A Washington Post article on the great immigration wave at the onset of the 20th century shows that just about every concern that has been raised this year was raised then. Judging from letters to the editors and other commentary, it looks like many Americans’ stories of what it was like for their ancestors have been cleaned up in the telling.

Here are some of today’s worries juxtaposed with life for immigrants back then, according to the Washington Post:

“They won’t assimilate. “The Germans refused for decades to give up their native tongue and raucous beer gardens. The Irish of Hell’s Kitchen brawled and clung to political sinecures. The Jews crowded into the Lower East Side, speaking Yiddish, fomenting socialism and resisting forced assimilation. And by their sheer numbers, the immigrants depressed wages in the city (New York).

“As for the multitudes of Italians, who settled Mulberry Street, East Harlem and Canarsie? In 1970, seven decades after their arrival, Italians lagged behind every immigrant group in educational achievement.”

“They won’t contribute to America. “But perhaps half of the Italian immigrants returned to Italy, often with cash to buy a farm or own a business. Greeks, too, returned in large numbers.”

“They had to wait in line, learn English and pass a test.

“Until 1918, the United States did not require passports; the term ‘illegal immigrant’ had no meaning. New arrivals were required only to prove their identity and find a relative or friend who could vouch for them.

“Customs agents kept an eye out for lunatics and the infirm (and after 1905, for anarchists). Ninety-eight percent of the immigrants who arrived at Ellis Island were admitted to the United States, and 78 percent spent less than eight hours on the island. (The Mexico-United States border then was unguarded and freely crossed in either direction.)

” ‘Shipping companies did the health inspections in Europe because they didn’t want to be stuck taking someone back,’ ” said Nancy Foner, a sociology professor at Hunter College and author of ‘From Ellis Island to JFK: New York’s Two Great Waves of Immigration.’ ‘Eventually they introduced a literacy test,’ she added, ‘but it was in the immigrant’s own language, not English.’ “

The backlash against immigrants back then was ugly and it proved to be a disincentive to assimilation. Consider this quote from Norman Podhoretz, who would become one the nation’s leading conservative thinkers:

“I never thought of myself as American (as a child). In Brooklyn there were no Americans; there were Jews and Negroes, Poles and Irishmen.”

Imagine that today: Literacy tests given in Spanish; nearly everyone accepted; only need proof of who you are and a relative to vouch for you.

Not a chance.

Just think of how many of our ancestors would not have been admitted into the country under today’s standards. Just think of where you might live instead.

Our country is facing an illegal immigration problem, but historical revisionism has muddied the debate and blocked reasonable solutions. I highly recommend the Post’s article on our ancestors. Enter “U.S. Immigration Debate Is a Road Well Traveled” into an Internet search engine and read the whole thing.