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Project Prepare
I. The Making of AmericaII. Stream I ImmigrantsIII. Stream II ImmigrantsIV. The Great MigrationV. Stream III: Current ImmigrantsVI. Undocumented/Illegal Immigrants
• Questions, comments, random thoughts…How are you doing?
Quiz1. 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 homeB. 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 homeD. He’s wrong, since a small number (between 10 and 25%) of the children of immigrants speak only English at home
Quiz2. 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:
A. She is wrong. Illegal immigration was down in 2008B. She’s right, illegal immigration reached record levels in
2008.C. She’s wrong, since the flow of illegal immigration to the
US has stopped.D. All of the above.
A very diverse nation///Members of different racial and ethnic groups became Americans in different ways…
Becoming American…Many 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
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 Europe99% Protestant
Populating the USStream I, 1820-1880
Northern Europe immigrtants (Primarily Irish and German)Asian immigrants (Chinese & Japanese)Involuntary migrants…African slaves
Stream II, 1880-1925Massive Southern and Eastern Europe immigration (Italian, Jews, Poles, Russians, etc)Small Latin American immigration
The Great Migration, 1915-1960Internal Migration of Blacks from South to North
Stream III, 1965-presentMassive Latin American and Asian immigration
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…Who Benefits and Who is threatened…
Who Benefits?Immigrants…gain opportunityEmployers…gain labor or cheaper laborConsumers…gain through lower pricesGeneral 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…1751Immigration 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 assimilatesubordinate group members are transformed from outsiders into full members of a group or society
Story repeats itself…1851Immigration 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 ChineseViewed 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 WorkersMostly male immigrants who came to work, make money and go back…
The Irish are ruining the country…“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’…
Story Repeats Itself…1901Deciding 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 deviousSaid 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 immigrationfrom Europe
The Great Migration North: Why the 1920’s & 1940s jump?
0
200000
400000
600000
800000
1000000
1200000
1400000
1600000
1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s
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
Protecting White Wages
Dual Job Ladders
W h ite s H ire d o ff th e S tre e t
U n sk ille d M a n u fac tu ring$ 1 .4 5 h r
S k ille d T ra d es$ 2 .0 0 h r
M a na ge m e nt$ 3 .00
B la cks H ire d o f th e S tre e t
B la cks S an ita tio n , C a fe te ria.7 5 ce n ts h r
U n sk ille d M a n u fac tu ring< ------T e m p o ra ry F ill In s
$ 1 .1 0 h r
X X X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X X X X
Post 1965 Immigration1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act
new that lead to a large increase in immigrationFocused 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…2001Deciding 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 ImmigrationImmigration picks up significantly
Primarily Hispanic & Asian
Push: Economic dislocation…povertyThe 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 Number56 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 bornOverwhelming 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 opportunityEmployers…gain labor or cheaper laborConsumers…gain through lower pricesGeneral 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
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?
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 opportunitiesIncreased enforcement at borders and workplaces
NYT 9/24/04
Outline
1. Assimilationa. Cultural Assimilation vs. Cultural Pluralismb. Symbolic Ethnicity
2. Three Generation Model3. 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 AssimilationCultural 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 Pluralismmembers 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 cultureGroup 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 AssimilationCultural 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 aboutAdvocate cultural pluralismAmerica 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 entranceVoluntary usually spurs new groups to assimilateInvoluntary 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
Assimilation3 Generation Model of Americanization…
1st Generation unable or unwilling to give up many aspects of original culture
Old ways are important to identity…often marry within the group
2nd Generation in between generation. Bi-cultural exposure to old and new world; more friends from dominant culture; more likely to marry out
3rd Generation Mainstream “American” on all counts
Stream 2 Europeans Enter a WASP Dominated Society
Time of Arrival facilitated Social Mobility, even for those with little educationBeing “White” made it easy to go unnoticed & to assimilate
Change name from Stosh to Joe..change clothes and food
Linguistic & Geographic dispersionLong Period with no new immigration
America greatly reduces immigration in the 1920s• Few new Poles, Italians, Jews, etc. come to US
For most, three generation model held…Perhaps with some symbolic ethnicity (cultural pluralism lite)
Assimilation of New ImmigrantsWill Recent Stream 3 immigrants (particularly the large Mexican population) follow the same 3 generation pattern of assimilation as the Europeans?
Some fear they will not…and believe this is bad…
Some fear they will not…and think that is fine…
Some think they probably will…
Three Generation Model and Mexican Immigration
Spatial Concentration is different from past immigrant patterns
May allow for maintenance of old culture and language
Easier back & forth; media from “old country”
Three Generation Model and Language
Language adoption is basically the same
Old people and new immigrants least likely to be fluent
Trend after that is same as in past, though maybe a bit slower
“Alba and Nee report that 90 percent of third-gen-eration youth of Chinese, Filipino, and Korean extraction speak only English at home (p. 225). However, just two-thirds of third-generation Mexican and Cuban youth speak only English at home”(Light 2004: 1)
Hispanics may end up a bilingual group
Europeans and New Immigrants
In the past, time of Arrival facilitated Social Mobility, even for those with little education
Today’s economy not friendly to those with little education
Note next slide
Percent of Population with a Bachelor’s Degree or Higher by Origin: 2000
25.8
32.9
44.9
11.2
36.8
25.6
TotalForeignBorn
Europe Asia LatinAmerica
OtherRegions
Native
Source: Current Population Survey, March 2000, PGP-3
(In Percent)(In Percent)
Europeans and New ImmigrantsTime of Arrival facilitated Social Mobility, even for those with little education
Today’s economy not friendly to those with little education
Being “White” made it easy to go unnoticed & to assimilate
Many new immigrants are physically different…can’t change name from Jose to Joe and simply blend in…
So…Will the three generation model hold…we’ll see
The Southwest as a kind of American “Quebec”
Would it bother you if the US became a bi-lingual nation with a region that was heavily Hispanic?