The Puritan, Cavalier, Quaker, Scotch-Irish,
Huguenot, and Dutch pioneers were not ordinary folk in any sense of
the term. They were, in a measure, a race of heroes. Their sons and
grandsons inherited their vigor and their striving. It is not at all
singular that every President of the United States and every Chief
Justice of the Federal Supreme Court has come from this stock, nor
that the vast majority of Cabinet members, of distinguished Senators,
of Speakers of the House, and of men of note in the House of
Representatives trace back to it their lineage in whole or in part.
After the middle of the nineteenth century the immigrant vote began to
make itself felt, and politicians contended for the "Irish vote" and
the "German vote" and later for the "Italian vote" the "Jewish vote,"
and the "Norwegian vote." Members of the immigrant races began to
appear in Washington, and the new infusion of blood made itself felt
in the political life of the country.
But, if material were available for a comprehensive analysis of
American leadership in life and thought today, a larger number of
names of non-native origin would no doubt appear than was disclosed
in 1891 by Senator Lodge's analysis. All the learned professions, for
instance, and many lines of business are finding their numbers swelled
by persons of foreign parentage.
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