As the election season heats up, negative political ads and social media posts about immigration are everywhere. These messages often portray immigrant workers as dangerous criminals who cross the border illegally and exploit our social services. Politicians have labeled those seeking asylum as “animals,” “invaders,” and “rapists,” suggesting they want to harm our communities. These claims are misleading and have been disproven by many studies.
The rhetoric against immigrants is designed to incite anger, fear, and resentment. This tactic is not new; wealthy individuals, corporations, and their chosen politicians have used racism and xenophobia to create divisions among working-class people for centuries. They understand that when we are fighting among ourselves, we fail to recognize our shared interests as workers. In Maine, this divisive strategy has appeared repeatedly over the years, and it is essential to inform our friends, family, and coworkers about how it harms everyone in the working class.
A History of Anti-Catholicism and Xenophobia in Maine
In the mid-19th century, many Irish refugees fled to Maine to escape the Great Famine. In response, many Anglo Protestant residents expressed anti-Catholic sentiments. In the 1850s, Know Nothing mobs attacked Catholic neighborhoods in Bangor, burned a Catholic church in Bath, and tarred and feathered Jesuit Priest John Baptist in Ellsworth. Maine lawmakers also attempted to pass several anti-immigrant bills targeting French Canadian and Irish immigrants.
Prominent newspapers, including The New York Times, spread conspiracies claiming that the Catholic Church was sending French Canadian immigrants to New England to take control, intending to form a Catholic nation called “New France.” An 1881 article in the NY Times described French-Canadian immigrants as “ignorant and unenterprising” and claimed they did not care for freedom or education.
Academics promoted outdated eugenics theories that deemed French Canadians and Irish people as biologically inferior to the Anglo-Saxon Protestant race. Media outlets frequently highlighted Irish crime, depicting Irish individuals as drunks and criminals, akin to today’s drug dealers. After a group of Irish Nationalists known as the Fenians attacked Canada, the Irish were labeled as dangerous radicals.
Irish people were often depicted in derogatory cartoons and were criticized for their drinking habits. In 1852, Portland’s mayor noted that Irish individuals made up half of the city’s alms house residents. To avoid paying for their care, the city labeled many Irish residents as “insane” to commit them to the Augusta Insane Asylum at state expense.
David Vermette, in his book A Distinct Alien Race: The Untold Story of Franco-Americans, details how 19th-century textile barons profited from a French-Canadian workforce. Mill owners found it easier to control impoverished immigrant workers than native-born ones, who were more likely to strike.
These workers lived in overcrowded, poorly constructed tenements. Diseases like dysentery and typhoid, caused by contaminated water, killed many young French children. Managers neglected workplace safety, leading to numerous accidents.
The public considered such conditions unacceptable for Anglo Protestant women who had previously worked in the mills. However, since the workers were French Canadians, mill owners saw no need to recognize their humanity. One manager bluntly stated, “I regard my work people just as I regard my machinery.”
In the 1880s, Maine Congressman Thompson Murch, possibly the first union leader elected to Congress, supported the Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohibited Chinese immigration. A Massachusetts labor official referred to French Canadian workers as “the Chinese of the eastern states,” claiming they undermined wages and took jobs from native workers.
This strong xenophobia persisted into the 1920s, when the Ku Klux Klan gained thousands of followers in Maine. They held parades and burned crosses to intimidate Catholic residents. In February 1924, Klansmen attacked French Canadian union members in Greenville to protect large timber companies.
Targeting Southern Europeans
By this time, Southern Europeans became the primary targets of media, xenophobic politicians, and labor unions. The Maine State Federation of Labor passed a resolution in 1923 opposing “hordes of uneducated and unskilled laborers” from Southern Europe, while welcoming immigrants from Northern Europe, who were seen as easily assimilable.
In 1905, the Bangor Daily News published a story with the derogatory headline “Stranded Dagos Look for Help,” about Italian workers seeking assistance after being misled into taking jobs in poor conditions. The reporter mocked their accents and noted unpleasant odors. Another article that same year was titled “Dago Invasion,” referring to 175 Italian laborers brought to build a new railroad. Employers frequently exploited ethnic prejudices, such as when Rockland businessmen hired Italian workers to break a strike by quarry workers.
The Bangor Daily News acknowledged in a 1903 editorial that the “cheap Irish” workers had become largely “assimilated.” However, it argued that African Americans and Native Americans would never integrate or become productive members of white society, claiming they were inherently lazy. This notion was based on falsehoods; the earlier generations of Irish and Italian Americans were accepted as “white” due to their skin color, while African Americans and Native Americans were not.
Throughout history, racist pseudoscience has been used to justify oppression. Labor history shows that racism was legally constructed in America to justify the enslavement of African Americans after a rebellion in 1676. To prevent similar uprisings, the colonial ruling class enacted laws that favored Christian European servants, creating a racial caste system.
Uniting in Worker Solidarity
As stated in the Maine AFL-CIO’s 2020 resolution, the enemies of the labor movement recognize that unions can promote racial equality by fostering solidarity among workers, which threatens corporate profits. This is why they have worked hard to undermine unions and push anti-union laws, such as “right-to-work” legislation. These laws were originally championed by white supremacist groups in the South to prevent unity among white and black workers and immigrants.
Today, recent arrivals from Africa, Latin America, and Asia are the latest targets in this ongoing effort to pit workers against each other. Yet, like previous immigrant groups, they are rebuilding their lives and contributing to Maine’s communities. Many have graduated from the Union Construction Academy and secured jobs in various trades. They are our union brothers and sisters, and they strengthen our movement.
As we approach another contentious election, it is crucial to remember this history and not lose sight of our shared goals as workers.
Related topics:
- What Elon Musk’s Illegal Work Reveals About the Immigration System
- Tree of Life Synagogue Massacre Was Driven by Immigrant Rights Issues
- Farm Communities Divided Over Proposed Immigration Raids
