The promise of America is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That promise, unless one was a white male, was often not fully available or available for many people. By 1900 there were still many things in the way of people having full access to the promise of America with problems related to suffrage, racial divisions and prejudice, the ignorance of poverty, and non-European immigrant bias. In 1900, there were still many problems related to suffrage rights. When America gained independence, it was stated that citizens could vote, but the citizens of america took that to mean that the white males of the country could vote. By 1900, it had been passed into the constitution that both white men and black men could vote, but it took a …show more content…
war, and an actual addition to the constitution, the 15th amendment, to bring that right to African American men. However, at this point of time Native American men and women of any race could not vote in America. Many women, including Susan B. Anthony, felt that it was very unfair that they could not legally vote in the elections. In Susan B. Anthony’s speech, “On Women’s Right to Vote”, she was using a persuasive tone and specific word choice to bring about the idea that women deserve the right to vote because “It [the preamble] was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union… not to the half of ourselves and the half of our posterity, but to the whole people-women as well as men”. Anthony felt that there is no reason that women were not able to vote because “women are citizens” and there is no legal way to stop women from voting. Native Americans on the other hand, were not typically thought of in the war for suffrage rights because not only were they not thought of as equal to the Whites in America, they were also not at this time, 1900, legal American citizens. The problems related to suffrage rights that were still occuring in 1900 is one of the most prominent reasons why at this point of time that the ‘American dream’ was not fulfilled. A second contributing factor to why the American dream was not fulfilled by 1900 was the racial divisions and prejudice that was commonplace at this time. While African Americans were now legal citizens, could vote, and could get jobs, there was still constance discrimination towards them. There were many laws passed that forced blacks and whites to be separated, called Jim Crow laws. In fact, “by 1915, all Southern states had some form of Jim Crow laws.” (encyclopedia.com) This made it even easier to treat African Americans differently/ as less than their white counterparts. These laws made it much harder for African Americans to get their fill of the American dream. And while at this point of time in the history of america the African American people had a hard time getting the American dream, the Native Americans were also having a very hard time. In 1900, Native Americans were not even legally citizens of America, so not only could they not vote, they also were not legally required to be given the same access to freedoms as citizens were. Meaning that they were not automatically given many of the resources needed to achieve the American dream. People also could easily treat them much worse than other people because they were not citizens. Unsurprisingly, that is exactly what many people did with no concern of any repercussions. In fact, before 1924 when Natives were granted citizenship, there were “laws and policies of the United States government, some tracing to the pre-Revolutionary colonial period, [that] denied basic human rights—particularly in the areas of cultural expression and travel—to indigenous people” (americanindiantah.com). An additional hurdle that was in the way of allowing the American dream to be fulfilled for people in the United States by 1900 was the bias that Natives held towards non-European immigrants.
As the amount of non-European immigrants entering the US increased, there was a dramatic increase of people who became very opposed to them entering. Americans believed that these new non-European immigrants were bringing in their own cultures and that those customs were going to negatively affect America. Natives also realized that the new immigrants that were coming to america were willing to do more unpleasant jobs for less than the Americans, thus putting the immigrants on higher demand for jobs. Hense, americans began to limit the freedoms that immigrants had; which businesses to go in, where they had job placements, where they lived. And while americans did not actually limit where the immigrants could live, they acted so coldly and limited their monetary income so much that the immigrants had no choice but to get unpleasant housing, and even if they could afford better housing in better places, the immigrants felt so segregated that they felt they had to find others from their country/region in hopes to feel some sense of belonging. These factors prevented many immigrants from non-European countries from having the ability to really further their …show more content…
lives. A final main situation that prevented american people from reaching their American dream is poverty.
Poverty was a very prominent thing in America when the industrial age hit and the idea of social darwinism was not thought of as wrong. The rich believed that if someone was poor, it was because they deserved it, and to help those poor people would disrupt the economy. This idea caused many problems not just because it gave the rich the ability to not help the poor and not face any consequences, but it also was an idea that started to become the norm to many people. Also at this point of time, no one really felt that it was necessary to check on the lives of the poor people, because they assumed that if the rich are having contentful lives, then the poor must too. When people did take a moment to look into the lives of the poor, it was quickly figured out why many of them were never able to follow the american dream or get out of the situation they were in. Jacob Riis made a very clear statement about the difficulties that poor people would have to overcome for any hope of furthering their lives with his article “How the Other Half Lives”. The article states “the hall is dark and you might stumble over the children pitching pennies back there. Not that it would hurt them; kicks and cuffs are their daily diet. They have little else”. The article is trying to bring to light that the ‘other half’ of people, including many immigrants, was full of constant battles for them to
face. Many of the ‘other half’ were desperate for jobs, thus willing to work more for less money which made any hope they had for leaving the lower class much harder, which put them in a situation where they had no choice but to not pursue the American dream. They simply didn’t have the opportunities to pursuit for their happiness. In 1900, America for some, was a place of happiness and joy. A place where they could have life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. America for those people, was the place that people in other, less pleasant countries, dreamed of. The reality of america at that time though, was typically one much more unpleasant. A large amount of citizens, immigrants, and people not yet classified as citizens, were forced to see the much more pessimistic side of the country. They were forced to endure racism, prejudice, bias, and the simple ignorance that allowed many of these problems to continue for as long as they did. Because of these examples, overall in 1900, had not fulfilled the promise that is stated in the American dream.
The right to vote in the United States of America had always been a very important part of its society. The 1800s had brought about a different way of voting in the United States for white American men. The qualifications were
During the 1900’s, it was common for people to immigrate to America. They saw it as a land of freedom and opportunity. Some thought that this was a great way for the US’ economy to boom, but some thought otherwise. With the shortage of jobs, many believed that the immigrants were stealing their precious jobs. Because of the competition over jobs, immigrants became the new public enemy to many.
In the years from 1860 through 1890, the prospect of a better life attracted nearly ten million immigrants who settled in cities around the United States. The growing number of industries produced demands for thousands of new workers and immigrants were seeking more economic opportunities. Most immigrants settled near each other’s own nationality and/or original village when in America.
White males over the age of 21 were the first to be able to participate in American democracy. Besides some taxpaying or property owning laws, the majority of all working class white males were eligible to vote by 1850. During this time, the nation was on the brink of a civil war. One of the underlying issues of the Civil War was slavery. Blacks were beginning to cry for equality, and their right to vote was not far off. The 15th amendment was quick to follow the Civil War, making it illegal to deny the right to vote to anyone on account of their race. Blacks did not actually gain the right to vote in all states until The Voting Rights Act in the 1960s.
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many American nativist groups opposed free unrestricted immigration. Although racism is a main reason, there were many others. Economic, political, social and moral standards seemed to be threatened by these newcomers. The immigrants were unfamiliar of the language and customs that we take for granted in our everyday lives. The fear that gripped the nation was why people reacted so strongly against immigrants. The people feared change might distort the course of our prospering country. We did not want to become what those immigrants were fleeing.
In the eyes of the early American colonists and the founders of the Constitution, the United States was to represent the ideals of acceptance and tolerance to those of all walks of life. When the immigration rush began in the mid-1800's, America proved to be everything but that. The millions of immigrants would soon realize the meaning of hardship and rejection as newcomers, as they attempted to assimilate into American culture. For countless immigrants, the struggle to arrive in America was rivaled only by the struggle to gain acceptance among the existing American population.
During the 1900’s through 1950’s the United States experienced an influx of immigrants coming in from Mexico seeking employment opportunities, as many of them wanted to avoid the Mexican Revolution occurring from 1910 to 1920. Methods for arriving in the United States varied for each individual’s preference of the destination, but the means of transportation had been constant throughout. These methods of transportation consisted of contractors seeking unskilled workers willing to partake in hard labor in steel, railroad, or agriculture companies. Contractors traveled to towns close to Mexico’s boarder such as Laredo or El Paso seeking Mexicans citizens for labors. In some instances, immigrants traveled on their own will based on the advice
For centuries, migrating has been a life changing decision for people that choose to enter the United States in search of a better future. Therefore, immigration is the permanent residency of people that choose to move to a new country. There are debates concerning the immigrants who enter the United Stated illegally and as the daughter of immigrant parents, I am fortunate to be born in this country.
All of these are important reasons that contributed to the immigrants in the New World in becoming Americans. However, answer D: common faith in democracy and freedom, is crucial. Answer A is true in the effects that they wouldn’t have been here without the physical separation, but that has nothing to do with them being Americans versus translated, or as I like to think of it, displaced Europeans. Answer B is an imperative part as well. But considering that the phrase “wall of separation between church and state,” as written by Thomas Jefferson in a letter, would be coined in 1802, the shared religious devotion would not remain the same. Yes, they believed in God, but that’s not what made them Americans, considering they would soon allow all
Many foreigners believed the United States of America was full of riches in the late 19th and early 20th century. Many of these people were struggling financially in their countries, thus, they decided to immigrate to the United States of America. They are the new immigrants, most emigrated from Southern and Eastern Europe. On the contrary, old immigrants are people who come from Northern and Western Europe, many of these people are already settled and have large businesses. They are the old immigrants because most of them are descendants from those who colonized America. Many of the old immigrants had nativist views upon new incoming immigrants. Therefore, America was not the land of opportunity for immigrants in the late 19th century and early 20th century.
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
Immigration has been a topic that has caused multiple discussions on why people migrate from one country to another, also how it affects both the migraters and the lands they go. Immigration is the movement from one location to another to live there permanently. This topic has been usually been associated with sociology to better explain how it affects people, cultures and societies. Sociology has three forms of thinking that are used to describe and analyze this topic. There are three forms of thinking that are used to tell and describe immigration to society; structural functionalist, symbolic interactionist, and conflict theory. Each of these theories uses different forms of thinking and rationality to describe and explain socio topics.
Today, in most cases, people don’t spend very much time thinking about why the society we live in presently, is the way it is. Most people would actually be surprised about all that has happened throughout America’s history. Many factors have influenced America and it’s society today, but one of the most profound ways was the way the “Old Immigrants” and “New Immigrants” came to America in the early to mid 1800s. The “Old Immigrants were categorized as the ones who came before 1860 and the “New Immigrants” being the ones who came between 1865 and 1920. The immigrants came to the United States, not only seeking freedom, but also education. Many immigrants also wanted to practice their religion without hindrance. What happened after the immigrants
When there is a debate about the economy, it will affect the culture of the everyday lives of indigenous people. In an article in the last few days "Asian couple assaulted for speaking Mandarin in Tempe on light rail, Kalie Rutledge Arrested" by Joe Anea. This is a clear demonstration shows us, the cultural differences between countries led violence. Many people cannot speak the local language while talking can be beaten and discriminated. The annual number of immigrants is increasing most, so the multi-language in the same country is very normal. I have had experience in the multicultural issues. I took the class last season CMST150, this is realistic a useful class. Teachers have foxrmed the idea to help students recognize the diversity of
A child reunites with his or her mother for the first time in forever, put yourself in their shoes and imagine what it would be like. How would you feel? Immigration has been an important and frequently debated topic in the U.S. because of many people migrate here legally and illegally and the effects it has in the country, but first what is immigration? According to the Oxford dictionary, Immigration is the action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country. In the last few years, a lot has changed with the Immigration policy in the United States. According to American Immigration Council (AIC), the body of law governing current immigration policy, provides for an annual worldwide limit of 675,000 permanent immigrants, with certain exceptions for close family members (AIC, 2014). Everyone has different opinions about the change, but I am more interested in the reason behind why people migrate to United