The Great Wall Of China, The Berlin Wall, And The History Of Border Walls

President Donald Trump's proposed US-Mexican border wall has become an emblem of a fiery, divisive, political debate about immigration. How will Trump's border wall be remembered in history, if at all? This is what some of the most famous walls in history can tell us about the U.S.-Mexico border today.

A wall can keep people out or hold people in and almost always creates some sort of divide. In China it was an ancient defense system and that became a national landmark. In Berlin, it was an infamous blockade.

Territory is at the core of so many walls in history. Even Wall Street got its name from a wall. It was originally built by the Dutch to protect themselves from British colonists, and keep Native Americans out. The financial district has earned a reputation of vast wealth - the center of capitalism: it's become a symbol of a system that created more wealth than the world has ever seen

But also exploitation – deepening the divide between the haves and have nots. That's been ingrained in the area from its very inception. In 1644 Governor Peter Stuyvesant ordered his citizens to build a wooden barricade on the northern edge of the New Amsterdam Settlement.

A few years later, the Peach Tree war broke out between the Dutch and Native Americans and Stuyvesant ordered an expansion of the wall to defend against future attacks. It worked for a while, but then the British came by boat through the southern end of the colony, took the land and named it New York. The wall itself was taken down by the end of the century, but the name stuck.

In 1711, Wall Street was turned into the city's official market for a very valuable resource at the time - slave labor and that is something that's weaved throughout many walls of the past, no matter how emblematic they may be.

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The Great Wall Of China, The Berlin Wall, And The History Of Border Walls

[sallylee]

Just want to point out something that people often get wrong about the Great Wall of China. The wall did not denote where the border was. It was a network of DEFENSE walls. There were lands that were beyond the wall that would still be considered part of Ming territory. Farmers would pass through the wall in the day to tend to their farms etc and then pass through the wall at night to return home.

The wall functioned much like the walls of city states in Europe, neither of which were designed to be the border or were build on the border.

[LyricistUnscene]

The wall is there to keep Americans in for when the hunger games come

[bradjohnsen]

Great video, information and unbiased reporting.

[nehemiahmarcus]

The US/Mexico wall is a single wall. Would anyone feel safe if their home only had one wall and no roof? Would a prison be effective with only one wall? So how does a single wall stop a determined person from going over, under or around a single wall? Most immigrants enter through the wall legally as tourists or visitors and then just don't go back. Would a single wall stop criminal cartels with unlimited funds from getting across?

Seriously, the only ones the wall will stop would be someone on foot without any creativity or strong intention at getting through.

[alksjda]

the wall will help but its not going to do much. can still dig under it, climb over it, go around it, go above it.

[ghill]

Don't forget the Roman wall across England to keep the Scotts out.

[DavidMiller-cexz]

Because we have planes & technology, a wall won't help. Nonsense.

[ChauNguyen-tzzm]

Okay so if architectures wanna play moral police and regards to the public, which country and do you put first? Or do they see the world as one and not as different countries?

[TheMadisonHang]

@9:45
i think it should be said 'Israli' denotes nationality
it encompasses ethnicity and religion

[Gypsymumma]

This needs to go trending walls don't always help

[wallacepan]

Our ancesters built a wall, and it's now a tourist attraction.

[yourpal]

Surprise...
The comments are all political

[WheresTheWall]

Trump's "read my lips" 😂

[jonathancerda]

There are bigger issues than the wall. Anyone know what they are?

[vitodanelli]

Why no mention of the wall Israel has to keep people out? I suppose that would spoil the biased narrative.

[flyone]

A wall is stupid. Makes more sense to build a string of apartments, homeless shelters, small business store and office spaces. Just a 1500 mile long economy grower. Jobs, housing, and with people working and shopping and living right along the border, no one is gonna be sneaking in under our noses.

[topdogtrucker]

This problem will require a multi faceted solution, but a bigger better longer physical barrier is one piece of the puzzle. Address legal migration demand with more resources such as a sharp increase in funding immigration courts and judges to expedite pending cases and new workable solutions of compromised policies on the undocumented people already in the US, such as potential DACA amnesty for minors that were brought here illegally by adults if they have no serious or violent crimes and complete citizenship coursework and pass the test just as any other potential naturalized citizen would have to do or opt to serve the US in other ways such as military service or other program similar to Job Corp or Peace Corp possibly in a humanitarian capacity to assist Border Patrol in administrative work so Border Patrol can focus on enforcement. As for long term undocumented people that are willing to come forward and go though a streamlined process for those with no serious violent or drug crimes that would also require Course on citizenship and passing the test like any other naturalized citizen and in consideration of this fast track process and no criminal charge agree to 2% additional federal income tax for 5 years to be the only consequence. To complete the solution a get tough on anyone caught crossing at unauthorized crossings, requiring any and all true migrants or asylum seekers to cross at official border crossings. These exact proposed solutions may not be the perfect solution but it is the type resolution that it will take to secure our border to the south... from terrorist criminals illegal immigrants and drug traffickers... One other point any child that comes into the country illegally with no adult supervision (what would DFCS do to American parents that put their child in such a dangerous situation ???) should be be made a ward of the state and put up for adoption to parents that can protect them. just some thoughts on how a compromise on such a complex subject needs to be addressed... if there are better ways to address the concerns of both sides... put them on the table and discuss the issue !!!

[MrMsSihrus]

If I were trump I'd negotiate to amend the 14th in exchange for canceling the wall

[waynerembert]

The narrator is being disingenuous by suggesting it was ONLY CIVILIANS who built the Great Wall, when in reality most were soldiers and prisoners. Harsh treatment, yes but still very misleading.

[MikeTheMGTOWMonk]

1:28
The reason why walls weren't divisive until now is because liberals didn't exist when the other walls were conceived