kirch
10-13-2004, 11:24 AM
I read this on my 'Fact-A-Day' calendar:
On this date in 1915, Theodore Roosevelt, in a Columbus Day address in New York City, used the coinage "hyphenated American," which had been defined in 1898 by John Farmer and W.E. Henley's [u]Slang and Its Analogues[u] as "a naturlised citizen, as German-Americans." Referring to racial and ethnic divisions, the former president stated, "There is no room in this country for hyphenated American," thus encouraging citizens to emphasize character above national origin. But such tolerant throughts were tempered by TR's overriding sense that America needed strong institutions, such as a common language. An article in the Kansas City Star three years later confirmed this, quoting him as advocating that "every immigrant who comes here be required within fire years to learn English or leave the country."
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
On this date in 1915, Theodore Roosevelt, in a Columbus Day address in New York City, used the coinage "hyphenated American," which had been defined in 1898 by John Farmer and W.E. Henley's [u]Slang and Its Analogues[u] as "a naturlised citizen, as German-Americans." Referring to racial and ethnic divisions, the former president stated, "There is no room in this country for hyphenated American," thus encouraging citizens to emphasize character above national origin. But such tolerant throughts were tempered by TR's overriding sense that America needed strong institutions, such as a common language. An article in the Kansas City Star three years later confirmed this, quoting him as advocating that "every immigrant who comes here be required within fire years to learn English or leave the country."
The more things change, the more they stay the same.