When did America become such a xenophobic nation?

Answer 1

On what basis and by which criteria do you define America as Xenophobic?

Answer 2

People may have been bothered about the immigration problem before but it was not a hot topic until the run up to the 2006 elections. We have episodes of xenophobia when the immigration rate become too large. Currently more than 10% of the people in the US are foreign born plus another 4 or 5 percent "undocumented workers". I think few countries in the world could absorb this number of immigrants with out some social reaction, and even now all we do is whine.

Answer 3

Become... there's a good thought - when we were a colony, we pushed out the natives. Then we pushed out the monarchy, then pushed out the mexicans... I guess we didn't push the Canadians much, but after that we got worse. It isn't a straight line from zero to xenophobe, but we've always been that way - even the "African" americans don't want to melt in the pot - according to Jesse Jackson (see lessgovernment.com for the quote). We're actually a nation of large, evil groups of people trying to assert themselves. It causes a stalemate politically, oppression socially, and bankruptcy morally.

Glad you didn't notice it until now - maybe it's getting better.

Answer 4

As many of the inane replies attest to ,asking most Americans if they are xenophobes manifests the same sense of denial that a pedophile manifests if you ask him/her if they are a pedophile.

Yes, Americans are xenophobic but more profoundly,their xenophobia is rooted in a much more sinister reality and that is America's sense of MANIFEST DESTINY which is ultimATELY THE VERY HEIGHT OF racism for it de facto states that Americans are BETTER than all others on all fronts are are in fact (as the word implies) GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE (with apologies to the Jews) .

In fact XENOPHOBIA was part of the baggage brought over on the Mayflower and has always been a fundamental ethos of Americans.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenophobia

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5216717.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalism_in_the_United_States

Answer 5

America has always been an inward looking nation, one only has to look at their abandonment of the democratic nations in the second world war to realize that. Their leaders time and time again said in public that it was no concern of theirs what the Nazi's did and one shudders to think what would have happened if the attack on Pearl Harbor had never eventuated. Please understand I'm not talking about the average Joe Citizen here, I'm talking about business with a capital B, many concerned Americans fled their native country to fight side by side with those willing to stand for democracy in its darkest hour, American business only stirred itself when its profits were under threat AS USUAL

Answer 6

Historically, it always has been. Recently (since 9/11), it seems newly pronounced.

It's all rather ironic in light of the critiques by the US of certain other countries, Russia being a clear case in point. It's been an axiom (coupled with disparagement and condescension) of American political discourse for decades that Russia - now, as the USSR, and under the czars - has always been paranoid about outside incursions and about being surrounded by hostile powers.

Yet here we are in the US behaving as if that axiom applies directly to us.

And you know what? It does. And sadly so.

Answer 7

During the great Irish potato famine (1845-1849)

Answer 8

Well, during the late 19th century and early 20th century, laws were passed that limited the influx of immigrants from certain countries, especially those in southern and eastern Europe.

Answer 9

When we began to realize there was a slow takeover going down. Just like in the movies, it all looks pretty friendly and harmless. Then you discover the ugly truth: the aliens have found a perfect host world that they can inhabit and drain of all it's resources. Xeno= alien, phobia= fear. Right to be fearful? Hmm, I think so.

Answer 10

No, the question ought to be "when was it NOT one?"

How many of the Founding Fathers, who signed the Declaration of Independence, owned slaves? Did the men who drafted, proposed, and ratified the 14th Amendment allow women to vote?