The United States of America consists of various ethnic groups that are from diverse backgrounds. The interaction between these groups has made the United States of America to be known as a multicultural society. Some of the cultural groups entered in the country as a result of immigration from other countries (Takaki 23). Others were originally formed in the United States of America. This analysis is going to focus on the comparison and contrast of three ethnic groups. These groups are the Jewish, Chinese and the Irish. The analysis is going to focus on the experience of the groups in the United States of America. The analysis of the three groups is important since we are able to know their transformation from the ancient time to the present time. It will also help us to know how the United States of America affected these groups. In addition to this, one will be in a position to know how these groups affected the United States of America.
There are various issues that need to be discussed regarding the three ethnic groups in the United States of America. These issues include religion, racism and settlement patterns. The pull or push factors that affect these groups may also be important in depicting their experience in the country. Most of the immigration that took place in the United States of America happened between the eighteenth and the nineteenth century (Kennedy 19). During this time, economic and political activities were the main reasons why people migrated from other countries into the United States of America. After the groups had entered in the United States of America, they made various movements within the country. Their settlements are therefore dispersed in various states.
The study will major on the issue of racism and partly on settlement patterns. The reason for this is that these issues have affected the lives of the three groups to a large extent. Before looking at how racism affected the groups, it is important to analyze the background of the three groups and how they settled in the United States of America. The Chinese came into the United States of America in 1820 (Takaki 25). Most of the Chinese immigrants came from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. According to research results made by the American government, most of the people who had migrated from china to the United States of America had a low level of education. The immigration of the Chinese people to America is one of the reasons why California’s population increased in the 1830s. This is due to the fact that most of the first Chinese migrants settled in California.
Many social analysts argue that the Jews that are in the United States of America form one of the largest Jewish populations in the world (Seth 10). The Jewish people are very unique based on the fact that they have their own Jewish religion. Most of them are very loyal to their religion. It has been argued that the Jewish population started to surface in the seventieth century. Most of the Jews had migrated from Spain and Portuguese. This partly explains why the Jewish population started increasing as the years went by. During this period, most of the Jewish people settled in the southern Carolina, increasing the population of this city. However, massive immigration of the Jewish people into the United States of America happened in the 19th century.
The immigration of the Irish people in the United States of America became enormous in the 18th century. The Irish immigrants were mostly from Ireland. Some of the leaders in the country had an Irish origin. The settlements of the Irish immigrants were prevalent in major cities due to preference. Some of these towns include Philadelphia, New York, Chicago and Boston (Kennedy 22). The immigration of the Irish people into the United States of America became optimum between 1850 and 1855. Some other Irish people settled in gardens which are now national parks that are controlled and maintained by the American government.
One of the similarities between the three groups is that all of them faced racism at the time of their immigration. Another similarity is that most of the members who entered into the United States of America were uneducated (Seth 15). Due to this reason, they faced a lot of discrimination in the labor sector. For instance, they had no qualification to work in the white collar jobs in the United States of America. In addition to this, the American residents feared that the immigrants would bring competition in the job market. They felt that it was unfair for foreign immigrants to be given jobs at their own expense. Due to the low education level of the Chinese, Irish and Japanese immigrants, the best jobs that could be given to them was farming and working in public constructions.
The major reason why the Irish people faced racism is that they were in very large numbers. The American residents feared that they could be outnumbered by the engulfing population. Some social analysts argue that the Irish people faced more racism than the Chinese and the Japanese immigrants. However, this cannot be ascertained to be true since the other two ethnic groups also faced prejudice in various dimensions. Due to discrimination, the Irish people faced tough conditions to work in the plantations of the country. They were given the toughest jobs while the residents were given non-manual jobs (Kennedy 26). However, the Irish people opted to work here since their original settlements had worse problems.
The racism of the Chinese people can be depicted at the time of the California Gold Rush. Many Chinese immigrants had visited the gold mines for the purpose of searching for gold. During this period, the Chinese were considered to be very inferior as compared to the American residents. The Chinese faced racism from both the American government and the American residents. At some point, the Chinese people were denied the freedom to testify in courts by the Canadian court. This action was done in order to protect the lives of the Californian citizens who had been accused of murder or torture. The Chinese immigrants also worked in public constructions like the transcontinental railroad. Prejudice was one of the reasons why the Chinese people were paid lesser salaries than their American counterparts. Generally, the Chinese faced prejudice from the American residents due to the fact that they spoke Chinese language, practiced a different religion and engaged in fan tan (Takaki 28). Apart from this, they ate food that was detested by the American people. Due to these reasons, the Chinese found a hard time to be integrated in the culture of the American people.
Just like the Chinese people, the Jewish people faced prejudice due to their religion. The majority who prejudiced the Jews were the American Christians. Even in the bible, the Jews faced racism from the Christian communities. The major difference between the Jews and the other two ethnic groups is that the Jews were more confident in the fight for their rights. In the process, there were many Jewish protests that were killed by the American people. The other people who survived faced a lot of torture. Some of the Jews had initially being denied the chance to vote or work in certain offices (Seth 17). However, these rights were given through amendments in the constitution.
The history of the United States of America shows that the American government affected the three ethnic groups through public policy. There were many immigrants who worked in public constructions and farms. At some time, the government resorted to charging higher taxes to the foreign immigrants than the American citizens. This affected the financial status of the foreign workers. The emergence of the three immigrant groups also affected the United States of America. The immigration of large groups of foreign people into the country increased the population of United States of America. This affected the allocation of jobs among the foreign workers and the American residents (Kennedy 25).
In conclusion, the experience of the three ethnic groups in the United States of America over the years show that racism has negatively impacted them. However, the experience of these groups in the country has faced a lot of evolution due to changes in authority and amendments made in the constitution. There were many activists that fought against racial discrimination. This created a lot of impact in the country since racism has been reducing over the years. Due to the fight against racism, many people of diverse cultures are now working in offices and are interacting freely regardless of the cultural background. More so, the reduction in racial discrimination has seen the Jewish, Chinese and the Irish population being accommodated into the American culture.
Takaki, R, (2008). Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans. New York: Back Bay Books.
Kennedy, K (2007). The Irish: Emigration, Marriage, and Fertility. Berkeley. University of California Press.
Seth K, (2005). American Jewish History. New York. Back Bay Books.
