My comparison artifact is the last public statement by Col. Roosevelt before his death in 1919. It is often misquoted as a statement he made in 1907 while he was still president.
In the letter/speech, Mr. Roosevelt talks about immigration and what it means to be an American. In essence, he welcomes all those who wish to call themselves American as long as they truly commit to the idea.
My speech item, the Statue of Liberty, provides a good point of comparison for dealing with America’s attitude on immigration from a different angle.
The text of his speech is good for an in-depth analysis because it has a similar message to the Statue of Liberty while elaborating on it further and going into more detail on this issue than just the states short text can provide.
The Statue of Liberty, as a comparison artifact, is more ideological in nature, whereas Mr. Roosevelt not only talks about welcoming those that wish to become Americans but also elaborates on what needs to happen for them to be accepted here in America.
This further elaboration will be the basis for my extended analysis on the speech.
Some of the topics to be touched upon include:
Language in America, Our Flag, The Melting Pot, and Discrimination Based on Birthplace.
Colonel Roosevelt’s speech is a great comparison artifact for the Statue of Liberty. Being able to compare these two artifacts will be a great way to reflect on the same subject but each one in a slightly different way. I am looking forward to seeing how you touch upon the different topics mentioned above in once artifact versus the other!
To be honest, I really was not sure where you were going at first with such different mediums: a statue and a speech, but I now see just how strong this link is and that it will be a great analysis of the language used to deliver a very similar message on immigration. The lines from the Statue of Liberty, “Give me your tired your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” are often quoted even today as an example of the level of acceptance that we have so far betrayed. The analysis of these lines compared to a more updated and expanded version that includes a less ideological and more pragmatic approach in Roosevelt’s lines will be a great comparison simply because of that expansion. In the end, you can even tie in where we are at now in terms of immigration in your essay.