Message to Colombia in the 1900s

Message to Colombia in the 1900s

Chamberlain C. St.Jean

Grand Canyon University: HIS-144

1/20/2019

Message to Colombia in the 1900s

        If I were to be an immigrant in the 1900s coming from Columbia receiving U.S. citizenship it would take forever to be completed. It would take up to about 1 to 2 years to be completed. The reason is that there were approximately up to 2.5 million Eastern Europeans who came to the United States around that time and completing papers for each person was a lot of work (McCune Mary, 2011). Before going through the process on Ellis Island in New York to receive citizenship. My first plan as a Colombian citizen would be trying to learn how to speak English. This would give me a better chance over the other people there at Ellis Island trying to receive citizenship as well.  Although, looking for a job would be difficult but however, I most likely try to go work for Henry Ford a genius who provided hundreds of people with jobs by creating the assembly line at this point and time of history. Henry Ford at the time did not really care about the background of the worker or where he came from, only if the worker is a hard-working person. Around the 1916 Henry Ford would have people working in a huge building called a factory, assembling automobiles on a conveyer belt. I would be a part of the first group of people to build the first automobiles that Henry Ford had workers working on called the Quadricycle (Greimel H. 2016). This would be a long-lasting job for me because automobiles were the next big that people could not live without and would never go out of business. This would give me the chance to save money up for when my family gets here.

How Far in Life I Am

Normally, being a 30-year-old father from Colombia I would have children and a wife that I would like to bring over from Colombia. Being far away from them would make me mentally depressed because I would have no way to contact them except through regular mail. With the little to no money that I would have would need to hurry up and move to Detroit to work in the Henry Fords factory. By trying to be a brave father I would try to bring my children over one by one and have my wife come over last. Only because my wife and I could take care of the children from both places until they are all native in the U.S.  This would be a set plan that my wife and I would have set for our children. To set life up for them so that they would not have to struggle and choose what career they would like to do in the future. At this point in time businessmen were looking for engineers and more skilled nurses to work in some of the hospitals due to the disease and sickness that came over from different countries.

The Game Plan

        However, it would be difficult for my children to adjust to a new life in America. Although, we still make it work as long as we are together as a family. The goal would be for my children to be most skilled because the education system at the time was not as strong so that they would not have to join the army and fight in the battles that are going on at this time. At this point and time in history, if my son is old enough, he must be drafted and join the Battle of Verdun. (Foley R., 2016) I would not want him to go and give up his life and fight against the French in the Battle of Verdun. (Foley R., 2016) My wife and I would be devastated and be heartbroken if he dies in battle. Therefore, I would want him to be an engineer so that he does not have to work in the factory as long as I have to provide for the family.