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Compare and Contrast Essay In class we had to read two stories, Quilt of a Country and The Immigrant Contribution. Both of these stories were similar but also very different. I will be telling about the similarities and differences in these two stories. In both of these stories they talked about the contributions that immigrants made to America. “Nearly all shared two great hopes: personal freedom and hope for economic opportunity.” Kennedy said. Kennedy also states, “Every aspect of the American economy has profited from the contributions of immigrants.” Both people agree that every ethnic minority helped strengthened the fabric of liberty in American life. In both stories American’s found ways to bridge
their differences and live together. Some of the main differences in the story are, how the authors how the portrayed the immigrants. Kennedy wrote of early immigrants who came mainly from Europe. They set up the foundation for our government. His essay deals with the economic and cultural growth that the immigrants were responsible for. He referred to the United States as a “melting pot”. Anna Quinden wrote of the more recent immigrants which included people from the Middle East and Asia. Her essay was more about the intolerance, unrest among the different groups, and the conflicts between the races. She calls the United States “a mongrel nation” that in times of crisis, shows one spirit. Would the United States be the country it is today without immigrants? Both writers agree that the United States is what it is because of the people who came here and worked together regardless of their race or religion. They may not agree on all things all the time, but “the U.S. is a unique country that stands for something special in the world.”
America is a land filled with immigrants coming from different corners of the worlds, all in hopes of finding a better life in the country. However, No one had an easy transition from his or her home country to this foreign land. Not every race thrived the same way—some were luckier than others, while some have faced enormous obstacles in settling down and being part of the American society. Many people have suffered
In Thomas King's short story "Borders," a Blackfoot mother struggles with maintaining her cultural heritage under the pressure of two dominating nations. Storytelling is important, both for the mother and for the dominant White society. Stories are used to maintain and pass on cultural information and customs from one generation to another. Furthermore, stories can be used both positively and negatively. They can trap individuals into certain ways of thinking, but they can also act as catalysts that drive social change within society.
Immigration has existed around the world for centuries, decades, and included hundreds of cultures. Tired of poverty, a lack of opportunities, unequal treatment, political corruption, and lacking any choice, many decided to emigrate from their country of birth to seek new opportunities and a new and better life in another country, to settle a future for their families, to work hard and earn a place in life. As the nation of the opportunities, land of the dreams, and because of its foundation of a better, more equal world for all, the United States of America has been a point of hope for many of those people. A lot of nationals around the world have ended their research for a place to call home in the United States of America. By analyzing primary sources and the secondary sources to back up the information, one could find out about what Chinese, Italians, Swedish, and Vietnamese immigrants have experienced in the United States in different time periods from 1865 to 1990.
In this semester we read many essay but many of them had something in common. Every essay might have something like, yet there 's always something each essay make them so unique. In the 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology book has two essays that how felt a discriminated living in the United States for the color of their skin. Yet even though the two essay might seem alike, both essays go problems were treated different. In the essay "The Myth of a Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria" by Judith Ortiz Cofer she talks about how she felt being a Puerto Rican living in a country of judgment for being a Latina. In the second essay "How It Feels to Be Colored Me" by Zora Neale Hurston , she talks about how being a black female living in the
in Quilt of a Country or the use of, “you” in Making the Future Better Together. The biggest and most astounding part of both pieces is that they talk about change. Eboo Patel tells you about the change and Anna Quindlen writes about how the United States is changing. These pieces go hand in hand with each other because change is the point they both try to put across. Diversity is also in both pieces.
After reading The Book of the Unknown Americans, I realized how difficult immigrating to the United States can be. I am an immigrant also, so just reading the story makes me relate to many problems immigrants experience relocating to a different country. Immigrants often face many issues and difficulties, but for some it is all worth it, but for others there comes a point in time where they have to go back to their hometown. Alma and Arturo Rivera came to the United States to better their life, but also so that Maribel could attend a special education school. While Arturo had a job things had gone well for the family, but once Arturo lost the job and passed away the two of them had to go back because they felt that that was the best option for them. Reading this book made me realize how strong an individual has to be to leave their own country and relocate somewhere else not knowing if this will better your life or cause one to suffer.
The United States of America has the largest foreign-born population in the world. With nearly thirteen percent of the total population being foreign-born, one may find it hard to imagine an immigrant-free country (U.S. Bureau of the Census). Immigration has been an integral part of the United States’ overall success and the country’s economy since it was established and without it, would have never been founded at all. Although there are some negative issues associated with immigration and many native-born Americans believe to be more of a problem than a solution, overall it actually has a positive effect. Immigrants in America, among other things, fill jobs where native-born Americans may not want to work or cannot work, they contribute to Social Services and Medicaid through taxes and they help provide the backbone of America, especially by working jobs that natives may have not even considered.
Immigrants traveled hundreds of miles from their homes, only with what possessions they could carry, in order to obtain the rights and chase the promise that America had to offer. Mary Antin illustrates in The Promised Land how if given the chance, immigrants will represent the promises and virtues of American society. Antin shows that public education, freedom from religious persecution, and freedom of expression as a citizen are aspects of life Americans may take for granted but immigrants certainly do not.
Raya’s essay is an informative account of life for a multicultural American, because it is told from an actual multicultural author’s viewpoint. It gives the reader a sense that the information is accurate. It would be harder to accept the viewpoint if the author were for example, a white male writing about how a Mexican, Puerto Rican woman feels. As Connie Young Yu points out, information retold by someone who didn’t live the experiences is most often falsely perceived. Yu uses the example of white American historians writing about the lives of Chinese immigrants. Yu says that there is no accurate account for the lives of the immigrants, because they didn’t document their lives themselves. The little information that there is in history books only tells about their obvious accomplishments. There is no official understanding of their personal lives or feelings (Yu 30).
Immigration has always been a major part of America. In fact, without immigration the creation of America would not have been possible. The majority of immigrants came to America for religious freedom and economic opportunities. However, for the most part before the 1870’s most immigrants were Protestants from northern and western Europe. These immigrants often migrated to the United States as families and usually lived on farms with family or friends who had already migrated beforehand. A lot of immigrants came to America with a plan or goal in mind. They often had saved up money for the long immigration overseas, were skilled in a certain trade, or had already been educated at a high level. Sadly, this would not last. Immigration became so prominent in America between 1870 and 1900 that the foreign-born population of the United States had almost doubled. A lot of German and Irish Catholics had immigrated in the 1840’s and 1850’s, and more decided to immigrate after the Civil War. A portion of Americans were biased against Catholics. Thankfully, the Irish spoke English and the German Catholics reputation was improved because of their Protestant countrymen’s good reputation. However, their children often lacked any skill or education, but they were able to blend in quite well with the American society. More and more immigrants would migrate to the United States without any skill or education and on top of that they were usually poor. These immigrants were called “new” immigrants and they came from all over the world including Italy, Greece, Poland, Hungary, and Russia. However, you cannot blame immigrants for migrating to America. Many immigrants faced religious persecution in their home countries which pushed them away, otherwi...
The United States cannot afford to lose the economic gains that come from immigrant labor. The economy would be suffering a greater loss if it weren’t for immigrants and their labor contributions, especially during the 2008 U.S. recession. The U.S. economy would most likely worsen if it weren’t for the strong labor force immigrants have provided this country. Despite the mostly negative views native-born Americans have towards immigrants and the economy, their strong representation in the labor forces continues today. Immigrants aren’t taking “American” jobs, they are taking the jobs that Americans don’t want (Delener & Ventilato, 2008). Immigrants contribute to various aspects of the economy, including brining valuable skills to their jobs, contributing to the cost of living through taxes, and the lacked use of welfare, healthcare, and social security when compared to native-born Americans, showing that the United States cannot afford to lose the contribution immigrants bring into the economy.
"Immigrants and the American Dream." Society 33.n1 (Nov-Dec 1995):3(3). Expanded Academic ASAP. Thomson Gale University. 26 Sep. 2006.
When many think of the times of immigration, they tend to recall the Irish Immigration and with it comes the potato famine of the 1840s' however, they forget that immigrants from the Emerald Isle also poured into America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The assimilation and immigration of the Irish has been difficult for each group that has passed through the gates of Ellis Island or South Boston. Like every group that came to America, the Irish were looked down upon; yet, in the face of discrimination, political, social and economic oppression, the Irish have been a testament to the American Dream as their influence in the political and business world increases with each generation. The tradition and family upbringings of the Irish culture has served as the bridge to allow the "great race" to both prosper and persevere through the hardest of times. Although Irish immigrants were mixed into and not originally part of American culture, they enriched their new country with their cultural contributions, active participation in politics, and their wealth of influential individuals.
Millions of new immigrants came to the United States during the last three decades of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century. In contrast to the earlier American settlers who were mostly from British, Irish or German backgrounds, the new immigrants came from the nations of southern and western Europe such as Italy, Russia, Poland and Greece. Most of these immigrants were attracted to America because they were trying to escape from the problems they faced in their home countries. For example, many Russian Jews came to America in order to escape violent persecution on the part of the Russian government (Cox 32). These new immigrants were attracted to the freedoms offered by
In conclusion, migration is part of everyone’s life, had it not been for immigrants, and migrations of our ancestors the United States would not be known as country with a variation of different nationalities, and ethnicities. Without my Great Grand Father’s migration to America my family would not be where it is today and I most likely would not have all of the opportunities that I currently have when it comes to school and religious freedoms. I am very indebted to my ancestors for migrating and permitting my family to live the life that we have in America.