Divided we stand

David R. Morse details how the "whiteness" of America came about and how it has become more prevalent from time to time. As various immigrant groups have come to the United States, usually in response to a need for labor, the public and Congress have responded by harassment and limiting the numbers of immigrants who are welcome in the country. The pendulum has swung many times in the last 200 years, as Mexicans, Chinese, Italians, Irish, Jews, Eastern Europeans, and now Muslims have come to the U.S., fleeing violence or seeking economic opportunity. The most well-known struggles are of African Americans who came to this country not of their own free will but as slaves. From the Civil War to the Civil Rights movement to Black Lives Matter, their attempts to achieve equal status in the United States is different than the stories of other people of color. Their early experiences with racial hatred, Jim Crow, and slurs about their character, work ethic, and intelligence color their views of justice in the U.S., unlike immigrant groups who have often come willingly in hopes of a better life. Primary and secondary sources make a cogent argument that people of color or ethnicities that are different from the country's white Anglo founders have always been viewed with suspicion that they are taking jobs from whites, bringing crime, or overloading public services. At the same time, these immigrant groups have contributed to economic growth and entrepreneurship and, without them, the country's economy would stagnate.