Immigration and its policies when it comes to Americans and who should be allowed to immigrate to America and to subsequently become American citizens has been a subject of much controversy since the inception of America itself. For whatever reason, for a significant portion of Americans, there is an unforgiving attitude and bigoted mindset against "others" that wish to immigrate to this large land known for its opportunity, its freedom, and its liberty. Yet, unless you are an American Indian, you, and your ancestors are in fact, immigrants to this nation, so this begs the question as to why the hypocrisy.
William Seward, was once the Governor of New York, later to become a US Senator, and was known as a strong abolitionist with national goals of becoming President of this country. Ultimately, Seward failed to win the nomination for President in 1860, ended up becoming a strong supporter of Lincoln, and became Lincoln's Secretary of State. Seward was a highly intelligent man, a man of both principle as well as vision, who did not mix words in believing strongly and affirming in both speech as well as actions, that all men should be free in America, and that therefore slavery had no place in America. It then followed from these abolitionist policies that Seward was also very much a believer that America was a country for all peoples, that those immigrants to our country, should be educated, adapted to our ways, and be given the opportunity to participate as full members of this nation.
Seward believed that the national government of America was until the time of Lincoln, primarily in the hands of the "privileged class" which he designated as rich Southern slaveholders that distorted the true meaning of our Constitution, by their effective ruling power and meddling influence in all three branches of our national government. Seward was a rare politician who did not broker compromise in areas of the law or principle, to which he felt that a "Higher Law" superseded them all. It was this belief that helped to define the man and make it his policy to see that immigrants to America were given and afforded the same opportunities as those that were already here.
It was also during the time of our Civil War, that it was recognized by Seward as well as by others, that immigration would help the Union cause, as so many of our young men and materials were now actively engaged in the war, and with the subsequent loss of massive numbers of men that were killed or injured in battle, this need became ever greater. This meant that the North acknowledged that it needed additional labor to increase the manufacturing of goods as well as materials required for the war effort, in addition to agricultural knowhow and labor to produce the food products necessary for a nation to survive and to sustain itself. Since the North was no longer obtaining agricultural products from the South, it was critical for the North to provide this for themselves, to which they took advantage of the fertile fields of the Midwest, and with the help of new immigrants from European countries they were well able to do so.
Seward recognized before its time, the value and importance of immigrants to America, and recognized too that it was the character of the people residing within America, that made Americans, and not every American born within our borders, was, in fact, truly American in their understanding of their duty and obligations to their country as well as to its people.