Introduction
The migration of people into the United States in 19th century was the reason for the diverse cultures in America. The immigrants are in search of labor. The ethnic groups, which migrated to America, were prejudiced and stereotyped in various ways; they were given many names based on their color and economic status. For instance, the Irish were prejudiced to have poor, unskilled and uncivilized. They were also described using cartoons ton say that they are drunkards and old-fashioned. These allegations were used to force them to live in ethnic ghettos. They were only restricted to unskilled labor.The Mexicans who migrated to America were also prejudiced in a variety of ways; they were regarded as violent people who are prone to criminal activities. An incest case in 1969 by a Judge in California made the situation worse that Mexican was said to behave like animals; they also concluded that is the reason for their violent nature. They were also referred to as simpleminded people (Hanel, 2009 p. 25).
The Africans were also prejudiced in various ways by the Americans, for instance, black women were associated with sexuality and prostitution. The black women were associated with immorality. Africans were termed to be barbaric because of their black color. The blacks were only allowed to do odd and manual jobs under very poor conditions. The black people were prejudiced to be dirty due to their dark skin color and this made them to be abused in various ways, for example being likened to monkeys.
The immigrants were also segregated based on religion, their religions were regarded as barbaric, and they were not allowed to worship God in the manner they wanted to. The Muslims and Hindus were not given their freedom of worship thereby denying what they ought to have. The immigrants were forced to do manual jobs while mostly they were not paid; they were also forced to provide free labor on plantations. The laborers on these plantations were mistreated and they lived in ghettos. People supervising the plantations beat them. They provided free labor to the plantations (Hanel, 2009 p. 200).
Racism is a common problem in the United States history, where people from Africa and Asian continents are discriminated when allocating housing facility and jobs. Americans took Japanese farms and their domestic homes. People from other continents were not allowed to be recruited in the United States army until 1948. The slaves from Africa and Asia were forced to build the government buildings without payment. The immigrants were not allowed in positions of leadership because the Americans believed that the immigrants do not have the leadership skills and they should always be their servants (Shipler 2004 p 45).
During the Second World War WWII, most of the immigrants from Asia and Africa were returned to their countries while the few who remained were discriminated in all institutions.Racial stereotypes have contributed to the development of the American society in various ways. The slaves have contributed greatly in terms of labor provision to build the US Empire. This has also contributed movements against discrimination making people to fight for their rights. The immigrants who were discriminated also fought for freedom of worship, making US a diverse community in terms of culture. The people from all corners of the world finally joined their skills and experiences to build their nation.US integration of cultures enable it have almost a universal culture (Hanel, 2009 p.78)
The earlier immigrants and the native groups into the United States of America in the 19th century led to various contributions that did change the various aspects of the societies in many ways. The thousands of immigrants into the country affected the country’s culture in a manner that depicted various changes to the native culture. Those arriving from southern and eastern Europe in the seemed to be many commentators of an interior stock. New social happenings were inculcated within the circle of societal governance. In the context of religious overview, the anxiety about the Catholicism began to fade and in that context, there arose the various cultural differences, which came into the primary concern of administration (Shipler 2004 p 78).
Racial discrimination issues were widely observed in the context that saw to the changes in the society way of administration and governance. It was in this social aspect that arose the aspect of different social classes that aimed at separating people in the different life categories. This saw to the racial subdivision and differences being established actually in the social very blood and even in the national constitution. The people in the upper class did not readily welcome the lower classes in their immediate circle, which set a pace of a mild and wide separation in which others could not easily accept immigrants who were in the lower poor classes (Rumbaut, 2001 p.90).
In the context of the economic overview, various changes, which were major in the economic index progress of the US, were also witnessed. These economic changes included the separation in within the classes that saw to the alienation of the various classes in the various aspects of the economy. There were physical, moral, mental and the various religious changes that saw to the various aspects of changes within the inner circles of the social order. This effectively saw to the antagonism to be accepted by the government governance and effective literature within the different languages (Rumbaut, 2001 p 120).
Hence, the various immigrants groups including Europeans, Mexicans, and others including Japanese and other saw to the relevant points of consideration in which some were seen as more important than the others were. This saw to the immigrants going into US to seek greater economic opportunity and effective religious freedom. Immigrants from southern and eastern Europe were perceived more important than the others. In this essence, they were considered in the context that they were different culturally and ethnically perceived to be quite favorable more than the Germans and Britons ((John 1907 p.102).
This was true in the concept under which the various keen considerations were inculcated in the concepts that saw to the alienation of the various immigrants and others being sent back to their countries of origin. The European immigrants inculcated their cultural overviews and which actually saw to the various changes in the ways of life. Hence, the new laws in the 1965 ended in quota system that favored European immigrants. Hence, other immigrants such as the pilgrims arrived in the United States to seek the religious freedom (John 1907 p. 120).
Hence, in the general overview, the immigrants into the US territory brought with them the various changes that saw to the economic and social differences in the country’s way of life among the citizens. Hence, immigration brought with it both positive and negative issues in the US territories.
Works cited
Hanel, Rachael. Mexican Immigrants in America: An Interactive History Adventure. Mankato, Minn: Capstone Press, 2009.
Shipler, David K. The Working Poor: Invisible in America. New York: Knopf, 2004.
Rumbaut, Rubén G, and Alejandro Portes. Ethnicities: Children of Immigrants in America. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001.
Commons, John R. Races and Immigrants in America. New York: Macmillan, 1907.
