Know-Nothings
A "Know-Nothing", as defined in David Cole's argument, is an immigrant who sees
himself as a "Native American" but blames society's scourges upon recent groups of immigrants.
If you are a Know-Nothing then David Cole has just knocked you down for the count. In his
essay, "Five Myths about Immigration," David argues a very convincing point of view against
immigrant discrimination. He uses good sources and a well organized argument to get his point
across. Let us take a look at David Cole's point of view and how it is argued quite well.
David starts out by telling us about the general attitude of a Know-Nothing, stating that
they have "no sympathy"(125) for the immigrants. After this he tells how the politicians jumped
on the opportunity to "exploit"(125) and use the immigrants as an excuse for all of societies
problems. Using this Pathos argument, which certainly would unhinge any reader with thoughts
of the Holocaust and Hitler's attitude towards the Jews, he hits home for most of us. Despite
having nearly destroyed any sympathy for the Know-Nothings by comparing their attitudes to that
of the Nazis, David still goes on with the rest of his argument.
David has a strong thesis. It states that since the early 1800's our society has not changed
in the slightest. We still discriminate against the immigrants that are entering our nation today just
as we did then. He attributes this to ignorance and misinformation and uses these two faults as a
basis for his argument. He combines these two terms and calls them a myth. It is the myths that
are letting know-nothingism thrive in todays cultures. With this in mind he sets out to disprove
the so called "Five Myths about Immigration."
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...d need a strong counter
argument to defeat David Cole's "Five Myths about Immigration". He uses great examples and
keeps the reader interested in his topic. He addresses the opposition quite well which adds a large
amount of strength to his argument. David also has outstanding credentials which add a
substantial amount of credibility to the writings, including those with no sources. An over-all
look shows us that his is a great argument with good structure and balance. David Cole did what
he needed to do to get the job done and that is what makes a good argument.
Works cited page
Barnet, Sylvan and Hugo Bedau, eds. Current Issues and Enduring Questions. Boston:
Bedford/St. Martins,1999.
Cole, David. "Five Myths about Immigration" Current Issues and Enduring Questions. Eds.
Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau. Bedford/St. Martins, 1999 p
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...beliefs represented in his quotations. I do not feel that he ever really counter argued anything due to the fact that it was never clearly stated where he stood on the subject. I feel that the quotations used supporting life starting at conception did a good job of refuting the stance that it begun at any point after but I don't think he himself ever argued anything in the essay.