Your attempt to re-write the core part of my post, which is ALMOST ALL IF NOT ALL prior waves of immigrants faced hostility and discrimination and a belief they would not integrate was accurate. It was often the prior waves, having assimilated and now beyond their direct discrimination who were amongst the most hostile to the next wave of newcomers.
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AI analysis for accuracy and truth :
That statement mixes a small kernel of truth with several oversimplifications and a few clear inaccuracies. Here’s how it breaks down historically:
1) “For the first 75 years… 98% were English, Dutch, and German”
This is
not accurate.
- Early U.S. immigration (roughly 1776–1850) was indeed dominated by Northern and Western Europeans, especially from the British Isles and German states.
- But:
- The Irish were already a major immigrant group well before 1850, and surged massively during the Great Irish Famine.
- There were also Scots, French, Swedes, Africans (enslaved and free), and others.
- There is no credible historical dataset supporting a precise “98%” figure for just English, Dutch, and German immigrants.
More accurate summary:
Early immigration was
heavily Northern European, but not nearly as narrow or uniform as claimed.
2) “The Irish were European Christian, as were the rest”
This is
technically true but misleading.
- Yes, most early immigrants were Christian.
- However, this ignores a key historical reality: religious divisions mattered a lot.
- Irish immigrants were overwhelmingly Catholic, which made them targets in a largely Protestant society.
- Later immigrants (Italians, Poles, Jews) faced similar or worse discrimination despite being “European.”
So while they were all “Christian,” they were
not treated as culturally or socially equivalent.
3) “Russians never made a significant portion… perhaps Poles?”
This is
partially correct but incomplete.
- Immigration from the Russian Empire (which included modern Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, etc.) did become significant in the late 1800s–early 1900s.
- Many immigrants recorded as “Russian” were actually:
- Poles
- Jews fleeing pogroms
- Baltic and Slavic groups
So:
- It’s true that ethnic Russians were not a dominant immigrant group.
- But “Russians” in immigration records often represented a much broader mix of peoples, many of whom were significant.
4) “Both Irish and Italians faced resistance… really none of the others did”
This is clearly false.
There was widespread hostility toward many immigrant groups:
- Irish: Faced severe discrimination, especially in the 1840s–1850s
- Anti-Catholic riots like the Philadelphia Nativist Riots
- “No Irish Need Apply” job discrimination
- Germans:
- Faced backlash during World War I (anti-German sentiment, language suppression)
- Chinese immigrants:
- Extreme discrimination leading to the Chinese Exclusion Act — the first major law banning a specific ethnic group
- Italians:
- Faced racialization, violence, and lynchings (e.g., New Orleans 1891)
- Jews from Eastern Europe:
- Faced strong nativist and antisemitic sentiment
- Eastern Europeans (Poles, Slavs, etc.):
- Often labeled as “inferior” or “unassimilable” by nativists
In fact, hostility toward immigrants was so widespread it fueled political movements like the Know Nothing Party.
Bottom line
- Correct elements:
- Early immigration was mostly European.
- Irish and Italians did face discrimination, especially as Catholics.
- Ethnic Russians were not a dominant immigrant group.
- Incorrect or misleading elements:
- The “98% English/Dutch/German” claim is not supported.
- It downplays the diversity of early immigrants.
- It falsely claims most other groups did not face resistance.
Bigger picture
The U.S.
was often described as a “melting pot,” but that didn’t mean smooth integration.
Historically, almost every major immigrant group faced suspicion, discrimination, or outright hostility when they first arrived—even groups that are now seen as part of the “mainstream.”
