We can have our ideals and our values. But let them be aspirational and forward-looking and willing to embrace those who were brave enough to change and open enough to evolve over time.

The weakening of the Federal government's plenary power occurred with each new wave of immigrants, it seems. I cannot go into every wave of immigrants, so I've created an infographic laying out the major waves of immigration, what major events correlated with them, and some of the responses to them.