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Project Prepare. The Making of America Stream I Immigrants Stream II Immigrants The Great Migration Stream III: Current Immigrants Undocumented/Illegal Immigrants Questions, comments, random thoughts…How are you doing?. Quiz.
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Project Prepare • The Making of America • Stream I Immigrants • Stream II Immigrants • The Great Migration • Stream III: Current Immigrants • Undocumented/Illegal Immigrants • Questions, comments, random thoughts…How are you doing?
Quiz • 1. You meet a guy at a party. He tells you that immigrants should not be allowed to come to America because their families never learn English. You have just done a sociology reading and know that: • A. He’s right. Most children of immigrants never speak English at home • B. He’s wrong since the vast majority (between 60% and 90%) of the kids of immigrants speak only English in the home. • C. He’s right since most immigrant children can not speak any language at home • D. He’s wrong, since a small number (between 10 and 25%) of the children of immigrants speak only English at home
Quiz • 2. You meet a woman at a party who says that the number of immigrants entering the US illegally just keeps growing and growing, reaching record levels in 2008. You have just finished reading the Thompson article and know: • She is wrong. Illegal immigration was down in 2008 • She’s right, illegal immigration reached record levels in 2008. • She’s wrong, since the flow of illegal immigration to the US has stopped. • All of the above.
A very diverse nation/// • Members of different racial and ethnic groups became Americans in different ways…
Conquest…Examples? Native Americans, HispanOS, Puerto Ricans, Native Hawaiians. Voluntary Migration …Examples? Early English, Irish, Poles, Mexicans, Kenyans… Push-factors discourage remaining in home nation Pull-factors that attract migrant to new nation Involuntary Migration …Examples? African Americans Becoming American…Many different ways…
The Making of America • Native Americans conquered and displaced by White Anglo Saxon Protestants (WASP) • In 1790 over 3/4 of white population had its origins in British Isles • The rest from Northern Europe • 99% Protestant
Populating the US • Stream I, 1820-1880 • Northern Europe immigrtants (Primarily Irish and German) • Asian immigrants (Chinese & Japanese) • Involuntary migrants…African slaves • Stream II, 1880-1925 • Massive Southern and Eastern Europe immigration (Italian, Jews, Poles, Russians, etc) • Small Latin American immigration • The Great Migration, 1915-1960 • Internal Migration of Blacks from South to North • Stream III, 1965-present • Massive Latin American and Asian immigration
Strongly Agree Somewhat Agree Somewhat Disagree Strongly Disagree Go the Poster that You Think Reflects Your Ideas About the Question Immigration is bad for American society Immigration
Immigration…Who Benefits and Who is threatened… • Who Benefits? • Immigrants…gain opportunity • Employers…gain labor or cheaper labor • Consumers…gain through lower prices • General Pro Immigrant groups…the American way to provide opportunity and hope to downtrodden • Who suffers or is threatened? • “Native” workers…more competition in labor market leading to displacement or lower wages • From Black dockworkers to Microsoft Engineers to Janitors • Native Residents who fear newcomers will “ruin” America
Conflict form the start…1751 • Immigration has always been controversial • “Why should the Palatine (German) boors be suffered to swarm into our settlements, and ,by herding together, establish their language and manners, to the exclusion of ours? Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a colony of aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to Germanize us, instead of our Anglifying them…” – Benjamin Franklin • Fears that new group will not assimilate • subordinate group members are transformed from outsiders into full members of a group or society
Story repeats itself…1851 • Immigration has always been controversial • “Why should the Irish and Chinese boors be suffered to swarm into our settlements, and ,by herding together, establish their language and manners, to the exclusion of ours? Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a colony of aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to Irishize/Chinisize us, instead of our Anglifying them…” • The Irish and Chinese were disliked not just because of fears they could not fit in…but because of something else too…Let’s turn to Zolberg…
Immigration • 1. According to the Zolberg article, immigration can be seen from an economic perspective. Seen from this perspective, what is immigration? What does it do to the price of labor?
The Chinese • Viewed as“Inferior” Race… “Yellow Peril” • “Were the Chinese to amalgamate at all with our people, it would be the lowest, most vile and degraded of our race, and the result of that amalgamation would be a hybrid of the most despicable , a mongrel of the most detestable that has ever afflicted the earth…” • California Legislator, 1870s • Undercut Wages of Native Workers • Mostly male immigrants who came to work, make money and go back…
Anti-Chinese Violence • Sweeps Across West.
“a mongrel mass of ignorance and crime and superstition, as utterly unfit for its duties, as they were for the common courtesies and decencies of civilized life.” Inferior peoples in the world: “a lower form in the great school of Providence- negroes, Indians, Mexicans, Irish and the like.” “The Irish were imaged as apelike and a ‘race of savages,’ at the same level of intelligence as blacks. Pursuing the ‘lower’ rather than the ‘higher’ pleasure, seeking ‘vicious excitement’ and ‘gratification merely animal’… The Irish are ruining the country…
Story Repeats Itself…1901 • Deciding how many immigrants to let into a nation has always been a controversial matter • “Why should the Italian boors be suffered to swarm into our settlements, and ,by herding together, establish their language and manners, to the exclusion of ours? Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a colony of aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to Italianize us, instead of our Anglifying them…” • Many Americans feared the Southern and Eastern Europeans would not become “good”Americans…note next slide
The immigrants are ruining the country • “The American nation was founded by and developed by the Nordic race, but if a few more million members of the Alpine, Mediterranean and Semitic races (Italians, Jews etc.) are poured among us, the result will inevitably be a hybrid race of people as worthless and futile as the good for nothing mongrels of Central America and southeastern Europe.” • Kenneth Roberts, prominent Journalist.”p. 92 Feagin • Criminality as “inherent in the Italian race”…“dangerous contemptible, inferior, and disloyal.” • Jews as cunning and devious • Said to account for ½ crime in NYC… • Poles as stupid… “How many Poles does it take…”
The immigrants are ruining the country…? • In cities like Milwaukee, Chicago & Minneapolis, the foreign born & their children made up more than ¾ of the population… take a second and think about that • A full 1/3 of country was foreign born, or had one parent who was… • Whole neighborhoods speaking different languages, foreign language papers, schools, radio… • Reaction leads to end of mass immigration from Europe
Long Hiatus from Immigration… • Immigration Declines Sharply
Great Migration and PA 1930: 70% of Pennsylvania’s Black Population was born somewhere else • 19% Virginia • 13% South Carolina • 11% Georgia
Jim Crow: Segregation Laws • Nurses: No person or corporation shall require any white female nurse to nurse in wards or rooms in hospitals, either public or private, in which negro men are placed. Alabama • Buses: All passenger stations in this state operated by any motor transportation company shall have separate waiting rooms or space and separate ticket windows for the white and colored races. Alabama • Pool and Billiard Rooms: It shall be unlawful for a negro and white person to play together or in company with each other at any game of pool or billiards. Alabama • Education: The schools for white children and the schools for negro children shall be conducted separately. Florida • Barbers: No colored barber shall serve as a barber [to] white women or girls. Georgia
Post 1965 Immigration • 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act • new that lead to a large increase in immigration • Focused on family reunification and skills • How does this work? It’s complicated. • In 2004 there were 675,000 visas available for people to become permanent residents • 480,000 are for the family members of American citizens and existing legal residents • 140,000 are based on employment • 70,000 were set aside for humanitarian reasons • 50,000 “diversity” visas available by lottery for people in countries that have sent fewer than 50,000 to US in last 5 years
Story Repeats…2001 • Deciding how many immigrants to let into a nation has always been a controversial matter • “Why should the Mexican boors be suffered to swarm into our settlements, and ,by herding together, establish their language and manners, to the exclusion of ours? Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a colony of aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to Mexicanize us, instead of our Anglifying them…” • Turn on the news…
Post 1965 Immigration • Immigration picks up significantly • Primarily Hispanic & Asian • Push: Economic dislocation…poverty • The Largest contiguous border between developing and developed world… • War, Revolution, Repression…Vietnamese, Cuban, Guatemala • Pull: economic opportunity…political freedom
Foreign Born at Record High…Kind of… • Foreign Born at Record High Number • 56 million foreign stock in 2000 • FB plus kids with 2 FB parents • But as percentage of population, still less than Stream 2 (1880-1920)
Present situation complicated by existence of different categories of Immigrants • In 2004 there were 35.7 million foreign born • Overwhelming majority are here legally (71%) • Majority are Legal residents or naturalized citizens
Immigration/Illegal immigration …Who Benefits and Who is threatened… • Who Benefits? • Immigrants…gain opportunity • Employers…gain labor or cheaper labor • Consumers…gain through lower prices • General Pro Immigrant groups…the American way to provide opportunity and hope to downtrodden • Who suffers or is threatened? • “Native” workers…more competition in labor market leading to displacement or lower wages • From Black dockworkers to Microsoft Engineers to Janitors • Native Residents who fear newcomers will “ruin” America
1.1 million apprehended in 2004 along the 1,951 mile border… Up 21% from 2003 But down last year…why? NYT 9/24/04 Illegal Immigration Had been Increasing..
1.1 million apprehended in 2004 along the 1,951 mile border… Up 21% from 2003 But down last year…why? Fewer job opportunities Increased enforcement at borders and workplaces NYT 9/24/04 Illegal Immigration Had been Increasing..
Outline 1. Assimilation a. Cultural Assimilation vs. Cultural Pluralism b. Symbolic Ethnicity 2. Three Generation Model 3. New Immigrants and the Model • No Review questions for next week..but there will be a short quiz (4-5 questions) based on the readings on Tuesday • Review Questions…Make sure you know answers…even if you got them wrong
Voluntary Migration, Involuntary Migration & Conquest Brings People into Contact… • And when people come into contact with a new society, questions of Assimilation emerge…anyone know what this term means? • Assimilation…?
Migration & Conquest Brings People into Contact… • Assimilation…? • Newcomers to a society are transformed from outsiders into full members of a group or society • There are different types of assimilation…we’ll focus on Cultural Assimilation today… • Any guesses?
Types of Assimilation Cultural assimilation –members of a group gradually relinquish their own culture and at the same time, acquire that of the dominant group (McLemore, p.22) • Give up the language, dress, songs, food, religion • Group A + Group B = Group A
From the start…there was Reaction against calls for Cultural Assimilation • Cultural Pluralism • members of every American ethnic group should be free to participate in all of society’s major institutions while simultaneously retaining or elaborating their own ethnic heritage and social institutions • Addition of dominant culture to traditional culture • Group A + Group B= Group A + Group B • Hyphenated Americans…Italian-American, Irish American, Nigerian American, African American • Sometimes high degree of cultural pluralism: Native Americans
Reaction to Cultural Assimilation • Cultural Pluralism • members of every American ethnic group should be free to participate in all of society’s major institutions while simultaneously retaining or elaborating their own ethnic heritage and social institutions (D) • Sometimes groups hold onto initial idenity…but in a causal way • Symbolic ethnicity: • Original ethnic heritage is retained, but only becomes important on certain holidays or during certain rituals: • Irish on St. Patrick's day; Italian on Christmas; Chinese at wedding
Questions Abound? • The Brady’s vs. “My Big Fat Greek Family” • Observe the two clips and the families in them… • What symbols do you see in the two clips (dress, music, décor, etc) that signal the family is of a particular group? • Please identify each family as either: culturally assimilated, culturally pluralist or symbolically ethnic. Explain your choice. • Which Family is an ` American family? Why?
Which Family is a “real” American family? • Answer is something people debate • Some argue that families like the Greek family are a problem and need to give up their cultures to be true Americans • Advocate cultural assimilation • Others argue that the Greek family is what America about • Advocate cultural pluralism • America as a quilt or mosaic of different groups
Level of Assimilation Varies Among Groups… • In particular, racial minorities have not always assimilated in the same fashion as European ethnic groups…Why? • Voluntary vs. involuntary entrance • Voluntary usually spurs new groups to assimilate • Involuntary or conquest • New group may be reluctant to assimilate…Native Americans, Hawaiians • Dominant group may not want new group to assimilate • Until 1964 Blacks were explicitly told they were not welcome to assimilate • Intermarriage was illegal; Often blockes form living, working or going to school with white • Similarity to Dominant Group (cultural and physical) • Easier for a Polish immigrant to “blend” than an African American • Stosh to Joe, change clothes, who can tell…
Assimilation? • Pick a partner… • Find out how their ancestors became Americans (i.e. conquest, voluntary, involuntary) • How many generations ago? 1, 2, 3, more? • Find out if they identify primarily as American, or as Itialian-Americans, Nigerian American, African American, Mexican American, etc. • Which of the following best describes their family & why: • They are fully culturally assimilated • They are best described as Culturally pluralist • They are best described as Symbolically Ethnic
