Struggles of Assimilation For Immigrants. By Alexander Lutz
The struggle for immigrants to assimilate into American society was a frequent theme throughout our studies on Italian Americans. What does it really take to assimilate into America, is it "whiteness" or something else entirely? If "whiteness" is somehow a requirement for assimilation what are the ramifications for an immigrant population that is increasingly nonwhite? I am going to attempt to explain general immigration patterns to the united states, examine the type of immigrants, where they came from, what kind of religion they practiced and if they were fleeing hardship in their mother country. Then I will focus on three case study groups of immigrants and compare their experiences and try determine the reasons for similarities and differences.
Shortly after the war for independence, the first wave of immigration started. This first wave, marked by 1790-1820, brought mainly northern and western Europeans. More specifically immigrants from the British isles (libertyellisfoundation). In 1790 the first Naturalization Act was passed, it stated that "any alien, being a free white person, may be admitted to become a citizen of the United State". This tells us that Americans from this time did not want any immigrants who were not white. When we consider that the United States was a former British colony there were not many differences between Americans and British immigrants. Both groups spoke English and largely practiced a form of Protestantism.
The second wave of immigration coincided with the industrial revolution during the period of 1820-1880. This wave brought large numbers of Germans and Irish immigrants. These immigrants were mostly catholic which placed them at odds with the protestant background of the United States. The Irish were also fleeing the great Irish potato famine, thus these immigrants were typically extremely poor. The German immigrants were members of the lower class fleeing political persecution after the their failed revolution of 1848. We can see that this wave brought desperate people who did not exactly fit the mold of an American due to their catholic faith.
During the years after the Civil War up until the Great Depression, 1880-1930, immigrants mostly arrived from southern and eastern Europe. Immigrants included Italians, Russians, as well as more Germans and British. In contrast to previous immigrants who fled disaster and political persecution many immigrants in this wave were looking for work in American factories. Most of these immigrants settled in Northeast and Midwest where most of the factory jobs were found. During this time period the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 severely limited Chinese immigration. On the surface it appears America was opening up to more sources of immigration such as the Italians, but still was not interested in people who weren't white.
From 1930-1965 there was very little immigration due to the Great Depression and World War II so we will skip to the fourth immigration wave. This wave, marked by the Immigration act of 1965, spans from 1965 to 2000 (modern times). This time period is characterized by a shift from European immigration to Latin American and East Asian immigration. Many of these immigrants were fleeing Cold War conflicts such as the case of Cuba and Vietnam. For the first time in United States history the majority of its immigrants were non white.
Now I will focus on a select few immigrant population and examine some of the details their assimilation into American society. Starting with one of the first major population shifts, the Germans.
German-Americans are the largest single ethnic group today with 46 million Americans, yet we hardly notice it. Germans appear to have assimilated perfectly into American society. Many aspects of culture that we think of as American can be attributed to the Germans, for instance kindergarten is a German word. Things like hot dogs and Christmas trees are also German creations. It wasn't always perfect for the Germans though, during World War I the teaching of German was banned in schools, books were burned and German-Americans forced to buy war bonds to prove their loyalty to the United States. Again during World War II around 10,000 German-Americans were detained.
So what allowed Germans to eventually integrate in America? Perhaps it was geography. In class we talked about the idea of preoccupied spaces and the conflict that arises immigration. What is notable about German immigrants is they were mostly poor farmers who settled in the mostly uninhabited Midwest regions. The way I see it, the Germans claimed an unoccupied space and made it their own. Is it an invasion if no one is living there? I would argue no. Considering the only times anti-German sentiments popped up was when America was at war with Germany I think Americans had favorable opinions towards Germans.
Another factor that helped Germans assimilate was their financial success. With a median household income of $61,500 they are 18% above the national average. German-Americans are also more likely to have college degrees and less likely to be unemployed (economist). Statistics like these make German-Americans look like they are living American Dream, how could they not be a part of mainstream America?
Shortly after the war for independence, the first wave of immigration started. This first wave, marked by 1790-1820, brought mainly northern and western Europeans. More specifically immigrants from the British isles (libertyellisfoundation). In 1790 the first Naturalization Act was passed, it stated that "any alien, being a free white person, may be admitted to become a citizen of the United State". This tells us that Americans from this time did not want any immigrants who were not white. When we consider that the United States was a former British colony there were not many differences between Americans and British immigrants. Both groups spoke English and largely practiced a form of Protestantism.
The second wave of immigration coincided with the industrial revolution during the period of 1820-1880. This wave brought large numbers of Germans and Irish immigrants. These immigrants were mostly catholic which placed them at odds with the protestant background of the United States. The Irish were also fleeing the great Irish potato famine, thus these immigrants were typically extremely poor. The German immigrants were members of the lower class fleeing political persecution after the their failed revolution of 1848. We can see that this wave brought desperate people who did not exactly fit the mold of an American due to their catholic faith.
During the years after the Civil War up until the Great Depression, 1880-1930, immigrants mostly arrived from southern and eastern Europe. Immigrants included Italians, Russians, as well as more Germans and British. In contrast to previous immigrants who fled disaster and political persecution many immigrants in this wave were looking for work in American factories. Most of these immigrants settled in Northeast and Midwest where most of the factory jobs were found. During this time period the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 severely limited Chinese immigration. On the surface it appears America was opening up to more sources of immigration such as the Italians, but still was not interested in people who weren't white.
From 1930-1965 there was very little immigration due to the Great Depression and World War II so we will skip to the fourth immigration wave. This wave, marked by the Immigration act of 1965, spans from 1965 to 2000 (modern times). This time period is characterized by a shift from European immigration to Latin American and East Asian immigration. Many of these immigrants were fleeing Cold War conflicts such as the case of Cuba and Vietnam. For the first time in United States history the majority of its immigrants were non white.
Now I will focus on a select few immigrant population and examine some of the details their assimilation into American society. Starting with one of the first major population shifts, the Germans.
German-Americans are the largest single ethnic group today with 46 million Americans, yet we hardly notice it. Germans appear to have assimilated perfectly into American society. Many aspects of culture that we think of as American can be attributed to the Germans, for instance kindergarten is a German word. Things like hot dogs and Christmas trees are also German creations. It wasn't always perfect for the Germans though, during World War I the teaching of German was banned in schools, books were burned and German-Americans forced to buy war bonds to prove their loyalty to the United States. Again during World War II around 10,000 German-Americans were detained.
So what allowed Germans to eventually integrate in America? Perhaps it was geography. In class we talked about the idea of preoccupied spaces and the conflict that arises immigration. What is notable about German immigrants is they were mostly poor farmers who settled in the mostly uninhabited Midwest regions. The way I see it, the Germans claimed an unoccupied space and made it their own. Is it an invasion if no one is living there? I would argue no. Considering the only times anti-German sentiments popped up was when America was at war with Germany I think Americans had favorable opinions towards Germans.
Another factor that helped Germans assimilate was their financial success. With a median household income of $61,500 they are 18% above the national average. German-Americans are also more likely to have college degrees and less likely to be unemployed (economist). Statistics like these make German-Americans look like they are living American Dream, how could they not be a part of mainstream America?
Next I want to examine Italian immigrants in more detail. Today there are over 17 million Italian-Americans in the United states forming the seventh largest ethnic group. Italians are now a beloved part of American Culture but it wasn't easy for Italians to achieve this state.
Initially Italians were regarded as low-class, ignorant, and criminal who are only useful for cheap labor (LaGumina). There are examples of this seen in the documentary "Bitter Bread". In the documentary Italians worked in New Orleans as agricultural labor. This type of work was usually reserved for blacks, so when Italians openly associated with blacks it caused Italians to be viewed as non-white. During the great depression Italians were scapegoats as higher paid Americans were out of work. Since the Italians already held the lowest jobs they largely remained employed, this contributed greatly to the perception that immigrants were taking American's jobs. So far much of the prejudice towards Italians was due to their status as being poor, this is very typical of immigrants as most leave their home country because of the harsh economic conditions they face.
Italians typically settled in cities and formed their own ethnic enclaves while resisting assimilation. Most Italians spoke their own language at home and did not trust outsiders. However, due to concentrated numbers of Italians in the cities they were able to wield considerable political power and elect Italians into office. This behavior contributed to the resentment of Italians from the idea that immigrants were taking over their cities and displacing the old-stock Americans.
When America joined World War II there was considerable distrust towards Italian immigrants, especially unnaturalized immigrants. Since Italians were thought of as "enemy aliens" they were placed unter strict restrictions on movement and were interned in some cases. Anyone who supported Italy in any way was accused of being disloyal to the war effort and were detained. Despite these fears about loyalty, Italians strongly supported the war effort by buying war bonds and enlisting in the military.
In actuality, it appears that World War II was the turning point in the perception of Italian Americans. Loyalty and hard work in relation to the war effort allowed Italians to finally break their negative stereotypes of criminality and to assimilate fully into America.
Lastly I wanted to address the progress of Mexican immigrants in the United States. Starting with the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo tens of thousands of Mexicans became residents of the United States. The treaty annexed the south western portion of present day America including California, Arizona, and New Mexico. Obviously the Mexicans living there were not immediately assimilated into mainstream America.
So how do Americans view Mexican immigrants? Today there are strong prejudices towards Mexicans which are strikingly similar earlier prejudices towards Italians. Mexicans are often viewed as a underclass that is employed in labor intensive and low skill work. During economic downturns Mexican immigrants are often scape goats for people who lose their jobs, accusing immigrants of taking their jobs. This is especially true in the case of illegal immigrants who are seen as a criminal element similar to the Italian mafia.
Today there are still strong tensions between Americans and Mexican-Americans. However, Mexicans are not the first group to face prejudice and they probably wont be the last. I think that eventually Mexican-Americans can assimilate fully.
Now I want to draw comparisons between the Germans, Italians, and Mexicans. Germans I thought of as the "control" group. Since Germans were White Anglo Saxon Protestant from the beginning they faced little resistance to their mass immigration and become the most successful immigrant group, being so assimilated that they largely self-identify as white rather than German. Italians were chosen because they are white but not Anglo or Protestant. While it took more effort, Italians were also able to assimilate. Mexicans were also looked into because they represent the largely non-white population for this experiment. While Mexicans are not fully assimilated, there are resemblances to the struggles that Italians have already defeated.
In general most prejudice towards immigrants was due to economic conditions and wartime hysteria. Since Germans were largely independent farmers Americans did not feel threatened by German immigration. Only when America was actively at war with Germany was there any sort of hatred towards Germans. Italians settled in cities and competed for jobs with American citizens which sparked resentment. Similar to the Germans there was high levels of distrust towards Italians while at war with Italy. In a similar way Italians, Mexicans are usually resented for economic reasons because Americans do not want to compete for jobs.
Is whiteness a requirement for assimilation? To be honest there is not enough data to draw that conclusion. What I have noticed is that views towards immigrant populations tend to improve the longer that population has existed in the United States. The Germans were first and viewed favorably. Italians were second in this example and they eventually assimilated. Mexicans came in large numbers even later and its possible that assimilation is in their future but just has not happened yet.