1072 



lies in some structural maladjustment that creates an imbalance in 

 equilibrium in the countries of emigration or immigration or both.^^ 



HAMILTON AND THE AMERICAN IMMIGRATION TRADITION 



Alexander Hamilton understood the interaction of these forces ; and 

 he understood particularly the "pull" factors existing in the newly 

 independent United States, unencumbered by the restricting influences 

 of the European guild system for attracting much-needed European 

 labor. Accordingly, in his "Report on Manufactures," Hamilton made 

 a strong case for officially promoting the immigration of professionals 

 and skilled craftsmen from Europe. Acknowledging the innate con- 

 servatism of man, Hamilton echoed Adam Smith's theme on man's 

 inclination toward immobility when he wrote : "Men reluctantly quit 

 one course of occupation and livelihood for another, unless invited to it 

 by very apparent and proximate advantages." Hamilton believed that 

 America offered such "powerful inducements" in economic gain, politi- 

 cal equality, and religious freedom that "manufacturers . . . would 

 probably flock from Europe to the United States to pursue their own 

 trades or professions, if they were once made sensible of the advantages 

 they would enjoy, and were inspired with an assurance of encourage- 

 ment and employment. . . ." This was the "natural inference" that 

 Hamilton drew from an historical experience that encouraged emigra- 

 tion of "a large proportion of ingenious and valuable workmen, in 

 different arts and trades, who, by expatriating from Europe, [had] 

 improved their own condition, and added to the industry and wealth 

 of the United States." ^« 



In 1791, Hamilton was reaffirming in principle what had been a 

 reality for almost 2 centuries. Since the 17th century, North America 

 had been attracting some of Europe's most energetic and talented 

 people — scholars, professionals, artisans, and farmers ; the trans- At- 

 lantic talent migration continues to this day. Immigration is a deep- 

 rooted American tradition in a nation of immigrants. In one sense 

 only time separates the Pilgrim Fathers from the most recent refugees 

 from Cuba: Essentially, both shared common goals and purposes, 

 hopes and expectations, failures and successes. 



From the beginning the principle of immigration has been accepted 

 by Americans as virtually a natural right of man, despite the periodic 

 rise of popular anti-immigrant feeling in the Nation's history. This 

 ideological conviction, combined wdth the desire for political and re- 

 ligious freedom and expectations of greater economic, cultural, and 

 social prospects, created what Dr. Luis Giorgi, President of the Pan- 

 American Federation of Engineering Societies, has termed a "perma- 

 nent draw" of people from less advantaged societies.'^'' 



Dr. Frankel put the brain drain in the same perspective, describing 

 it historically as a universal phenomenon, a movement from poor to 



■^5 Walter Adams and Joel B. Dirlam, "An Agenda for Action," In Adams, The Brain 

 Drain, p. 247. 



■^8 Jacob E. Cooke, ed., The Reports of Alexander Hamilton: Report on Manufactures. 

 Dec 5, 1791 (New York: Harper & Row, 1964), pp. 131-132. 143. 



"" Luis Giorgi, Extent, Nature and Causes of the Loss of Scientists and Engineers in 

 Latin America Through Migration to More Advanced Countries, In, UNESCO. Final 

 Report of the Conference on the Application of Science and Technology to the Develop- 

 ment of Latin America, Santiago, Chile, Sept. 13-22, 1965, p. 174. (Document 2.2.9) 

 (Guide lines for the Application of Science and Technology to Latin American Develop- 

 ment.) 



