The term nativism, also called Americanism, first gained prominence after the Civil War. The nativist goal was to protect the interests of so-called “natives,” descendants of early Anglo-Saxon settlers, above those of more recent immigrants. Nativist views were sometimes ugly, frequently leading to racism, discrimination, mistreatment of immigrants, unjust immigration policies, and other unfortunate aspects of U.S. history. However, unlike another very ugly chapter in American history books, that of slavery, many believe that nativism still persists today. They cite President Trump's recent campaign platform as proof that nativism is alive and well. Americanism incorporates many ideas and concepts – some remain racist and represent the worst human characteristics. However, within the broader framework of nativism, legitimate goals have always been mixed with racist elements; Although the particular goals and elements may have evolved over time, nativism was and remains today a popular political topic and part of many politicians' political agendas. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayThe beginning of the nativist movement is generally traced to the post-Civil War period, when immigration policies led to waves of new immigrants from countries such as Ireland, Germany and later China. Immigration to the United States further accelerated due to the severe economic depression that Europe experienced in the 1890s, when millions of immigrants arrived from southern and eastern Europe , notably Catholic and Jewish immigrants; “Between 1871 and 1900 alone, 11.7 million immigrants arrived; and between 1901 and 1920 an additional 14.5 million came.” Many early Anglo settlers and their descendants (ironically calling themselves "natives" without regard for indigenous peoples) felt threatened by these new immigrants. Nativists claimed that newcomers were taking jobs from native-born Americans and, worse, they claimed that Catholics, via the papal conspiracy, and Jews, via the international Jewish conspiracy, posed a threat to society. This led to the emergence of the first "anti-immigration" sentiments that spread across the United States. National support for the nativist movement was further strengthened by events around the world. Shortly after the Bolsheviks took power of the Soviet Union, the American Communist Party was founded in the early 1920s. This greatly frightened Americans, as they believed that the working class would eventually overthrow the middle and upper classes. The resulting paranoia became known as the First Red Scare. This led President Woodrow Wilson to pass the Sedition Act: prohibiting “disloyal, profane, slanderous, or abusive” speech against the United States. This was one of the first true depictions of nativism in modern American law. Wilson used anti-immigration sentiment in his campaign to get elected. Hans Vaught of the University of Illinois described that "Wilson, like most progressives, moderate or not, not only abhorred the anarchist and socialist beliefs of some foreign-born foreigners, but he did not not completely understood their conception of politics as an exchange. of favors. His desire to maintain aNativist America ultimately helped him gain support and eventually serve in the White House. Wilson wanted to promote a strong sense of American nationalism and, in doing so, prohibited non-American sentiments from developing in the United States. Extreme manifestations of this protectionist mindset and paranoia regarding the nefarious motivations of "non-Americans" have led to the creation of such groups. like the Ku Klux Klan, which targeted African-Americans, Catholics and Jews, among others. From there, nativist sentiment grew exponentially. Not only did many Americans not want anti-American ideas in the United States, but the trend also shifted toward people not wanting non-Americans in the United States. Nativism continued to gain influence during the Great Depression and World War II. The national economy was crippled in the early 1930s by record unemployment rates, food shortages, homelessness, and other widespread economic obstacles. Nativists argued that the country already had its work cut out for it to take care of its own citizens and that there certainly weren't enough jobs or resources for non-Americans. Even as World War II slowly began to bring some relief to the economy, underlying anti-Asian racism led President Franklin Roosevelt to issue the infamous Executive Order 9066, which called for the internment of more than 110 000 Japanese residents, many of whom were American citizens. . As a glaring indicator of the underlying racism involved, General John L. DeWitt, the officer charged with protecting the West Coast of the United States, argued that the internment was necessary because "the Japanese race is an enemy race and "Even though many second- and third-generation Japanese born in the United States with American citizenship have become "Americanized," racial tensions remain intact. FDR sought to gain much political leverage by implementing the internment program and pandering to anti-Japanese sentiments, while creating a strong nativist front. This appealed to many people because, while keeping the "enemies" captive, it made FDR appear very nationalistic; overall, which helped him gain supporters. After World War II, there were approximately 11 million displaced persons (IDPs) in camps across Europe, many of whom were Jewish. Some were able to return to their country of origin. However, those who couldn't return needed somewhere else to live. Many hoped to come to the United States. Unfortunately, the United States refused to change the very restrictive immigration policy adopted in 1924 to help these displaced people. Essentially, nativists strongly opposed revising existing immigration policies to help displaced Jews, largely out of fear that Jews would bring radical ideas to the United States. Nativism has most certainly led to some very unfortunate chapters in American history. Unfortunately, many would argue that nativism is not just a thing of the past, as evidenced by President Trump's recent campaign platform. They compare the current treatment of Mexican immigrants and immigrants from some Muslim countries to past treatment of Chinese, Japanese, Jews, Catholics and other groups targeted because of their nativist beliefs. Trump's campaign, which focused on building a wall along the Mexican border and strict border policing, as well as limiting Muslim immigration, resonated well withmany voters. Trump's critics point out that current suspicions of Muslim immigrants are very similar to the nativist and anti-Catholic views of the mid-19th century, when large groups of Catholics were leaving Ireland and Germany - the papal conspiracy, the danger they represent for society, etc. This is also comparable to the reasons why displaced Jews after World War II were not allowed to immigrate to the United States in significant numbers. While it's entirely possible that Trump privately holds racist views, many aspects of his agenda that qualify as being racist are really nothing new. Trump's so-called "Muslim ban" was essentially already in place after being signed into law by President Obama. In fact, "Iran, Syria, Iraq and Sudan were already on the list of the [Obama] administration's initial legislation in 2015, and in February 2016, the Obama administration added Libya, Yemen and Somalia to a list of “countries”. Concern, which imposed certain travel restrictions under the Visa Waiver Program for those who visited these countries after March 1, 2011." Likewise, Trump's "Mexican Wall" had been on the table for many years . Historian and editor of the book Line in the Sand: A History of the United States-Mexico Western Border, Rachel St. John explained that even in 1918, building a border wall was debated. Trump simply highlighted what already existed: Voters found it much more exciting to hear him talk about these concepts than his real estate deals. The fact that these elements of his election platform resonated with such a large portion of the electorate shows that nativist views are still very much present in American culture today. Trump was looking for an easy way to gain political influence, much like previous politicians who incorporated nativist concepts into their platforms. The "undesirables" may have moved from Catholics, Asians and Jews to Mexicans and Muslims, but the principles are the same: prevent these groups from coming to the United States because of the threats they pose, that they want to change America, that immigrants will take jobs, resources, etc. of the United States. Obama, Bush and Clinton, and others before them, like Roosevelt taking action against the Japanese, have in one way or another incorporated these types of "nativist" themes into their platforms because it always finds a resonated so well with a large part of the electorate. In short, politicians will frequently continue to turn to the nativist well as an easy way to gain support and popularity. There is always a large portion of the population who will vote for someone who promises strong borders and restrictive immigration policies. This was true after the Civil War and remains very true today. When looking closely at nativism, a distinction must be made between those parts of nativism based on racist principles or baseless conspiracy theories, such as the papal conspiracy, or the idea that all Muslims are terrorists and the legitimate desire to control immigration flows to ensure that Americans have work and that there are sufficient resources available for their own citizens. For example, few have argued that it was racist to want to curb immigration during the Great Depression because of job shortages. It is widely accepted among political scientists that "a country has the right to secure its borders and protect the interests of its current citizens at the expense of potential immigrants."./27501140.