AMCIV 2 2009IMMIGRATION PATTERNS AND ETHNIC COMPOSITION
VARIOUS WAYS TO DESCRIBE AMERICA A nation of nations Society of Immigrants A nation of people with a fresh memory
of old traditions, who dare to explore new frontiers
”America is a mistake, a giant mistake” (Freud)
CIVILIZATION vs. WILDERNESS
METAPHORS DESCRIBING AMERICAN CULTURE Melting pot: loss of original culture WASP Salad bowl: ethnic enclaves live side by
side Symphony: : polivocality Rainbow: : Many colors Kaleidoscope
THE STORY OF AMERICANS
A story of immigration and diversity Celebration of diversity and cultural
heritage
NATIVE AMERICANS
Arrived 28,000 B.C At the time of Columbian landfall: 1,5
million At first relatively friendly relations, Pocahontas, helps John Smith, 1608,
First Thanksgiving 1621 Worsening of relations: encroachment on
territory, religious expansionism, undermining Indian culture
NATIVE AMERICANS
Jamestown Massacre, 1622 Openchancanaugh
1676: Nathaniel Bacon’s Rebellion Indian is the archetypical enemy Declaration of Independence ”Merciless
savages” 1838: Trail of Tears 1876: Battle of Little Big Horn Custer’s Last
Stand 1890: Wounded Knee massacre, Indian:
vanishing American
NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE Place names: Massachussetts, Michigan,
Mississippi, Idaho Corn, tomato, potato, tobacco Canoes, snowshoes, moccassins Guerilla warfare, fighting tactics,
skirmishes
THE GOLDEN DOOR
First great wave of immigration between 1840-1860: Old Immigration, Irish, Germans,
New Immigration: Non-WASP, Eastern, Central Europe, 1880-1924
Symbolic processing point: Ellis Island Statue of Liberty: „give me your tired, your
poor, huddled masses yearning to breath free”
Reaction: nativism, 1924: Johnson-Reed Immigration Bill rejection of immigrants
FOUNDATIONS OF CULTURE
Bible: City upon a hill—John Winthrop’s speech (1630) mission concept,
Roman heritage: latin expressions E pluribus unum One out of many Novus ordo seclorum: New order for the
world English background, but Thomas Paine:
Europe, and not England is the parent country of America
Virtuous Republic
UNWILLING IMMIGRANTS
1619: First Africans arrive 1619-1808 Importation of slaves 1865: Elimination of slavery 1896-1954: Segregation: legally
justified separation of the races Plessy v. Ferguson 1896: separate but
equal Brown v. Board of Education 1954
separate but equal has no place
CIVIL RIGHTS
1955: Montgomery Bus Boycott 1963: Martin Luther King I have a Dream 1964: Civil Rights Act 1965: Voting Rights Act the revolution of rising
expectations, Malcolm X Affirmative Action-positive discrimination,
compensatory policy for past suffering, preferential treatment for minorities, women in housing, employment, and education ,Bakke v. U.C. Davis
NATIVISM: Not all welcome?
Rejection of immigrants William Bradford: mixed multitude,
bestiality Benjamin Franklin: palatine boors 1882: Chinese Exclusion Act 1907: Gentlemen’s Agreement 1915 Ku Klux Klan against immigrants William Simmons: America is a garbage
can
NEW IMMIGRATION PATTERNS 1945: Main source: Latin America,
Southeast Asia 1978: Elimination of hemispheric quotas,
opening the door wider 1990: Revised immigration law:
admitting 675,000 immigrants each year Diversity visas for countries with few
immigrants (Bangladesh, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago)
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
Approximately 5 million people 1986: Simpson-Mazzoli bill: amnesty to
illegal aliens Strong penalties for businesses hiring
illegal immigrants
CRUCIAL TERMS
Explain the following: Frontier, polivocality, diversity Encroachment, archetypal, vanishing Nativism, heritage, segregation Compensatory policy