The histories of the poor and the powerless are as important as those of their conquerors, their colonizers, their kings and queens.
Johnnetta B. ColeRead
Once I thought to write a history of the immigrants in America. Then I discovered that the immigrants were American history.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Immigrants are central to the story of America rather than just a chapter in it.
This quote by Oscar Handlin emphasizes the integral role of immigrants in shaping American history. Rather than viewing them as a separate group, Handlin asserts that immigrants are a fundamental part of the American narrative, highlighting their contributions and impact on the nation’s development.
Themes
ImmigrantsHistoryAmericaIdentityContribution
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech on immigration reform, one could use this quote to highlight the importance of immigrant contributions to American society.
Similar quotes
Our generation was born during the turmoil following the First World War. That war marked the dividing line - at least for the Western World - between the comfortable security of the 19th century and the instability and flux of our own time.
Robert KennedyRead
[B]inary opposites fit nicely the formulation of history as written, but they do little to capture the messy, inchoate reality of history as lived.
Ira BerlinRead
An accurate knowledge of the past of a country is necessary for everyone who would understand its present, and who desires to judge of its future.
Annie BesantRead
The deciphering of ancient scripts changed forever the way Europeans were able to imagine the story of humanity, destroying centuries of received authority about the past with repercussions as important for our understanding of time and history as the geological studies of the same period.
Neil MacgregorRead
There must be people who remember World War II and the Holocaust who can help us get out of this rut.
Martin ScorseseRead