Problems in American Immigration - Essay Example

Problems in American Immigration Our beautiful earth, since its formation has been a ‘hotbed’ of activity. Activity in the sense, we humans have been showing activeness both mentally and physically, which have transformed our earth from a primitive one to a developed one. Importantly, these activities or practices have been carried out in an organized form under different structures. That is, humans have organized or segregated themselves into different structures like countries, communities, and carried on with their activities. But, in course of time, due to various factors, the humans started to leave their home countries, states, etc, and immigrated to other countries or places and there also carried out their activities in the company of that country’s citizens. It is human nature not to remain ‘static’; rather they will always like to keep on moving from one place to another, even to uncharted territories. This form of immigration will sometimes happen legally and other times illegally, and also some times from position of domination and other times from position of weakness. Based on above mentioned mode of immigration only, the immigrants will receive a favorable reception or a negative reception. From time immemorial, the land of America has been receiving immigrants from all over the world from Europe, Africa to Asians. All who reached America have experienced any one or both the receptions and thereby imbibed more experiences. So, this paper will discuss how the immigrant Europeans as well as the native and also the immigrant Non-Europeans shared experiences, with the presence of Non-Europeans or Native Indians helping the Europeans like the Irish become “American” Even before the immigration of Puritans or Anglo-Europeans started, America has been receiving people from different ethnic groups or ‘nationalities’. That is, according to the author Ronald Takaki, a well known ethnic studies historian, America has been receiving immigrants from 1400’s after the expedition and the resultant discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. Actually, the Native Indians only inhabited America for over 1000 years, but this immigration of outsiders particularly Europeans downsized their population to a minority. That is, after Columbus discovered the sea route to America, the Spanish are the first to arrive and they were living in America since 1400’s in what is today California. After the Spanish, Africans immigrated or were forced to immigrate to America, as they were brought as slaves in around 1600s in a number of slave ships. So, even before the Puritans or Anglo-Europeans arrived on American shores, other ethnic groups migrated to America, establishing colonies in different parts of the territory. These ethnic groups particularly the Spanish existed and dominated the Native Americans. They used arms, ammunitions and violence to subdue the Native Americans driving many of them from their long-held territories. And when the Anglo-Europeans arrived in America and extended its influence and territory throughout America, the situation got worse for the Native Indians. That is, when the Anglo-Europeans arrived, they along with other European settlers started to subjugate the Native Americans and also the Africans, who had taken the African-American orientation. The crux of the dominative attitude exhibited by European immigrants or settlers, came from the differences that arose because of the racial differences. Even though the dominative attitude of the Europeans stemmed from their wish to rule the whole of America and to portray themselves as the’ Masters’, the crux as mentioned above is the racial differences. That is, differences crept into the relationships between the Europeans and the Native Americans mainly due to the racial issue. Takaki also takes this same line when he mentions that “race...has been a social construction that has historically set apart racial minorities from European immigrant groups" (10). But, at the same time, Takaki argues that this social construction does not accurately reflect the "rich and complex mosaic" of American diversity, as in some periods of history and in some places, all these ethnic groups shared some experiences. As the different European groups and the Native Indian settlers segregated among themselves and lived in their territories spread over the length and breadth of the country, most of the times they initiated or faced attack and repression, on others or from others. So, most of the times, there was no co-ordination or coexistence among the Europeans and the non-Europeans. But, in the midst of violence, battles, misunderstandings, suppressions, etc, the Europeans and Non-Europeans shared experience in some aspects, mainly after the civil war. That is, after the end of the War, many Europeans, who has in course of time become the synonymous ‘Americans’, indulged in agriculture. And when the Southerners indulged in the growing of plantation, they mainly employed African Americans as the laborers. It was during this period, immigration of the Asians started with many East Indian and Chinese laborers brought into America from their homelands to work in the agricultural lands. As the Asian immigrants entered the agricultural fields, the Southern plantation owners in the positive sense attempted to replace African American laborers with Chinese. That is, they believed that the African-American workers can certainly learn from the Chinese, the different agricultural techniques and importantly on how to be more industrious. So, by involving the Asian immigrants to teach the African immigrants, the European immigrants have a kind of created a shared experience. Likewise, Takaki also points out how the South American immigrants and the Asian immigrants co-operated together in 1903. That is, the South American immigrants particularly the immigrant Mexicans and the Asian immigrants particularly the immigrant Japanese laborers, both of who were working in California struck work together, exhibiting a kind of shared experience. That is, in this case, the coalition between the Mexicans and the Japanese (even though it is between Asian and South American) also exhibited shared experience. Likewise, Takaki throughout his book, A Different Mirror brings out various instances of shared experiences between the Europeans and the Non-Europeans. Actually, the main motive of Takaki while writing this book appears to be, to confound the various stereotypes and the historical accounts of the relationship between the different immigrant groups, which mainly stress on violence rather than coalition. Even while bringing out the shared experiences, Takaki also points out how racism directed against African-Americans had powerful backings. Takaki cites the racist words of Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of America, to prove his point: "Why increase the Sons of Africa, by planting them in America, where we have so fair an opportunity, by excluding all Blacks and Tawnys, of increasing the lovely white?" So, the Native Indians were mostly suppressed in the early centuries. Even though the Native Indians were subjugated by Europeans, ironically they played an important role in helping the Europeans like the Irish become “American”. That is, the presence of Native Americans in the American territory gave the incoming Irish a kind of association. Actually, the incoming Irish were able to relate to Native Americans more easily. This is because both of them had a common opponent in Anglo-Europeans. That is, when the Anglo-Europeans landed in America and encountered the Native Americans, they viewed them as ‘uncivilized’ beasts and equated their uncivilized behavior as similar to the Irish. “The first English colonizers in the New World found that the Indians reminded them of the Irish” (Takaki, 28). To the Anglo-Europeans the Irish were uncivilized class of people and because of this equation, Irish related to the Native Americans and tried to Americanize themselves, leaving their negative image. And as the Irish involved themselves in all the important construction activities that happened in America, they were able to assimilate better. “The foreign workers’ contribution also underscored the myth of The American Melting Pot.” (Meyer qtd by Gjerde, 1998). Even while Irish and some other European groups became more American, the Native Americans could not, or did not want to become American, which is actually the European way of living. They had this mindset because of their long held opposition against the Europeans, and importantly because of their strong resolve to maintain a close bonding with their roots and culture. So, even though the Native Americans’ presence helped Irish assimilate better, they themselves avoided the assimilation process. Reference: Gjerde, J. 1998. Major Problems in American Immigration and Ethnic History. Houghton Mifflin Company. Takaki, R.1994. A Different Mirror. Back Bay Books Read More