this amazing achievement goes to the Negro whose labor has been the foundation of our Cotton Kingdom.

Tobacco

The story of tobacco is, too, largely the achievement of Negro labor. In 1618, the Virginia planters exported 20 lb. of tobacco, which increased to 1,500,000 lb. in 1639 and reached a total of 53,000,000 lb. in 1773. In 1937, the United States raised more than one-fourth of the world’s tobacco supply.

In addition to his labor in the cotton and tobacco fields, the Negro has also helped to make profitable the production of rice and sugar.

Railroads

The railroad played a great part in the settling of the West. With the completion of the Erie Canal, the Irish transferred their energy and labor to building tracks for the transcontinental railroad. The Chinese also labored on the western end. Today, Irish, Chinese, Italian, and Mexican laborers help to maintain the railroads. In 1937, almost one-half the world’s miles of railways were in our country.

Automobiles

Natural resources and inventive genius have enabled us to produce each year three times as many automobiles as the rest of the world put together. The work of the Poles, Slavs, Mexicans, and other groups has been an important factor in this phenomenal growth.

Steel

Early colonial iron mills were operated by the Germans, whose muskets, made in Nazareth, Pa., were used by the continental troops. In later years, the Poles and Slavs have labored in the great steel mills of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and New York. It is the endurance and physical heritage of these sturdy people that have made it possible for us to lead the world in the production of steel.

Coal

The Welsh with the Scotch-Irish were the first to develop our coal mines in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. These, together with the English, Irish, Germans, Poles, and Slavs, have made us the chief coal producer of the world.

Farming

Our debt to the German farmer is great, for he made the wilderness blossom in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Missouri. To Minnesota and surrounding states came the Swedes, Norwegians, and Finns with their advanced cooperative methods and the Danes with their dairy methods.... Sturdy Czechs farmed Nebraska and Iowa. The Swiss in Wisconsin helped us to become the greatest cheesemakers in the world. The Russians brought us important seed varieties of wheat, rye, oats, buckwheat, sunflowers, and millet.

Finns and French-Canadians in the lumber camps of Maine and Washington have made it possible for us to produce more than 24 million board feet of lumber in one year.... Portuguese are prominent in the New England fisheries as are the Finns on the Pacific Coast.... The Greeks have developed a flourishing sponge industry in Florida.... Italians are engaged in the marble quarries of Vermont and on truck farms of New Jersey and California.

Transcriber’s Note: Click image for larger version.

LEADING SOURCES OF IMMIGRATION FROM 1820-1938

Pulling Together—The American Way

America is made up of the cultural strains of many countries. The mere knowledge of this matchless wealth is an inspiration to anyone who knows it.—Allen H. Eaton.

Nature has blessed this country with great natural wealth, but immigration has brought us even greater riches in the form of human resources. Andrew Carnegie, himself an immigrant, was well aware of this when he said, “Take away my factories, my railroads, my ships. Take away my money, strip me of all these things, but leave me my men, and in two or three years, I will have everything back again.”

Priceless Gifts

Transforming her immigrants as they have come, the United States has, in turn, been enriched and transformed by them. The immigrant has played an important part in our cultural as well as in our economic life. One immigrant, Franklin K. Lane, who became Secretary of the Interior, wrote feelingly of the contributions which the immigrant has made to American life.

Their music—dirge and dance and wassail song, proud march and religious chant, and their instruments for the making of music.

Their poetry—winged tales of man’s many passions, folk songs and psalm, ballads of heroes and tunes of the sea, lilting scraps caught from the sky and field, or mighty dramas that tell of primal struggles of the profoundest meaning.

Their art—fancies of the mind, woven in wood or wool, silk, stone, or metal, rugs and baskets, gates of fine design and modeled gardens, houses and walls, pillars, roofs, windows, statues and painting—their art and handcraft.

Homelike familiar things—a favorite tree or fruit, an accustomed flower, a style in cookery or in costume.

Hands with which to work.

Minds that could conceive.

Hearts filled with home—stout hearts to drive live minds; live minds to direct willing hands.

Irish song and wit, German thrift and industry, Scottish virility and genius, English love of law and order, Scandinavian honesty and love of home, Negro fervor in song and story, Mexican enjoyment of life, Indian customs and traditions, Slavic dance and folk song, neatness and thoroughness of the Netherlanders, Italian love for art and music, and philosophic tendencies of the Oriental for the beautiful, are but a few of the strands that may be found woven into our national pattern.

The Art of Living Together

Barriers that once existed between racial and national groups in this country are fast disappearing. Cooperative effort and healthy respect are taking their place. We are “learning to understand other peoples to understand ourselves.” The newcomers brought with them an ardent desire to improve their conditions. They quickly availed themselves of the opportunity which the public school offered them.

The school took “the child of the exile of Hungary, of the half-starved emigrant from the Emerald Isle, and of the hardy Norwegian, and placed them on the same bench with the offspring of those whose ancestors’ bones bleached upon the fields of Lexington.” The library, the church, the motion picture, and radio are also powerful educational agencies in molding the pattern of the New American.

Milestones of Progress

The immigrant has always been a firm devotee of the ideals of democracy, for in most cases he has suffered religious, political, military, or other oppression. Even in the United States, democracy did not begin full tilt. But, just as the frontier has been conquered, so too the areas of human rights and freedoms have been extended.

The abolition of slavery, universal suffrage, the grant of full rights of citizenship to women, labor legislation, and property rights have all been milestones in the onward march of democracy.

The immigrant has not been unmindful of the blessings conferred upon him in this country. He has adjusted himself quickly to his new environment. In every crisis, he has faithfully stood by our country and institutions. He has striven to teach his children to love and honor the land which harbors them.

All human history teaches us that the price of human liberty is the continuous enlargement of that liberty. The only safe principle of democracy is justice, equity, and equal respect among all our people. Great unfinished tasks remain for us to solve. Our common loyalty must hold high the torch and pass it on, with fire unquenched, to the citizen of tomorrow.

Transcriber’s Note: Click image for larger version.

IMMIGRATION FIGURES FOR SOME COUNTRIES FROM 1820-1936

Recordings of “Americans All—Immigrants All”

Many organizations, churches, schools, and colleges have requested that “Americans All—Immigrants All” be made available in recorded form. The Office of Education, by special arrangement with the Columbia Broadcasting System, the Committee on Scientific Aids to Learning, the American Federation of Musicians, and the Music Authors and Publishers Protective Association, have recordings for non-commercial use in both 33⅓ r.p.m. and 78 r.p.m. (suitable for use on phonographs). For complete information regarding the recordings, write to: Educational Radio Script Exchange, Radio Division, Office of Education, Washington, D. C.

Transcriber’s Note: Click image for larger version.

THEY HAVE BUILT A NATION

TYPICAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO AMERICAN INDUSTRY AND CULTURE

Are People Really Different?

“Democracy means not ‘I’m as good as you are’ but ‘you’re as good as I am.’”—Theodore Parker.

Immigration has made the United States the most composite nation on earth. More peoples of widely different national and racial origins have been brought together and welded into a single political, economic, and social system than anywhere else in the world.

What constitutes a race? Does each race have certain hereditary characteristics which determine its mental life and social behavior? Is there a racial stock which is superior—physically, mentally, and morally—to other racial stocks? Just what differences, if any, exist between those who were born here and those who have adopted this country as their home land?

There is no such person as a native American, nor was there ever such a person if we are to be strictly accurate. We are told that even the American Indian is an immigrant who came from far-off Asia by way of the Bering Straits and Alaska. Our ancestors may have come on the Mayflower or in the steerage, we may be descended from immigrants who settled here generations ago, or we may have come direct from other lands, yet one fact remains crystal clear—WE ARE ALL IMMIGRANTS.

Physical Characteristics

From the physical standpoint, races do have certain very definite differences that are obvious. One of the most obvious is that of color. White, black, yellow, red, brown, and yellow-brown are the colors we usually associate with certain racial types. Some of us are tall, blond, and blue-eyed. Others are short, dark, and brown-eyed. Some people have long, narrow heads while others have short, round heads. However, the same physical differences may be found not only between racial and national groups, but also between individuals within the nation, tribe, or family.

Mental Characteristics

In answer to the contention that certain racial groups are mentally superior to others, Franz Boas, an outstanding scientist, says, “No one has ever proved that a human being through his descent from a group of people must of necessity have certain mental characteristics.... If we were to select the most intelligent, imaginative, energetic, and emotionally stable third of mankind, all races would be represented.”

Hooton, another scientist, is even more emphatic. He declares that “each racial type runs the gamut from idiots and criminals to geniuses and statesmen. No type produces a majority of individuals from either end of the scale. There are no racial monopolies of either human virtues or vices.”

Carefully controlled intelligence tests given by educators and scientists to different racial groups show that, where environment and social conditions are the same, no group can claim mental superiority. In fact, it has been clearly apparent that “man, everywhere, is basically and fundamentally similar” and that his differences, be they physical, mental, or moral, are determined not by race so much as by the social conditions and opportunities around him.

Important Findings

The assimilation of different groups within the United States would seem to show that:

1. Under favorable conditions of equal opportunity, all racial groups, whatever their original homeland conditions and status, are capable of rapid social change both as individuals and as groups.

“It can easily be shown,” says one scientist, “how dependent mental differences are upon social conditions. For instance, exact observations have been made on Negroes who have moved from the country to the city and it has been shown that assimilation of these people to the behavior of the city population takes place within a few years.

“Likewise, it has been shown in the case of Italian immigrants that they grow to resemble the Americans in behavior the longer they have been in this country, provided they do not remain isolated. One of the most instructive illustrations of this assimilation is the ease with which children adopt the dialect and manner of expression of their environment.”

2. All groups, under the stimulus of opportunity and contact, have capacity to produce exceptional individuals of high creative ability or genius and thus help build up and perfect human culture.

The Nordic and Slav, the southern European and Jew, black, white, brown, and yellow have all produced men and women of outstanding brains and genius. To confirm these statements it is only necessary to read, in the pages that follow, the contributions of the immigrant and his descendants to American life.

Research studies, conducted on an objective basis, prove that individual brilliance may be and is, found in all groups.

3. Under the influence of a common environment, physical and cultural, the offspring of different racial and national groups in a democracy tend toward a common culture with common customs and ideals.

John Dewey has emphasized that, “in a democratic society, individuals give freely to others of the peculiar value, essence, quality, and contribution of the group to which they belong, and receive freely the corresponding treasures of other groups, and this without violence to the complete uniqueness of the group.”

At birth, no individual has any culture and so the culture he eventually acquires is the one he finds around him and is capable of assimilating. However, “new conditions bring the need of new ideals and new emphasis on certain aspects of old ideals.” Civilization itself is not only safeguarded but advanced when a nation, composed of many races, finds it possible for each racial group to “function creatively in building the culture of the race into the whole culture pattern.”

4. Within the framework of common political and economic institutions, a variety of cultural elements makes for a richer and more active social culture.

In all history, some of the most advanced civilizations have been the product of a mixture of cultures. No great nations or civilizations have been born in isolation. Inbreeding inevitably results in one-sidedness and, eventually, in stagnation and decadence.

Spain was at its greatest “when the mixture of peoples was at its height.” England grew great because the ingredients of many racial groups ran in the Englishman’s blood. The United States will continue to be great because the intermingling of many groups tends to build a culture or civilization that unifies the best of their contributions.

5. A civilization of many different elements develops religious, social, and cultural tolerance. It also creates ability which may permit it to grow and change.

Immigration from 1820 to 1936

From 1931 to 1938, departures have exceeded admissions by 203,694.

Our Gifts to Science and to Agriculture

The brawn, brain, and inventive genius of the immigrants and their descendants have made the United States a world leader in science and industry. In reading about this pageant of achievement, which is unique in human history, you will also learn something about the diverse racial origins of those who laid the gifts on the “altar of America.” Here they are—IMMIGRANTS! SONS OF IMMIGRANTS! AND SONS OF SONS OF IMMIGRANTS!—men and women who have thrilled the worlds of science and industry, the arts and crafts, and social progress and government. The italics indicate the racial origin of each individual or a major racial group from which he is descended, although it should be kept in mind that a person’s ancestors frequently include many racial strains. The achievements listed are suggestive rather than exhaustive.

Medicine

Use of cocaine as local anaesthetic first introduced by Carl Koller, German Jew ... ether first demonstrated to the world in surgical operation by William Morton, Scot ... first successful operation on human heart performed by Daniel H. Williams, Negro.

Schick Diphtheria Test devised by Dr. Bela Schick, Hungarian Jew ... pioneer work in antiseptics by Henry Banga, Swiss, and many lives saved during World War through contributions to aseptic surgery of Alexis Carrel, French ... preventive compound for cholera and typhoid fever discovered by F. G. Novy, Slovak ... apparatus for electric blood transfusion perfected by D. J. Calicchio, Italian.

Charles and William Mayo, Irish, have made surgery almost as reliable a science as bookkeeping ... Charles McBurney, Scotch-Irish, discovered McBurney’s Point as a sign for the necessity of operating for appendicitis.

Discovery that the disease pellagra was due to faulty diet made by Joseph Goldberger, German Jew ... typhus and typhoid fever distinguished by Alfred Stillé, Swede ... human blood classified in different types by Karl Landsteiner, Austrian Jew ... research work in combatting syphilis and yellow fever by Hideyo Noguchi, Japanese.

Expert on infantile paralysis and meningitis is Simon Flexner, German Jew ... first removal of human ovary by Ephraim MacDowell, Scot ... one of the famous authorities on plastic surgery is V. Kazanjian, Armenian ... world authority on venereal disease is Vecki Victor, Yugoslav ... Edward Trudeau, French, began sanatorium treatment for tuberculosis ... Clifford Beers, English-Netherlander, founder of mental hygiene movement.

Discovery that mosquitoes carried yellow fever made by Walter Reed, English ... malaria driven out of Panama by General William C. Gorgas, Scotch-Irish-Netherlander ... first hospital in colonies founded by Dr. Thomas Bond, Welsh.

Physics

Our great electrical wizards have been: Joseph Henry, Scotch-Irish, who helped to invent the telegraph ... Charles Steinmetz, German-Polish, mathematical genius and electrical scientist, who had one of the world’s most inventive minds ... Thomas Edison, Scot-Netherlander, who invented electric light bulb and phonograph ... Michael Pupin, Yugoslav, who perfected tuning-in mechanism of radio.... Nicola Tesla, Yugoslav, who made extensive use of electrical power possible ... Vladimir Karapetoff, Armenian, inventor of electrical devices.

Most distinguished physicist on light rays is Albert A. Michelson, German Jew ... on x-rays, Arthur H. Compton, English ... on cosmic rays, Robert Millikan, Scotch-Irish ... outstanding investigator of Röentgen ray is Mihran Kassabian, Armenian ... through work on electrotechnics, expansion of telephonic and telegraphic communication made possible by E. F. W. Alexanderson, Swede ... John Kruesi, Swiss, helped Edison develop electric incandescent lamp, dynamo, and phonograph.

Astronomy

First observatory put up by Ephraim Williams, Welsh ... many of our early-day almanacs based on astronomical studies and computations of David Rittenhouse, German-Welsh ... Lick Observatory, California, and Yerkes Observatory, Wisconsin, founded by James Lick and Charles Yerkes, Germans ... for pictures of many of the stars, Dorothy Klumpke, German, achieved much fame ... famous mathematician and everyday almanac maker was Benjamin Banneker, Negro, who also helped L’Enfant, French, to lay out Washington, D. C.

Chemistry

Ephedrin, drug used as base for cold remedies, discovered by K. K. Chen, Chinese ... adrenalin and diastase, discovered by Jokichi Takamine, Japanese ... grape sugar changed into tartaric acid by Mooshegh Vaygoony, Armenian ... George Washington Carver, Negro, made 145 products from peanut, 100 products from sweet potato, and 60 products from the pecan ... fermented milk product of high curative values discovered by H. M. Dadoorian, Armenian.

Exploration

A pilot on one of Columbus’ ships was Pedro Alonzo, Negro ... first explorers in New Mexico led by Estévanico, Moroccan ... first settlers of Alabama, who accompanied De Soto in 1540, were Robles, Negro, and Feryada, Greek ... first reliable map of Virginia and Maryland made by Augustine Herrman, Czech.

Lewis, Welsh, and Clark, English, led the famous expedition to the Northwest ... 1903 Ziegler Expedition to the North Pole led by Anthony Fiala, Czech ... North Pole discovered by Robert Peary, French-English, accompanied by Matthew Henson, Negro ... first to fly across South Pole was Richard Byrd, English.

Other Sciences

First of American geologists was William McClure, Scot ... the great naturalist, John J. Audubon, French-Spanish, taught us about birds of America ... many inspired to study natural sciences by Louis Agassiz, French ... Henry D. Thoreau, Huguenot, was great naturalist and writer ... famous anthropologists are Franz Boas and Edward Sapir, German Jews, and Ales Hrdlicka, Czech.

International authority on zoology and botany is Leonhard Steiniger, Norwegian ... expert on function of cell and fertilization is Ernest Just, Negro ... first botanical garden in world founded near Philadelphia by John Bartram, Welsh, early in 18th century ... public garden, established in Georgia by General Oglethorpe, English, served as our first agricultural experiment station ... scientific breeding of plants demonstrated by Luther Burbank, English-French-Netherlander-Scot.

Philosophers

Famous philosophers: Wm. James, Welsh-English ... John Dewey, Irish ... Santayana, Spaniard ... Jiddu Krishnamurti, Hindu.

Agriculture

First vineyard in our country was set out by Jean Jacques Dufour, Swiss ... oranges, olives, dates, and grapes were brought to California by Fray Junipero Serra, Spaniard ... fig cuttings were imported by Denotovitch of Fresno, Yugoslav ... wild strawberry developed into large table variety by Johann Schwerdkopf, German, who came to Long Island before Revolutionary War.

Alfalfa seed, known as Lucerne, brought to Minnesota and developed by Wendelin Grimm, German, in 1858 ... hardy alfalfa for prairies of northwest, brought from Siberia and Turkestan by Niels Hansen, Dane ... mower and reaper invented by Cyrus McCormick, Scotch-Irish.

Simple tests to determine whether soil needs nitrogen, phosphates, or potash devised by George Hoffer, German ... pasteurization introduced by Julius Moldenhawar, Dane ... orange that will stay on tree for months after ripening propagated by Lue Gim Gong, Chinese ... honey industry revolutionized by Frank Jaeger, Yugoslav.

Early cooperative creamery at Clark’s Grove, Minn., organized under leadership of Hans Jensen, Dane ... first to find trichina spiralis in hogs and hookworm in cats was Joseph Leidy, German ... International Institute of Agriculture established by David Lubin, Polish-Jew.

Our Gifts to Industry and Commerce

Inventions

First clock in America constructed to strike the hours built by Benjamin Banneker, Negro, in 1790 ... early flour-milling machinery by Oliver Evans, Welsh ... iron comb, made by a Negro to help cotton pickers, gave Eli Whitney, English, idea for his cotton gin ... screw propeller and revolving turret on battleship invented by John Ericsson, Swede ... first patent to a Negro granted to Henry Blair for corn harvester in 1834 ... comb-making machine built by Nathaniel Jones, Welsh.

First zipper fastener invented by Gideon Sundbäck, Swede ... green coloring matter used in our paper dollar invented by Dr. Seropian, Armenian ... machine for lasting shoes built by Jan Matzeliger, Haitian, in 1852 ... self-starter automobile clutch invented by Victor Bendix, Swede; also developed four-wheel brakes and carburetor ... steam-boiler furnace, electrical air-brakes, and incubator invented by Granville T. Woods, Negro ... inventor of carborundum was E. G. Acheson, English.

Sewing machine invented by Elias Howe, English, in 1846 ... lubricating cup, used on locomotives and marine engines, invented by Elijah J. McCoy, Negro ... discovery of artificial rubber by Father Nieuland of Notre Dame, Belgian, broke the British hold on rubber ... induction motors invented by Nicolas Tesla, Yugoslav ... co-discoverer of process for making luminous paints was John Sochocky, Ukrainian ... fireproof stairs and library bookstacks invented by Neils Poulson, Dane ... Stilson wrench invented by Daniel Stilson, Swede, in 1875.

Bakelite, a substitute used for ivory and bone in making toilet articles, invented by Leo Baekeland, Belgian. He discovered velox, a paper used by photographers, and made several other discoveries through experimenting with the electrolytic cell ... one of our earliest elevators was built by Dr. Nils Collins, Swede, a Philadelphia pastor ... the condensor used in radios and electric motors is the result of work done by Alexander Georgiev, Bulgarian ... numerous inventions of a wide and varied nature in connection with steam turbines were developed by Oscar Junggren and by Carl Söderburg, Swedes ... huge machines used for knitting are the invention of Ladislaus Robaczynski, Armenian ... outstanding typewriter designer is Carl Gabrielson, Swede.

Airbrake invented by George Westinghouse, English-Netherlander ... “scientific divining rod” used in electro-magnetic method of locating metal ore, petroleum, and other minerals devised by Hans Lundberg and Karl Sundberg, Swedes ... in inventing telephone transmitter and motion-picture projector, Edison, Scot-Netherlander, helped by Emile Berliner, German Jew ... accuracy gauges from which precision machinery is made, invented by Carl Johannson, Swede ... process for making artificial stone invented by Michael Tymofiev, Ukrainian ... pioneer in radio work and sound motion pictures was Lee De Forest, French-English.

Transportation

First steamboat built and taken down Ohio and Mississippi by Nicholas Roosevelt, Netherlander ... first elevated railroad in New York City was built by José Francisco de Navarro, a Spaniard, in 1878 ... first demonstration of steam railroad in practice by John Stevens, English, in 1825 ... the Clermont, our first commercially successful steamboat, built by Robert Fulton, Irish ... greatest of clipper ships, Rainbow and Sea Witch, built by John Griffith, Welsh ... wagons and automobiles produced by Studebaker Brothers, German.

Inventor of modern suspension bridge was John Roebling, German, who built beautiful Brooklyn Bridge ... the Niagara cantilever bridge, for heavy railroad traffic, invented by Charles Schneider, German ... the Northwest opened up by railroad builder James J. Hill, Scotch-Irish ... transatlantic flier, Charles Lindbergh, and airship commander, Charles Rosendahl, Swedes.

Manufacturing

Window glass manufactured by Caspar Wistar, German, in 1739 ... decorative stoves and glass of highly prized nature manufactured in 18th century by Heinrich Stiegel, German ... the New England cotton mills established by Samuel Slater, English ... first to unite all processes for manufacturing finished cloth in one factory was Patrick Jackson, Irish ... art of making gunpowder perfected by Eleuthere Dupont, French.

Great steel works of Pittsburgh founded by Andrew Carnegie, Scot, assisted by William Jones, Welsh ... iron and steel industries of Pueblo, Colorado, established by Daniel Jones, Welsh ... famous pioneer organ builder, Matthias Moller, a Dane ... pianos and other instruments by Steinway, Knabe, Weber, Wurlitzer, Gemünder, Germans ... steel manufactured by Charles Schwab, German ... sugar produced by Havemeyer, German ... food products by Heinz and Fleischmann, Germans ... world-noted cymbals made by Zildijian, Armenian ... airplane builders are Igor Sigorsky, Russian; Bellanca, Italian; Douglas, Scot; Boeing, German; and Curtiss, English-German.

Communication

The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell, Scot ... the telegraph was invention of Joseph Henry and Samuel Morse, Scotch-Irish ... steam-cylinder printing press, making possible our great daily newspapers, was brain child of Robert Hoe, English ... Erie Canal built by DeWitt Clinton, Irish-Netherlander ... long distance telephone and wireless telegraphy made possible by Michael Pupin, Yugoslav ... inventor of wireless switch was Fritz Lowenstein, German Jew ... new device for transmitting radio photographs by Arthur Korn, German Jew ... loud speaker invented by Peter Jensen, Dane ... Zworykin, Russian, pioneered in television ... first printing press imported to California by Agustin Zamorana, Spaniard.

Commerce

One of the largest cotton gins owned by Scott Bond, Negro ... our leading industrialists include Astor, Vanderbilt, and Rockefeller, Germans ... Julius Rosenwald, Chicago mail-order executive, German Jew ... Alfred Knudsen, Dane, automobile manufacturing executive.

Leading rug merchants are Karaghuesian, Gulbenkian, Kelekian, and Pushman, Armenians ... leading linen and lace merchants are Mallouk, Kassab, Bardwill, Jabara, Mamary, and Boutross, Syrians ... largest raiser of orchids and specialist in cacti is J. A. Manda, Yugoslav ... first American circus opened in Baraboo, Wisconsin, in 1854, by Ringling Brothers, German ... Virginia tobacco trade founded by Augustine Herrman, Czech ... gas first introduced in 1830 by Edward Jones, Welsh, in Boston.

Mining

First oil well drilled at Titusville, Pa., by Edwin Drake, English, in 1859.... In Texas, oil was first struck by Anthony F. Lucas, Yugoslav ... coal in Pennsylvania first discovered by William Jones, Welsh ... pioneer miner of Colorado was Vaso Chakovic, Yugoslav ... first California gold found on ranch of John Sutter, German-Swiss ... eminent mining industrialists include Simon and Daniel Guggenheim, Swiss Jews, and Adolph Lewisohn, German Jew.

Banking

Leading bankers include: J. Pierpont Morgan, Welsh ... Nathan Straus, Felix Warburg, Jacob Schiff, Otto Kahn, and James Speyer, German Jews ... Charles G. Dawes, English ... Amadeo Gianini, Italian ... and Jesse Jones, Welsh.

Building

First American iron sea-going steamship built in 1859 by José Francisco de Navarro, Spaniard, who also laid foundation of cement business in this country ... Panama Canal built by General Goethals, Netherlander ... George Washington Bridge built by Othmar Ammann, Swiss ... Manhattan Bridge in New York and Interstate Bridge connecting Philadelphia and Camden built by Leon Moisseff, Russian.