The mixture as never before

摘要

These immigrants are "the most stupid in the nation, few of their children speak English and through their indiscretion or ours, or both, great disorders may one day arise among us." Latinos? No: the speaker was Benjamin Franklin, and he was talking about German immigrants 200 years ago. A hundred years ago, America still had plenty of German-language newspapers; and doubts about German-Americans' loyalty were finally dispelled only when they took up arms against the Kaiser. Out of all the myths about the melting pot, none is more pernicious than the idea that it once worked perfectly.