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Analysis Of John F. Kennedy's 'Why We Came'

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Immigration is always a big issue that the United States must deal with every day. While in “Why We Came,” John F. Kennedy emphasizes the mains reason of immigrants coming to America in nineteenth century, Jose Deguzman in his article “Targets of Caricature: Irish Immigrants in Nineteenth-Century America” focuses on the irony imposing on the Irish immigrants. Despite some differences, more importantly they agree on the immigrants’ belief in a society that has “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” the prejudice or discrimination they being treated, and the significant values that immigrants contribute for American society. In the first place, Kennedy points out three mains reason why the immigrants leaving their homeland and …show more content…

In addition, many nativist groups regard the Irish immigrants as a threat in low-paying job. That led to the employment opportunities for the Irish at that time almost a major obstacle. The other reason for the opposition comes from religious issue. The nativist groups support for the “Know Nothing” political party, which is an anti-immigrant platform. They blame immigrants are such problems of unemployment, crime and housing shortage. In “Why They Came”, President Kennedy states that most of immigrants choose America as a destination for their new life because they strongly believe in a society that follows the American’s ideals of “the Declaration of Independence: the promise of ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’” (238). The majority of immigrants travel to the U.S by boat. They spend a lot of money on the trip. Some of them have to walk. They face to illness, accidents, natural disasters and even the dangerous from pirates and outlaw. No matter how they go, immigrants endure many hardships and dangers such as “winds, tides, primitive navigation, unskilled seamanship, and the whim of the captain” during their trip (237). Even when immigrants reach the destination, they suffer much harder challenges. They do not have enough time or food to recover their strength. They have to start looking for work to earn money to pay for food and accommodation immediately. That

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