Worksheet – Unit 8 Ethnic and Racial Diversity
1. The introduction
Summary of main ideas
The population of the United States consists of
many different ethnic groups coming from
many races, nationalities, and religions.
Scholars disagree whether these various racial
and ethnic groups have grown into one culture
with commonly shared values through the
process of assimilation (= melting pot)
or whether the various groups have remained
somewhat distinct and different from another,
creating a richly diverse country. (= salad bowl)
The truth probably lies somewhere in the
middle (= mosaic).
2. The Establishment of the Dominant Culture
Summary of main ideas
The WASPs (= English-speaking/western
European/Protestant/middle-class) determined
the dominant culture because of their greater
numbers, wealth, political power.
Newcomers were judged by their standards,
seen as the typical American values (freedom,
equality of opportunity, hard work, material
wealth) and there was fear of people who were
too different.
Native Americans  forced assimilation
Examples from text/current affairs
e.g.
Over the years whites from different national
and religious backgrounds have been gradually
assimilated into the larger American culture
(exc. American Jews: strong group identity
within larger culture)
Nathalie Portman (Israel), Bruce Willis
(Germany), Audrey Hepburn (Belgium)
 30 famous immigrants who moved to
the States
e.g.
People of Hispanic origin have taken a special
pride in maintaining their cultural traditions and
the use of the Spanish language.
Movie Coco
Examples from text/current affairs
e.g.
People with a different religion (Irish Catholics)
or a different language (Germans, Dutch,
Swedes) were discriminated against.
e.g. current affairs
Trump and his administration on the treatment
of immigrants (demonizing e.g.
‘rapists’/’poison’, closing borders, preventing
them from voting)  big rise of openly racist,
extreme right groups
 3. The Assimilation of Non-Protestant
and Non-Western Europeans
Summary of main ideas Examples from text/current affairs

Assimilation was/is easy for groups who are

very similar to the majority.
Late 19th century and early 20th century: large
groups of people with significant differences
e.g.
- different languages (English >< Italian, e.g.
Polish etc.) People with a different religion (Irish Catholics)
- different religions (Protestant >< or a different language (Germans, Dutch,
Catholic, Jews etc.) Swedes) were discriminated against.
- different attitude e.g. poor people
(values of freedom, competition, self-
reliance >< accustomed to life of
poverty and dependence on
state/government)

These groups were/are viewed as a threat to

traditional American culture.

2 different responses
1) Government: offering English
instruction and citizenship classes (basic
American beliefs)
BUT new immigrants felt this as
disapproval for homeland traditions +
little help in meeting most important
practical needs e.g. employment, food
and place to live
2) REACTION: ‘Political bosses’ of larger e.g. Mafia families in New York City  helped
cities in northeastern US  offered Italian immigrants (depicted in The Godfather)
practical help + acceptance of
homeland traditions
BUT in exchange expectation to vote for
them in elections

Most Americans strongly disapproved 

frequently corrupt + destruction of values such
as self-reliance (dependent on bosses) and
competition (unfair political power 
monopoly)
Despite criticism scholars now believe they e.g. a lot of American claims and are proud of
performed important function in helping to Irish roots cf. Biden
assimilate large numbers of new immigrants.
Because of this they could better themselves,
came to accept American values and were in
turn accepted by Americans.
 4. The African-American Experience (see PP!)
Summary of main ideas Examples from text/current affairs

• Brought to the country as slaves ><

other groups voluntarily
• Slavery = divisive issue
1. >< values of freedom and
equality of opportunity
2. Southern States (economy) ><
Northern States
(ideology/unfair competition)
• Civil War 1861-1865 (Abraham Lincoln)
 slavery abolished, but in reality E.g.
factual segregation PAST: Black children not allowed in white public
 Jim Crow laws in the South schools, ‘white’ seats on public transport (e.g.
• After WW II Civil Rights Movement  Rosa Parks) etc.
ML King
• 1954: Official end of segregation
• Affirmative action for employers and
universities E.g. 2008: first Black president: Barack Obama
• Today situation has improved BUT 2020: first Black American vice-president:
political representation is lacking + Kamala Harris
factual segregation is making comeback e.g. On January 5, 2021, Raphael Warnock of
Georgia was elected as the first African-
American Democrat to represent a former
Confederate state in the U.S. Senate.

Recent events:
 Trump (and other MAGA politicians)
statements/policies e.g. Donald Trump
called immigrants illegally in the United
States "animals" and "not human" in a
speech in Michigan on Tuesday,
resorting to the degrading rhetoric he
has employed time and again on the
campaign trail.
 treatment of black people by police 
Black Lives Matter movement
Black people suffered the most from corona
(death, illness, loss of job, poverty)
 5. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and the 1960s
Summary of main ideas Examples from text/current affairs

After WW2 (minorities fought together with

‘mainstream’ Americans)  birth of the civil
rights movement
 2 different approaches:
Martin Luther King (non-violent
Protestant preaching for affirmative
action and assimilation  believed in
equality of all people (‘I have a dream’)
 Malcolm X (preaching for separation of
African American culture  rejection of
‘white’ values (only existed to keep
black people in inferior position), ‘black’
Muslim faith >< ‘white’ Christian faith
Results of the struggle:
- Segregation of schools becomes illegal
- Affirmative action for employers and
universities
- Reduction of prejudice against black
people
 Black people integrated in e.g.
American society Today: sports and entertainment heroes,
university professors, medical doctors, laywers,
entrepreneurs, reporters
+
Obama first black president = seen as a result of
the struggle in the 50s and 60s
 6. Diversity in the Twenty-first Century
Summary of main ideas
Despite a positive evolution:
- Civil rights movement benefitted all
minorities in USA  racial
discrimination in employment and
housing was forbidden by law
+ affirmative action!
- Civil Rights laws also advanced the
rights of women, and these laws have
reinforced the ideal of equality of
opportunity for all Americans.
- Sexual orientation entered the picture.
Obama called for equal right for gays in
his second Inaugural Address and for
laws permitting them to get married.
inequality still exists today.
Despite origin: Immigrants with good
educational background, skills and money do
best (cf. American values)
Examples from text/current affairs
e.g.
Sotomayor, the first Hispanic Supreme Court
Justice. Her father died when she was a child
and life wasn’t easy. She had to help her family
financially by working in summer and part-time
jobs during school. She knew little of the world
outside her neighbourhood. She was an
excellent student. Therefore she was able to get
a full scholarship. She says that she benefitted
from the law in action that caused universities
to recruit minority students. She went to
Princeton and then Yale for her law degree.
e.g. current affairs
 2018: most diverse House of
Representatives ever
 2020 US elections: Hispanic, Asian, gay,
female presidential candidates
e.g.
 Factually segregated neighbourhoods
and schools
 More blacks and other minorities
trapped in cycles of poverty, violence,
unemployment  discrepancy between
percentage of population and people in
prison/victim of crime/chance of dying
from coronavirus
 Anti-woke ‘culture wars’ from MAGA
politicians e.g. Trump, DeSantis 
against LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive
rights
 SCOTUS: Roe v Wade (repealing right to
abortion) + voting rights
 7. A Universal Nation
Summary of main ideas
The dominant American culture (WASP)
survived and ever more diverse immigrants
were assimilated and in this way enriched the
cultural diversity without endangering the
traditional values.
After a brief period of closing the borders, this
gave the Americans the confidence to open the
borders again to ever more diverse new
immigrants:
 non-white, non-European  Asian,
Latin America
 for the first time a large group of
immigrants without legal
documentation
BUT worry whether these new
immigrants can still have the same
chances as previous groups (fewer
opportunities) + concerns about impact
on traditional value system
Despite this:
Idea of a the ‘First Universal Nation’ (large
numbers of people from every region on earth
living in freedom under one government)
 Image of ‘mosaic’
Examples from text/current affairs
e.g.
 Illegal immigrants seen by the Trump
administration as ‘the problem’ (cf.
Wall with Mexico)  poor, taking
advantage of American generosity and
hospitality (‘dependency >< self-
reliance)
>< reality: real need for these people in various
industries to keep the economy running
 Coronavirus: danger for themselves
(don’t dare to go to doctor) and for
society (can’t afford to stay home from
work even when ill)
e.g. US motto from the start: E pluribus unum
(One composed of many)
e.g. current affairs
Today there is such a thing called the greencard
lottery. The government decide per country
how many people can receive a greencard
depending on the status of that person. If they
can add to the economy with a steady degree
they are more likely to be chosen to receive
one. That is how they control legal immigration
today.