George M. Fredrickson’s Models of American Ethnic Relations: A Historical Perspective Article Review Sample

In his work, Models of American Ethnic Relations: A Historical Perspective, George M. Fredrickson mentions the ‘burden of otherness.’ It seems that he is refereeing to racial difference and how people who were not than White Americans were considered ‘others’ and are were stigmatised and discriminated against as a result. Decades ago in America, racial contact severely involved the Indians and Blacks, because the most clear difference between individuals, and groups, was whether or not they were white. Earlier than World War II, such a pecking order was similarly centred around immigrants, mainly Irish, and Protestant over Catholics, but following the war, it was centred completely around skin color. Otherness is one of the more gripping parts of the article, especially as it is related to the burden of being different to the norm.
I liked Fredrickson’s discussion on one-way assimilation. This concept covers the idea that in order for people to be accepted into American society, they had to fit in as well as any White American. This applied to behaviour, clothing, religion, and many other areas of life and lifestyle. During the western movement, people sent children from India to American boarding schools so they could best learn how to fit in with American society. Additionally, slaves were made to blend in with society after they had been freed from slavery. Fredrick comments that many Blacks and Indians resisted giving up their own cultural identities and so started movements like Black Power.
Overall, Fredrick’s essay was interesting from start to finish. He competently outlines American history in terms of racial interaction, and informs the reader of various concepts associated with it. The points I have outlined are just a few of many good ones.