SACair Forum

Some came at the head of armies; others, in the chains of slavery. Some fled the tyranny of despots, the terror of war, or the pangs of famine. For many reasons, they came. They scratched a living from the wilderness. Some fought for a new way of life while others fought to preserve their native culture. Yet, immigrant or native, poor or powerful, they forged a nation, and earned the right to call themselves Americans. They toiled in the coal mines and cotton fields, on whalers, and skipjacks and riverboats. They forged iron into steel, laid rails, carried mortar, and fired bricks. They plowed and hammered and welded and sawed. From their labor and sacrifice came this great nation, a land where freedom is far more than a word.