Defining American Culture: Immigrants from Europe and China

A Warrior/Worker Culture

It began during the war for independence when European adventurers moved in to stake claims in whatever new nation would sprout from the American colonies. For all anyone knew, George Washington would be king and his loyal officers, financiers, and members of the congress would become the nobility. Other European opportunists came to make money, while others wanted to help make history as proverbial big fish in the small pond that was to be the American republic. Still others escaped war or persecution or debt. The Germanic peoples—mostly Lutheran Christians, arrived and made their way out west. In the 1840s, the edible tubers, on which Irish families subsisted suffered an epidemic, leading to famine. As a result, Roman Catholic families began mass immigrations into American ports. Chinese, Italians, Poles, Scandinavians, Czechs, and many others made their way into New York harbor. What did all of these very different people have in common? They were all from old-world sovereign nations and sought opportunity in the new-world republic of the United States. European immigrants were welcomed by the US government as they filled the lower ranks of the active-duty military from 1776 to 1917. The canal-builders, the factories, the railroads, and the mining industry used these people as sources of cheap labor. The more affluent huddled among them bought farms from the Anglo landowners. Today, these immigrants come in at a mere trickle and now look at our society with skepticism.

If the Anglo, Dutch, French, and Spanish colonials represent America’s past, these Old-World Immigrants represent America’s present. The single-most represented group in the United States today is that of the descendents of old-world immigrants. It is difficult to find an American who does not claim at least some Irish or German heritage. So how can we define these people? Well, first we could note that they were more prominent in the northern states. The south already had its sources of free labor and did not need or want socially-mobile opportunists moving in. Second, we have to note that most of these immigrants were exploited by their Anglo-Dutch overlords. All but the richest among them were at a disadvantage in the new United States. The Germans did not speak the correct language. The Irish did not have the correct religion. The Italians suffered both “maladies”. Meanwhile, the Chinese were of a completely different culture altogether; and looked different. The less-adaptable groups of immigrants seemed to remain in more homogenous cultural districts.

Some immigrants developed organized crime in order the thrive in American cities. One unfortunate aspect of their rise has been in the spoon-feeding of cultural propaganda from their American rulers that has caused these immigrants to take on some the worst characteristics of the Anglo-Dutch culture. Crooked business practices, though not quite as common as with their Anglo counterparts, are still somewhat prevalent in this world of social climbers. In addition, they can be oppressively cruel. The immigrant population overtook the population of Anglos within a relatively short time. The immigrants are unique from the Anglo culture in that their ancestors did not participate in the founding of our nation or in the creation of its tenets of liberty. The immigrants had only two principles instilled in them by the American ruling class: fight in the wars and work hard; and if you do, you shall be rewarded with your own little place in our society. That attitude pervades most of the American culture to this day.

Publicly denouncing our military in the 21st century is political suicide. Yet, the loathing of a professional standing military is a long-held tradition among the Anglo-Dutch Americans. Sure, these people loved war. But they despised standing armies and authority. This is a celebrated facet of the post-revolutionary culture. However, to the American immigrant culture, national security comes before personal freedom. That is what was instilled in them. Part of the reason the US government finds itself in such a mess today is that the population is so willing to accept the status quo. There are no revolutionary attitudes or serious attempts to organize meaningful demonstrations of radical ideas (like liberty). We are now simply a democracy where rabid militarists and angry workers hold the voting majority over oppressed African Americans or over the Anglo-Dutch rulers. Homosexuality and abortion are current topics of political debate that our founding fathers, and most of the Anglo-Dutch culture, would have found irrelevant. We now seem to have more and more laws simply for the sake of having laws; and many American citizens can’t seem to get enough protection or security.The Anglo rulers have developed a social compact that satiates the descendents of immigrants using fashionable consumption and the granting of benefits for those who serve the empire. In return, the rulers expect cooperation. So we have an enlightened ruling class (often does not include politicians) governing a confused mass of ignorant militarists, angry police, lazy bureaucrats, religious zealots, and greedy hustlers.

We began as a republic dominated by men seeking to attain greater wealth within an infantile republic. Now, American democracy is dominated by national security and an ethos centered on law enforcement. The rule of law itself is irrelevant to many who enforce it. The next phase of American history will depend on which group of Americans will supersede our current majority of stratophiles, whose ancestors were once considered to be the refuse of Europe.

There have been three presidents that can claim paternal descent from the old-world immigrants: James Buchanan, John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. All three men were famous for their charm and magnetism. Kennedy and Reagan presided over vast military expansions during peacetime, while Buchanan made failed attempts to increase the size of the military. In our current melting pot, it is likely every contemporary president is comprised of a healthy mixture of several cultures.