Summary Of Module 4 Thinking Like A Historian

He explains that Latino immigrants are here to have a better life then what they had when they were in their origin countries, Latinos are aware that they need to integrate into society to become successful. As Chavez said “Rather than living apart from the larger society, their friendship, religious, and romantic relationships extend beyond the social borders of Latino life” (71). When I look around my surroundings I realized that he is right, Latinos are not only excluded to their origins because they are just trying to gain the privileges and participation of being a citizen. I realized that he is right Latino immigrants have want those privileges that citizen possess because that gives them a sense of belonging. Arriving to a whole new culture must be hard not only because they just left their whole life behind but also because they have to adapt to the new culture.

However, it is possible for them to find common ground based on them both being able to see the difficulty as well as willingness for immigrants to adapt to American culture. Also, they both are able to see the importance of American values and beliefs. Both Chavez and Marcus discuss the effects that assimilation could have on immigrants. Marcus mentions self-fulfillment and how it is hard to attain “without a robust culture that provides structure, meaning, and purpose…”

Prompt: To what extent, if any, did immigration to the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900's change American economics, politics, and society? The newcomers helped transform American society and culture, demonstrating that diversity, as well as unity, is a source of national strength. When the immigrants have arrived in America they were treated differently. Not only to immigrants who have come to America but also slaves that were already in America or were being shipped from one place another that might have been out of the United States.

America is a “melting pot” where people from diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds assimilate to the American culture. Second and third generation immigrants do not identify as Chinese, but Chinese-Americans. They may have a different faith and look differently, but they are Americans. The American society gains from the addition of immigrants by becoming a more tolerant and understanding nation. Buchanan further limits his arguments by preying upon people’s fears.

Immigration is deeply rooted in the American culture, yet it is still an issue that has the country divided. Marcelo and Carola Suarez-Orozco, in their essay, “How Immigrants Became ‘Other’” explore the topic of immigration. They argue that Americans view many immigrants as criminals entering America with the hopes of stealing jobs and taking over, but that this viewpoint is not true. They claim that immigrants give up a lot to even have a chance to come into America and will take whatever they can get when they come. The Suarez-Orozco’s support their argument using authority figures to gain credibility as well as exemplification through immigrant stories.

Countless numbers of immigrants came over to the United States many generations ago, in order to pursue the “American Dream”. Mary C. Waters specializes in studying immigration and ethnic trends, and wanted to research how connected American citizens of foreign descent were to their ethnicity. In Waters’ writing, she talks about how she interviewed many third-generation Americans of European descent in order to determine how closely tied they were to their ancestors’ ethnicity in the late 20th century. Out of the two theories of integration, being the pluralist theory and the assimilationist theory, Waters takes a new middle-ground standpoint on something she calls “new ethnicity”. Waters concludes that with passing generations, American immigrants

The first of two essay questions focuses on Leo Chavez’s book , “The Latino Threat”. The questions and statements that will be answered include “ What is the Latino threat?, ‘How does he define citizenship?” ,“Identify and discuss two examples of the Latino threat” and “ Identify one policy recommendation and discuss whether you think it is achievable”. Leo Chavez’s book focuses on the guise of Latinos threatening the American way of life. He defines this as “The Latino Threat” , He states that the Latino threat narrative positions Latinos as not sharing similarities with any previous migrant groups into the U.S. and that they are unwilling and incapable of integrating and becoming part of the national community (Chavez,3).

The immigrant topic has had a long back and forth history with the United States. Since the beginning of this issue the next generation has adopted the common fear of outsiders that don’t look and sound like others around them. From 1900 to 1920, nearly 24 million immigrants arrived during what is known as the “Great Wave”. The outbreak of World War I reduced immigration from Europe, but mass immigration resumed upon the war 's conclusion, and Congress responded with a new immigration policy: the national-origins quota system passed in 1921 and revised in 1924(PEGLER-GORDON, ANNA).

The Unfavorable Offspring of the Humanistic Tendency to Form Bonds In the article “It Takes a Tribe,” David Berreby utilizes the example of students’ immediate college loyalty to claim that humans identify with groups because they desire to have a sense of belonging. In the article “ ‘Blaxicans’ and Other Reinvented Americans,” Richard Rodriguez talks about categorization by race to claim that Americans, in particular, feel the need to be in separate, defined classes. Berreby and Rodriguez emphasize different effects of humans’ natural tendency to classify themselves. Berreby focuses on the formation of opposition between groups while Rodriguez focuses on the formation of false perceptions of groups.

Racialization of Chinese and other immigrants can be categorized into three areas: social, political, and economical. Examples in each category can be seen throughout not only the early (pre-1965) immigration of Chinese laborers but also in the post-1965 and even modern times. In this essay, the history of Chinese immigrants that lead up to the ruling on the case of People vs. Hall is examined to present five arguments that show social, political, and economical racialization. Argument 1: The 1790 Nationality Act is an excellent example of political racialization that contributed to the society’s mindset and ultimately to the ruling of People v. Hall.

For centuries, millions of people have immigrated to the United States of America. America is a colonized country, therefore, unless one is a Native American, all people in America have had ancestors who have immigrated to America in the past few centuries. Most of these immigrants faced challenges on their road to the better life that they thought America would provide for them. The Germans, Irish, Japanese and the Chinese immigrants have all faced challenges in America. Some questions arose about whether one could keep the culture of their past country and still given American opportunities.

Module 1 Discussion Immigration is a concerning matter when introduced to Congress back in the 1900 and has continued to be an important topic in the 21st Century. The topic of immigration seems to be always mentioned on the news and is a debatable topic during candidates seeking the presidential election. Today, Congress is trying to create new reforms addressing the problems of illegal immigration, as well as the legal immigration system. What is interesting to know the immigration system has not been updated since back in the early 1900’s.

When one hears about The United States of America, one automatically thinks of the idea that has been instilled into our brains, the idea that America was founded and continues to be based on freedom and equality for all, a belief that once anyone immigrated to America, he or she will be welcomed with arms open and will become a member of the “melting pot.” However, what is the truth behind this expectation? Various events and experiences have proved otherwise. In the article titled “Causes of Prejudice”, written by Vincent N. Parrillo, a sociology professor at William Paterson University, he explains the various causes that are correlated with the result of prejudice especially in America. These theories can be used to try and understand racism in America and the interview done by Studs Terkel, a renown oral historian, of C.P. Ellis a former member of the Ku Klux Klan.

Society is one of universals and particulars. Our society is plural and each and every member of society brings and different and unique perspective to the table. This difference in perspectives and the experiences that cultivate these different perspectives define culture. The Lamarekian theory, comparable to social Darwinism, argues that progress comes out of habits and can be translated from one generation to another, offering the notion that that improvement is achievable for those considered “lesser” races. (382).

The attitudes towards immigrants which ultimately form or join already existing minority groups in the US differ as it is known even to small children of the American and other ethnic descend. “Ethnic minorities include indigenous, linguistic, and religious minorities; stateless people; and peoples of foreign origin.” (Constant, A., M. Kahanec, and K. Zimmerman. n. page. http://ftp.iza.org/dp3650.pdf.).