The Payson Roundup / Immigrants need to become Americans

Archive for Tuesday, May 11, 2010

May 11, 2010

Editor:

Theodore Roosevelt’s idea on immigrants and being an American “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 persons 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, that is the English language. And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.” A hyphenated American has yet to become a citizen. (Theodore Roosevelt, 1907)

Carol McFarland