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A Nation of
Immigrants
In 1959, then Democratic Senator from Massachusetts, John
Fitzgerald Kennedy, wrote A Nation of Immigrants. The thesis
of the book was that America was a melting pot made up, for the most
part, of immigrants who had assimilated to Yankee Protestant culture
and democracy, and had enriched that Yankee Protestant culture and
democracy with the richness of their diverse customs and
philosophies, culinary skills, and sheer craft, cunning and
intellectuality.
This Kennedy book shamelessly glorified the role of immigrants in
American life. Never really stated, but implicit in the book, was
the argument that in 20th century America, immigrant power was
political power.
Kennedy's book also spun out, for the first time, the major role
one immigrant group in particular played in American life. Only one
immigrant group, millions and millions in number, had jumped
fiercely into the American melting pot causing very interesting and
considerable spillovers. Since the Potato Famine of the mid 19th
century, Irish Catholics had poured into America, as the first major
immigrant group in a wave after wave of immigration that lasted for
decades.
The Irish had one unique contribution to make to the nation of
immigrants' story Kennedy was writing about. The Irish Catholics of
the United States, more despised really than any of the other ethnic
groups, was still the only ethnic group in America and in Canada who
could speak English. Because of this English speaking facility, the
Irish were the only immigrants who could form a mainstream political
organization and participate fully in American political life.
Because they could speak English, the Irish and their political
machines could welcome non-English speaking immigrants to their
political organizations and political clubs.
It is the Irish who created Tammany Hall and the legendary Boston
political machine that at the turn of the century elected John F.
"Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, Rose Kennedy's father, as mayor of Boston.
It is Tammany Hall that helps settle Jewish immigrants in their huge
numbers in New York and gets them their citizenship, and of course
their all important right to vote.
In the John Ford movie, "The Last Hurrah," the Boston Irish mayor
played by Spencer Tracy boasts an Italian, Jewish and Greek
lieutenant. It is a similar Boston Irish organization, still relying
on remnants of 'Honey Fitz''s organization that made Michael
Dukakis, governor of Massachusetts and the first Greek American to
run for the presidency.
In Canada's political culture, apart from Trudeau, there are no
writer-prime ministers and very little talk or writing of Canada
being a nation of immigrants. That kind of Kennedy political tribute
to immigrants is not made here in Canada because we are far, far
less a nation of immigrants than our American neighbours. Our
percentage of immigrants is smaller, their significance is lesser.
Canadians are still so insecure about our immigrants, past and
present, that even one of the greatest Canadian political statesmen
of all time, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, finds it necessary to come up
with the concept of multiculturalism. That policy is basically a
maladroit cover for second class citizenship for our Canadian
immigrants and ethnic populations.
Not only has Trudeau failed to give Canada a nation of
immigrants, but so have the Irish Catholics of Canada. Still, great
Irishmen have plied their political trade in this country.
D'Arcy McGee, a Father of Confederation, was assassinated by a
Fenian in Ottawa because of his modern views on Ireland. 'Chubby'
Power, the Quebec City Irishman, was an outstanding star in the King
cabinet. 'Chubby' was also a man beloved by the Quebecois because
his fighting Irish heart joined the Quebecois in their fight against
conscription in the Second World War. My friend, the late Senator
Grattan O'Leary, the Tory senator and publisher of the Ottawa
Journal, is my all-time Irish Canadian hero, especially when, in his
early 80s, I watched him squiring beautiful women in their late 40s.
In Canada, given the riding by riding system, the non-Irish
immigrants could win seats without the help of Irish political
machines. Canadian born Sam Jacobs, a Jew, was sitting for Laurier
as early as 1916. Montreal born Peter Bercovitch was the first
elected Jew in the Quebec Assembly in 1916. The first Jew elected
anywhere in Canada was S. Hart Green in 1905 in Winnipeg North as a
provincial Manitoba Liberal.
Oddly enough, the one politician that has truly taken a giant
step forward in making Canada go from the ghetto of multiculturalism
to a true nation of immigrants is Prime Minister Jean Chretien. In
the Globe and Mail, August 5, 1999, there is a wonderful photograph
-- you can call it photograph one, day one, of Canada, a future
'nation of immigrants.'
In the photo, a huge painting of Queen Elizabeth looks down on a
smiling governor general, Romeo Leblanc and a sombre but satisfied
Jean Chretien. They are both watching Elinor Caplan, "whose
grandparents arrrived from Poland at the turn of the century," being
sworn in as federal minister of Citizenship and Immigration. Ms.
Caplan is being sworn in by the most powerful bureaucrat in the
land, Mel Kapp, clerk of the Privy Council, himself a descendant of
immigrants.
The appointment of Elinor Caplan, the first descendant of
immigrants to preside over immigration, is indeed day one of Canada
becoming truly a nation of immigrants. The rest of the way may be
rocky.
But, Elinor, you can count on the help of Adrienne Clarkson,
Peter Newman, Wayne Gretzky, Leonard Cohen, the ghost of
Italo-Canadian Bruno Gerussi, CBC's Greek fisherman - and meek and
humble columnist extraordinaire, yours truly.
If you have any comments, please join the 'Inside Zolf' Roundtable Discussion.
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