|Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute||Home| David J. Coss Looking
back upon our nation's immigration history we find repetitious
patterns of resistance, struggle and triumph. From the Puritan
settlers who had to quell Native American opposition, to the "No
Irish Need Apply" signs that greeted potato famine refugees,
this nation has offered opportunity to all, but an equal if not
greater quantity of hostility was waiting also. Often these
incoming groups arrive with little or no resources forcing them
to rely upon government assistance. They are perceived as
taking, rather than giving to the American sysytem as they
compete for limited resources such as jobs and housing. Through
determination, cooperation and luck, many immigrants have
excelled and literally transformed the economic and cultural
landscape of this nation. Their struggle for acceptance
continues today as they seek, and if necessary, fight for the
possibilities that first attracted our ancestors to this land.
Very often modern American history clas