American Civilization

CM2 (5 oct)

Topic 2 : A nation of immigrants, a historical approach

Introduction
·J.F.Kennedy (1958): “Every American who ever lived,with the exception of one group,was either
an immigrant himself or a descendant of immigrants
·E PLURIBUS UNUM
·The US:Promised Land
→ religious,political,economic motivations
·Immigrants:13.6% of the U.S.population → 77% in the country legally

OUTLINE
I/ Immigration before the Revolution
a)Early settlements
b)A diverse population coming from Europe
II/ Massive immigration during the 19th century and early 20h century
a)From Europe
b)From Asia
c)Melting Pot VS Salad Bowl
III/ After the 1965 Immigration Act
a)The 1965 Act:New requirements
b)The 1990 Immigration Act and the Green Card lottery

I/ Immigration before the Revolution

A) Early settlements
·Virginia Settlement:Jamestown(1609) → economic motivations:Gold
they look for gold and territorial expansion
·New England Settlements → Religious Freedom/Puritans fleeing England because of religious
persecutions
In Massachusetts
Asked for a purification of the Church
Conclusion: from the beginning money and religions were strong incentives for American
immigration.

B) A diverse population coming from Europe (17th & 18th centuries)

American colonies:diversity of population England, Scotland, the Netherlands, Spain, France
·New York → founded as New Netherland by the Dutch in 1624
(before moving under British control in 1664 and then being renamed New York)
·New France /refuge for Huguenots
In 1750 the French were controlling a very region called New France, but the french lost New
France to England and then to Spain in 1763. Spain controlled the area today as Florida that
would become Mexico.
So North America was also refuge for religious groups. Religious groups like the french Huguenot
who settled in Florida and South Carolina After Protestantism was banned in France in the 1600.
·Great Diversity in the Middle Colonies :religious and ethnic diversity
So these immigrants shared different religions as they were protestants.
There was also a large black community as the forced immigration of African slaves had started in
1620. So these colonies were all in need of workers and farmers and the region where the
mixture of ethnic groups was the most intense was the middle colony. So the middle colonies of
Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Delaware, the middle colonies and in that area there
were also Swedish and German farmers and native Americans.

Hector St John Crèvecoeur, Letters from An American Farmer:

“What then is the American,this new man? He is either an European,or the descendant o an
European,hence that strange mixture of blood,which you will find in no other country.I could point
out to you a family whose grandfather was an Englishman,whose wife was Dutch,whose son
married a French woman,and whose present four sons have now four wives of different
nations.He is an American, who leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners,
receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced, the new government he obeys,and
the new rank he holds".

II/ Massive immigration during the 19th century and early 20h century
A) Massive immigration from Europe (19th and early 20th century)
• Industrial revolution → from countryside to urban and industrial centers/overcrowding of
Europe
This is why many people started considering moving further to the United States in order to
improve their living conditions so because of the overcrowding.
America was a powerful magnet for aspiring people especially during the first half of the
19th century the US was a radically different country. So this new meritocracy had rejected the
European scheme of values and mentality. The US supported the idea of meritocracy and it
rejected the rights obtained by birth, in other words as there was no aristocracy, ordinary people
could succeed in America because the country fostered individual initiative and rapid
development.
• 1rst wave(till 1880): German, Irish [potato famine 1845], Swedish, Norwegian, Dane
immigrants → farmers,laborers,accepted by American society
It was a voluntary choice to search for new opportunities in America and their immigration
was planned in advance so they are saving to organize their new start.
• 2nd wave(after 1880): Italian, Russian, Polish, Austrian Hungarian, Greek, etc → escaping
intense poverty and religious persecutions,despised by earlier immigrants
• Immigration centers in charge of checking and selecting immigrants
1)Castle Gardens (till 1890) 2) Ellis Island (1892-1954)
• Johnson-Reed Act of 1924 → quota system
 It limited the number of immigrants allowing entry into the US through a national origins
quota and it favored certain countries in particular countries from western Europe. So the quota
system was detrimental to eastern and southern Europe immigration.

B) Asian immigration
• Gold Rush +railroad(1850s-1860s) → Chinese immigration:20% of California's labor force in
1870
• Strong anti-Asian sentiment;fear of 《 yellow peril 》 → 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act
• After 1855, arrival of Japanese,Koreans and Filipinos
• Severe discrimination → Pacific Coast race riots in 1907 in San Francisco against Japanese
• 1907 US-Japan Gentleman's Agreement
• 1924 Johnson Reed Act:“Asiatic Barred Zone” (The people were born in the Asiatic were not
allowed to immigrate to the US, except for Japanese and Filipinos.)

C) Melting Pot VS Salad Bowl

• Melting Pot:Assimilation → Americanization programs from immigrants
Ex:Lessons at Ford Motor Company,classes by Young Men's Christian Association
• Salad Bowl Multiculturalism

III/ After the 1965 Immigration Act

a) The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act
• End of quotas → emphasis on equal treatment (influence of civil rights act of 1964)
• Family reunion,professional skills,refugee status.
• 1965 → population:84% white,11% black,4% Hispanic and 1% Asian
• Today → population:62% white,11% black,18% Hispanic, Asian 6%
• Creation of the “Preference system”

b)The 1990 Immigration Act and the Green Card lottery

• Diversity Immigrant Visa program(since 1995)=Green card lottery to become a permanent
resident
• 50,000people out of 14 million applicants
• from countries with low numbers of immigrants in the previous five years
• High school diploma +work experience