CHAPTER 2 

The making of the Nation 

1. General Facts 

• A nation of immigrants 

• Admitted more immigrants than any country in history, more than 50 million 

• Still admits between 500,000 and 1 million persons a year. 

• Immigrants come for wealth, land, and freedom. 

• An image of 'a melting pot'

2. Major waves of immigrants 

2.1. First immigrants

Who Why When Where  

Spanish explorers New World's gold About 1500s Florida  

French fur traders Wealth About 1500s From St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes and down the Mississippi River(The New World north-eastern seacoast)  

English Colonization, profit, religious freedom 1600s and1700s Jamestown, Virginia  

Others:German farmers, Swedes, Dutch, etc. Soon after that Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, etc.

- When the immigrants settled in the New World, many tried to preserve the traditions, religion and language of their particular culture. However, there were still those did not want to feel separate from the dominant WASP, so they learn E and adopted E customs. 

- The population of Indians soon shrank because of wars with the white men, together with disease and warfare by the end of nineteenth century. Those that remained tried to resist the U.S government's efforts to confine them to reservations but they were defeated in the end.

2.2. Old immigrants 

• In the mid-1800s, thousands of Chinese emigrated to California  

• Most of the immigrants were northern and western Europeans who arrived between 1840-1880 to escape poor harvest, famines or political unrest.

2.3. New immigrants/ Southern Europeans 

• began in the late 1800s 

• were Latin, Slavic, Jewish people from southern and eastern Europe (Italy, Hungry, Russia, Rumania, etc.) 

• headed to largest cities (New York, Chicago)  

• formed ethnic neighborhoods - 'Little Italys', 'Chinatown' 

• The vast majority of new immigrants choose to live in seven states: California, Texas, New York, Florida, New Jersey, and Arizona.

2.4. Recent immigrants 

• Refugees: Mexico, Latin America (Cuba), Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia...) 

• Illegal Aliens: fled from poverty, war in Mexico, Latin America

3. Native Americans 

• Columbus (1492) discovered 'New World' with 1.5 million, called Native Americans 'Indians' 

• During the next 200 years, Native Americans suffered from the influx of Europeans 

• To the Indians:  

- Europeans are unwanted trespassers. 

- Had their own civilization 

• Poverty and jobless among Native Americans still exist today.

4. Issues related to immigrants 

4.1. Nativist sentiment 

- Prejudice and hostility, claiming racial superiority of the Nordic peoples of the old immigration over the Slavic and Latin people of the new immigration. 

4.2. Assimilation process  

• 1st generation: 

Obstacles from both sides: 

- Society discrimination 

- Their reluctance to give up their language and culture 

• 2nd generation 

Better able to identify as Americans: 

- Spoke mostly English 

- Practiced fewer ethnic traditions 

• 3rd generation 

No longer to speak their grandparents' language: 

- Nostalgic about family heritage 

- Desired to regain ethnic identity 

• 4th or 5th generation 

- Intermarriage between ethnic groups were accepted.

4.3. Immigration restriction 

Tightening immigration should be made because:  

• Overpopulation is a threat 

• Nativist sentiment aroused 

• Quality of may be lowered 

• American's national identity is preserved 

Some Americans optimistically emphasize cultural wealth and diversity of the immigrants 

(For some further facts, please read the slides of MrSinh :P)

4.4. Identity crisis 

• In the past, majority of Americans considered themselves WASPs (White Anglo - Saxon Protestants)  

• Newcomers expected to assimilate 

• 1990s, Mass migration brought a new heterogeneity challenged WASPs to acknowledge Americans: Catholic or Jewish, almond-eyed or olive-skinned 

• 1960s, American's attitudes towards ethnic and religious differences altered, pressure to Americanize relaxed 

• The Immigration of Act of 1990 (the total numbers of Immigration may not exceed 700,000 per year, but the Act also attempts to attract more skilled workers and professionals to the U.S. by reserving specially to them.

4.5. Cultural pluralism in the United States 

• "Melting pot" Theory: peoples from various cultures come to America and contribute aspects of their culture to create a new, unique American culture. 

The result is that contributions from many cultures are indistinguishable from one another and are effectively "melted" together. 

• Salad Bowl Theory: 

- Newly arrived immigrants do not lose the unique aspects of the cultures. 

- The unique characteristics of each culture are still identifiable within the larger American society. 

- This theory is also referred to as pluralism. 

In the U.S., people have become sensitive to the language used to describe different ethnic groups, and they tried to be "politically correct" (P.C.). For example, black Americans preferred "African - American" instead of "black"