Page Nine
THE UNITED AMERICAN
JANUARY, 1925
Becoming an American
By A. C. STRANGE, Superintendent, City 'Schools of Astoria
I T AM WRITING this letter to all foreign born who
I A have not obtained citizenship, but particularly
I to those residents of Astoria who, born abroad, are
I anxious to take out citizenship papers and thus be­
come a part of their great adopted country. A recent
count taken in the schools of this city shows that we
i have the children of people from, thirty-four different
I countries in our midst and, without doubt, there are
I several other nationalities among men and women
I here and elsewhere, who have no children in the
1 schools. If you belong to one of these nationalities,
I my letter is for you.
I am sure you want to become Americans. If
I you do not, you should never have left your native
■ land, your childhood friends and home, to come to a
I new, untried1 country. We, here in America, have no
■ welcome for those who come merely to make money
■ out of us. More than anything else, we want home
I builders; we need those who will help us make our
■ country greater. So I am going to take it for granted
■ that you plan to become citizens as soon as you can.
I
In my first letter, then, let us consider what it is
I to become an American. It is more than becoming
■ a citizen. America has maijy citizens, some born
■ abroad, some native bom, whom she could well get
■ along without. They do not understand America;
I they make no effort to aquire such understanding;
■ they take no interest in or part in the administration
■ of our government; they scoff at and often disregard
■ our laws and they give us no help in our efforts to
■ make our country stronger and better. Such citizens
I are not American. To be American, one must under­
fl stand the ideals upon which the nation is builded,
fl must know what its devoted citizens are hoping to
I accomplish, must appreciate its opportunities, must
■ be anxious to help make it a greater country and
■ must love it as his home and the home of his children.
■ So, in these letters, it is my wish to help you to be-
■ come able to say proudly, “I am an American.”
■
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♦
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■ No one claims that the government of America
■ is perfect. A government is no better than its citizens
■make it and so long as we have many ignorant, care­
flless, indifferent citizens, much can be found to criti-
■cise. However, I do sincerely believe that our govern-
■ment was founded right and is headed right.
I Let us think just a little about its foundation
■principles. When Jesus taught “Love one another,”
^fl'Do unto others as you would that they should do
■into you,” “Peace on earth, good will among men,”
■lie gave the world America’s foundation stones. That
■is, we must respect our associates, must place proper
■confidence in them and must co-operate with them.
■Ve must deal fairly with them and we must feel and
■practice good will towards them. Co-operation, justice,
■bod will, peace, — what better foundations upon
■rhich to build a nation? Have we often failed to
■'eal'ze these ideals? If so, and it is to be expected,
■t is the result of carelessness and neglect among
many of our citizens and not of the plan prepared by
the builders of our country.
Who make up the people responsible for the carry­
ing out of the plan?
Soon after the Constitution was adopted, there
began coming to America wave after wave of immi­
gration. In the early years there came the Irish,
the Germans, the French, the English, the Scotch,
the Welsh, from the west of Europe. These people
brought with them a deep respect for law and a pro­
found sympathy with our experiment in 'government
and were of great-aid to us in carrying it out.
*
*
*
Just here, let us consider for a moment the Euro­
pean origin of our system of government.
Going back over one thousand years, we find two
sources, — one the philosophy of Jesus, that is, the
right of the common man, of the peasant, to fair
treatment; the other, the free independent, self­
directed’ governments of the early Germans who,
fifteen hundred years ago, were the invaders and
conquerors of England. As residents of England,
we find them for half a thousand years in a constant
struggle for self-government. We find their kings
compelled to grant one privilege, one statement of
rights, after another. Bear in mind that the old
civilizations were 'based on human slavery; that the
great cities and 'great accomplishments of ancient
times were built by slaves and that this is a long
struggle for the rights of those who were once slaves.
First came the Great Charter, setting the law of
the land above the King’s will and establishing the
principle that there should be no taxation without
the consent of the governed. Then came the Petition
of Rights, which declared against arbitrary imprison­
ment, arbitrary taxation, quartering of soldiers
among the people in time of peace and forced loans.
The third was the Bill of Rights, which stated again,
in clearer, stronger terms, the fundamental liberties
of Englishmen. Lastly, there came the Act of Toler­
ation, which granted freedom of worship, increased
the powers of the Parliament and reduced those of
the King.
These were long steps forward, not only for
Englishmen but for all men, and yet the long struggle
between the King and the people was not ended. It
took the autocracy of the mad King, George III, and
the rebellion of the American colonists to bring about
the complete establishment of democracy in both
America and England.
When our Declaration of Independence stating
man’s inalienable rights and rehearsing the acts of
oppression of England’s king and other kings as well
and our Constitution establishing representative
democracy as a fair government, were written, these
documents became the charter of liberty to liberty
loving people everywhere. Consequently, these early
western-European immigrants came to America with
a profound belief in and a great hope for this experi­
ment in government. Similar struggles were gone