Send a Quote Enter a brief message. SendOk2 “Before the creation of the welfare state, immigrants who came to this country were for the most part attracted by America’s reputation as a land of freedom and opportunity. Laws and customs that then prevailed required immigrants to carve out their individual destinies by their own labor, perseverance, intelligence, and determination.” ~ James Thornton Source: Six Great Immigrants, The New American, February 19, 1996, p. 47.