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| The Pledge of Allegiance was first popularized when it was published in The Youth's Companion magazine in 1892 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus (re)discovering America. Peak percentage of foreign-born population occurred around 1890. |
The Pledge of Allegiance came out at a time in the middle of a period when the United States was absorbing a large number of non-Anglo Saxon, non-Protestant immigrants. They were also immigrating from regions that were not Constitutional Republics.
The floodgates opened during the Great Irish Potato Famine and didn't slow down until 1930. From the perspective of a Native, 13 Colonies descendant, the stream of newcomers became increasingly exotic; from the Catholic Irish with the weird cadence of speaking English to the Germans (still Saxons but not English speakers) to the "Hunkies" and "Wops".
For the record, my paternal grandmother was born in 1903 and spoke German at home. The first words of English she heard was when she went to school at age 5. Needless to say, she had a rough time during WWI when she was 14-15 and anti-German sentiment was rampant.
A time-line
1850 to 1880
Germany (Monarchy form of government) and Ireland (Constitutional Monarchy) were the largest immigrant origin countries in most states and territories. In 1860, Ireland was the largest origin country in 22 of the nation’s 39 states and territories.
By 1880, Germany was the largest origin country in 16 states and territories. Chinese immigrants (Imperial Monarchy) were the largest group in California, Nevada, Oregon, and the Idaho and Washington territories. Mexicans (Authoritarian Republic) were the largest group in Texas and the New Mexico and Arizona territories.
1890-1919
The next wave of immigration to the U.S. lasted from 1890 to 1919, when more than 18 million immigrants arrived. By then, over 60% came from Eastern (Constitutional Monarchies and Absolute Monarchy) and Southern Europe, with large numbers arriving from Italy(Constitutional Monarchy), Austria-Hungary(Constitutional Monarchy), Russia (Absolute Monarchy) and Poland (did not exist as a country but was ruled by Russia and Austria-Hungary and Germany). Source
In 1892 Mr. Lincoln's empire was less than 30 years old, and the imperialists were still trying to consolidate their control.
ReplyDeleteIt still amazes me that my wife is a first generation American. Father was a French Alsatian and her mother was a Slovak. They came here legally and had her in 1948. And for that I am forever grateful.
ReplyDeleteThe rise of the second edition of the Ku Klux Klan pressured politicians to stop immigration, after the Klan's great success in promoting Prohibition with the left wing white females of the day. The Klan actually ran the 1924 Democratic Convention.
ReplyDeleteThe Johnson-Reed Act of 1924 was passed by Republicans to put a stop to all immigration from Asia and minimize immigration from Europe. It dramatically reduced Klan support in Michigan, Indiana, and its other major strongholds across the Midwest.
The modern pledge was an attempt to placate anti-immigrant groups, but morphed into an attempt to unify the nation. It succeeded into the 1960's.