Former U.S Congressman, Robert H. Clancy, in his article, An “Un-American Bill”, establishes his opinion on the Johnson-Reed Immigration Act of 1924. Clancy’s purpose is to persuade that the Immigration Act is racist and Un-American. He creates a passionate tone in order to show his readers the ugly truth behind what the Johnson-Reed Act is doing. Clancy supports his argument of the injustice and racial discrimination of the Johnson-Reed Act , by appealing to the readers emotions with his personal anecdotes and by providing facts of all the good things that immigrants do for society and America as a whole.
Clancy begins his article by explaining what the Johnson-Reed act is and why it exists. He appeals to the truth by providing the full
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He appeals to the scepticism of the audience when he states that “over 300,000 Italian-speaking soldiers enlisted in the American Army, almost 10 percent of our total fighting force” (2). Another example is when he tells us that “Forty or fifty thousand Italian-Americans live in my district in Detroit. They are found in all walks and classes of life-common hard labor, the trades, business, law, medicine, dentistry, art, literature, banking, and so forth”(2). These facts show how important immigrants are in this country whether it be fighting for it or helping build and maintain the economy and our way of life.
He seals his claim by including anecdotes of his experiences as an immigrant. He appeals to the emotions of the reader when he tells us that his “mother’s father fought in the Civil War, leaving his six small children in Detroit … to fight against racial distinctions and protect his country” (3), He uses this same method again when he talks about when his uncle was “about 14 years old, and the eldest child, fired by the traditions of his family, plodded off to the battle fields to do his bit” (3).
In conclusion Robert Clancy presents a good argument with his strongest asset being his personal anecdotes of his life as an