Jacqueline E. Porter - Clinton
The United States of America has had a vast collection of immigrants from its inception, with the exception of Native Americans who quickly became the minority in their own land. Today, when we as "Americans" talk about immigrants, we are speaking about people who enter the U.S. from different countries. In fact most of our roots (ancestors if you will) began with immigration status, whether voluntary or involuntary.
The United States had different waves of immigration as well as different entry points through out history. The United States receives more immigrants than any other industrialized nation. Over a million enter yearly, mostly concentrated in seven states: California, Arizona, Texas, Illinois, New York, Florida and New Jersey. Before the Immigrant Act of 1965, most immigrants came to the U.S. from northern and western Europe. Today 90% of immigrants come from Latin America (mostly Mexico & Central America) and Asia. Immigrants today represent about 1/3 of the population growth. Of this immigrant population it is estimated that 200,000 undocumented people enter the U.S. annually (LeMay, 28).
Different groups were treated differently as they entered the United States. Each group had to learn different coping strategies to deal with different status. Some rejected the dominant culture, while others attempted to change the norms and values of the society to improve their lives, while yet others tried to find accommodations with the dominant culture, looking for their piece of the pie.
Groups varied in their rate of assimilation. Some national-origin groups moved quickly and with little dispute. Those who could often chose whiteness. Others moved slowly and faced resistance. Religious groups were faced with persecution. Some had to give up their beliefs before they could assimilate into the dominant culture. Racial groups endured the greatest resistance. They moved the slowest of all, dealing with prejudice and discrimination. (Min & Kim, 16)
Unfortunately, no matter how long you have been in the country or how many generations of your family have lived here, your ancestors help to determine who you are today in America. We are ___________- American. (fill the blank with: African, Italian, Asian, etc). The fact that many are not considered "American" alone means we are something other than equal, creating the start of class structure in America.
The exception to this rule is white Americans. They have a choice in what ethnic identity they want to be associated with. They can choose to claim any specific ancestry or just be white, (unhyphenated white). They can also choose which European ancestry they want to include in their identity (Ore,10).
The activities in this unit invite students to identify aspects of culture that influence our own behavior and sometimes make it difficult to understand the behavior of other people. Culture is a complex idea, and teachers should be prepared to offer students many examples of cultural features.
