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
