American history is plagued by three differently focal schools of thought: Progressive, Neoconservative (consensus), and New Left. Because each represents a different time in history, the historical data is interpreted differently. Such is the case for immigration during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Due to the time in which these schools of thought came to be, ideas are carried off from one decade to another. The New Left is possibly the most influential school of thought in that it acknowledges everything stated in the latter two, while it also brings up new concepts.
Predominantly in the period of 1910- 1945, Progressive historians were basically influenced by the Progressive movement. Ideals of these historians, obviously, have to deal with the fact that progress was inevitable and the United States was well on its way with progress. During the Progressive movement (1900s to about 1920s) there existed a nativist feeling amongst native-born U.S. citizens. Consequently, there were historians during the era that inherited such feelings. For instance, in Immigrants and Their Children, Niles Carpenter expresses such ideas. He clearly states that "Americanization is a matter of social and political, as well as biological assimilation" (Carpenter 250). In other words, race was something that was taken seriously by politicians and sociologists of the time. Also, it implies that scientists were concerned with the interracial marriages for it would basically contaminate what was American.
In Immigrants and Their Children, Niles talks of "Americanizing" these foreigners. In doing so, he goes on to explain that they could be divided into two groups: "old" immigrants and "new" immigrants. The idea of "old" immigrants having a better chance of being Americanized is understandable. The longer that they have been here the more adapted they are to the way of life. On the other hand, "new" immigrants have a harder time because they come to America with a certain vision in mind; simply put, they come with the idea that the United States is the "land of Opportunity", where there is a better chance of improving ones economic and social conditions. This ties into another one of his statements in that immigration takes much of its importance from its relation to the economic development of the United States (Carpenter 296). Because he explores the fact that immigration is a result of the economic well being of the United States, he introduces the concept that there will obviously be social conflict between the immigrants.
The argument of Ronald Takaki’s A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America is that America has always been shaped by its multiculturalism and that it is much more important to know about the history of minorities and how they also shaped America instead of just hearing about this prevailing master narrative of American history which he states is “this powerful and popular but inaccurate story, our country was settled by European immigrants, and Americans are white.” (Takaki, 5). Takaki makes this argument early on in the book by first stating
The “new” immigrants came over hungry for work and were willing to work for a fraction of what the “old” immigrants would. The “new” immigrants came in unskilled and unaccustomed to American society, took the “old” immigrants jobs and shook up their neighborhoods; this created much tension between the two groups. Riis like others, hated some ethnic groups more than others, and in How the Other Half Lives establishes a general hierarchy placing the “old” immigrants on the top, groups such as Germans, Irish and the English. In the middle Riis ranks the Italians, Jews, and blacks. On the bottom of the ladder Riis places the Chinese.
Perhaps, the “Melting Pot” myth gained strength during the Industrial Revolution. With millions of immigrants entering the United States, culture was changing within the United States. Americans set a high standard for there society and everyone wanted to be accepted. There was a social requirement to live in a civil society creating together the “American Dream,” which leads to prosperity. Many immigrants moving to the United States brought with them various traditions of their culture and after moving, they repressed such beliefs and forged ahead with a new way of “American Thinking.” The rituals and traditions of such societies should have brought diversity to this nation’s culture however, these ways would soon become a part of the past. The “Melting Pot” myth heavily influences American society and people believe that everyone no matter what skin color or religious belief is created equal. This belief of the American Way of life is idyllic to say the least. Unfortunately, this myth has been thwarted due to a high level of racial supremacy within the nations past and even present. There are two particular events in national history, which will forever hinder equality: slavery of African Americans and Japanese internment camps during World War II in America. These substantial events shape our society and are only the tip of the iceberg when it
It is true that the more people from different cultures that are in a given area, the more the cultures are diversified. However, with all realities, some claim that immigrants dilute the American culture. Indeed, they cause some changes to the culture. Nevertheless, these changes can bring a wealth of attraction and a source of beauty for the country that everyone should be proud of. It is obvious that every single immigrant in the US has his own culture and way of life. When all these are added together, they form a very rich culture. In addition, they bring various interesting aspects such as food, music, literature, etc. That makes the Americans rich in cultural knowledge. The importance of cultural diversity is that it teaches the people to understand each other’s views, interests, and ideas and helps people view the world in different ways. This would finally lead the society to work towards each other’s interest, mutual goals, and objectives. Tamar Jacoby in his article “Are Today’s Immigrants Assimilating in U.S Society, Yes,” he said that, “Those who are coming now are people who understand cultural fluidity, understand intermarriage and find that a natural, easy thing. This maintains unity and balances in the society” (411). Once this stage is reached, all the problems would be solved. Then it can be said that America has reached a true democracy, echoed by
...by Charles W. Mills, the author attempts to provide an explanation for the way that race plays a role in our society, and how it has reached this particular point. Not only does Mills’ work provide some explanation in regards to this matter, but other notable texts and documents connect to his ideas as well, such as Michael Omi and Howard Winant’s, “Racial Formation in the United States,” and the remarks made by Abraham Lincoln in “The Lincoln-Douglas Debates.”
There is no denying that immigration will always be a factor in the development of the United States. Whether it is due to religious beliefs, economic problems or even war in their native country, emigrants will always come to America with hopes of starting a new life in the “Land of the Free”. Fortunately, the people who do choose to legally migrate to America are generally motivated for success and well-educated. Even the immigrants who are not well educated are motivated to succeed, work hard and take jobs in areas where labor forces are low or jobs that a native-born American may not even consider, effectively making them a contributing member of society.
Immigration can be defined as passing foreigners to a country and making it their permanent residence. Reasons ranging from politics, economy, natural disasters, wish to change ones surroundings and poverty are in the list of the major causes of immigration in both history and today. In untied states, immigration comes with complexities in its demographic nature. A lot of cultural and population growth changes have been witnessed as a result of immigration. In the following paper, I will focus on how immigration helps United States as compared to the mostly held view that it hurts America.
Perea, Juan. Immigrants Out! The New Nativism and the Anti-Immigrant Impulse in the United States. New York or London: New York University Press, 1997. Print.
"The main controversy lies in the passing of a plethera of laws throughout the existence of the US regulating immigration and in the handling of illegal immigration. Modern immigration polocies have recieved less and less publicity as tolerance becomes more widespread, although each person is entitled to their own opinion about the issue" (Conover 342).
Immigration has always been a contentious issue in the United States. Benjamin Franklin thought that the influx in German immigration would flush out the predominately British culture in America at the time. (5) Furthermore, a continual wave of foreign cultures began pouring into the American metropolitan areas at the turn of the 20th century. The migration of Italians, Poles, and Jews across the Atlantic Ocean began a mass assimilation of cultural ideology and customs into the United States, yet many people thought that these migrants could not adapt. Today, the American society has become a melting pot of foreign influence; however, many cynics remain skeptical about the incorporation of Latin American people and their influences. Accordingly, these same critics are just as naïve as their previous counterparts, who refused to accept the many gifts and contributions these immigrants have to offer. We must ask ourselves: How long will it take to peacefully incorporate Spanish immigrants into American society? America was built on the movement of these cultures, and the current population of this country must set aside its non-democratic premonitions, and embrace the historical and positive aspect of Latin American immigration.
Historical Background: Colonial America and The United States that followed were created by repeated waves of immigration. Those immigrants came from every part of the globe, but particularly from England, France, Germany, and Western Europe. The descendants of this first wave of immigrants would view later immigrants from Italy, Poland, and Russia with a great deal of suspicion and uncertainty. This is not surprising as our country’s uncertainty about immigrants is reflected in our policies. For instance, there were no numerical restrictions or central regulation on immigration until one hundred years after our nation’s founding. When they were finally introduced they were created with bias against would be immigrants from certain countries. Among the first on that list were Chinese laborers followed by immigrants from the Asian Pacific (Ewing, 2012). These restrictions were first adopted in 1921, and were in favor of European immigrants. They would later be followed by national quotas that placed restrictions on immigrants based on existing proportions of the population. A shortage in laborers brought on by World War II would result in lifting those restrictions. This eventually led to a growth in immigration and a change in the origin of those arriving from Europe to Latin America and Asia. As the number immigrants from these countries began to grow, so did the concern about the number of them who were illegal (Ewing, 2012). Resulting policies issued to address those concerns would arguably lead to a resurgence of the problem that they were intended to correct.
The arrival of immigrants to the United States is often associated with fear. Immigrants are vulnerable to attacks if they are cast as threats to the way of American life. A deeper look into immigration policies reveals that immigrant restrictions are seated in racialized notions. Immigrants before the founding of the nation came for the opportunities of a better life. The immigrants who would continue to come thereafter came for much the same reasons. But government policies demonstrate repeated attempts to block the immigration of undesirable immigrant communities.
Although today’s America in many ways has changed into a new society. Immigrants desire to move to America because they have freedom of religion, a chance to rise from poverty, and a new beginning. According to Michel-Guillaume Jean de Crevecoeur in from Letters from an American Farmer, ‘’ A country that had no bread for him, whose fields produced him no harvest, who met with nothing but the frowns of the rich, the severity of the laws, with jails and punishments; who owned not a single foot of the extensive surface of this planet? No! Urged by a variety of motives, here they came (148). Immigrants have a need to move to America to have a better future. As immigrants look on America they see that it’s a way out of getting a new life.
Immigrants have always been an important part of United States’ population. Each year, there are hundreds of thousands of immigrants, from all around the world, including legal and illegal, come into the United States for job opportunities, new life, or the American Dream. “Immigrants have contributed significantly to the development of the United States. During the Lincoln administration, immigrants were actually encouraged to come to America, as they were considered valuable to the development of the country.” (Soylu & Buchanan, 2013). They believe that the US will give them more freedom, protection, and opportunities, which sometimes it becomes the major issues for immigrants. That’s why “the U.S. population is becoming more racially and
The immigration influx during the late 1890 into the early 1900s was a key characteristic of the Progressive Era. Although this country may have experienced rises and falls in immigration rates over the century, the goal of immigrants remains the same. Regardless of their agreement or disagreement with Roosevelt’s views on Americanism, the United States is a symbol of hope, possibility, justice, and freedom, to both native-born Americans and immigrants alike; and we all stand united on that front. That is true Americanism.