"Here is not merely a nation, but a teeming nation of nations" said Walt Whitman (Lee). The United States of America, now the most powerful nation in the world, was discovered in 1492 by Christopher Columbus, colonized by 1700, freed from British rule in 1776, split in civil war in 1860, and ended the second world war in 1945. Since it's introduction to Western European countries, America has acted like a magnet attracting people of all ages, ethnicity's, social statuses, and religions. Between the 1890's and the 1920's, the vast majority of immigrants to America were from Eastern Europeans countries. Before that, mostly Western Europeans lived in America, along with their African slaves, and the Native Americans.

Finally, since the 1920's, immigration to America has been primarily Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Mexican (Lee 1). Although there were Jewish people in America since discovered in 1492 by Columbus, there was not a large number until the 1890's when thousands of Russian Jews started to immigrate to America. Jewish immigrants have played an important role in America's formation as a country and a world power. Many groups of immigrants have received ridicule from American society, but none as persistent, and common as the Jewish immigrant. The Jewish people faced harsh conditions at their initial arrival in America, and it was in America where they overcame their hardship and grew successful.

First of all, America's laws were what the Jewish people needed. Coming from a life and history of being the oppressed people, the Jewish people yearned for a place where they could have the same rights as everyone else, the same opportunities as everyone else, and the same achievement as everyone else. Secondly, freedom of religion made America a place where the Jews could walk down the street without fear of being beaten or persecuted.

Finally, justice, fairness, righteousness, and decency are all attributes of America. The idea of happiness, and the opportunity for success is what made America such a safe haven for the Jewish people in their time of need. America gave the Jewish people a chance to succeed, and most importantly, to live life happily. It was the large extent of sheer formlessness in American society to live side by side (people of different cultures) (Sklare 77). By providing steady jobs, the possibility of advancement, and a place free of religious ridicule; America fulfilled the dreams of many Jewish families.

Inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty, this poem can illustrate how Jewish Immigrants were viewed by Americans.

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me...

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

Emma shows how the Jewish has been seen: tired, huddled masses, wretched, and

The Jewish Americans. (1969, December 31). In DirectEssays.com. Retrieved 16:50, May 20, 2013, from http://www.directessays.com/viewpaper/92171.html

Direct Essays. "The Jewish Americans." DirectEssays.com. DirectEssays.com, (December 31, 1969). Web. 20 May. 2013.

Direct Essays, "The Jewish Americans.," DirectEssays.com, http://www.directessays.com/viewpaper/92171.html (accessed May 20, 2013)