Waves of Immigration Comprehension Check

• Which 2 continents did most immigrants that came to America during the first wave originate from?
• What “pushed” the Irish out of their country and into the U.S. during the second wave of immigration?
• What parts of the world did most people in the third wave of immigration come from? (Need to be more specific than just the name of the continent)
• Invasions, occupations, and massive aerial assaults by foreign militaries combined with civil wars and the rise of terrorist/extremist groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda have “pushed” many people from this region of the world out of their homelands and into the U.S.
• Push or pull factor? The Gold Rush in California
• Push or pull factor? Communist regimes taking over of nations like Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos in Southeast Asia.

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• Who/what do the main characters (1, 2, and 3) in this cartoon represent?
• 1 =
• 2 =
• 3 =
• What does this cartoon suggest about U.S. attitudes towards immigrants?

1

2

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3

Advocates of the Melting Pot theory argue that immigrant groups should assimilate into “American” culture. What does that even mean?!?

What concrete traits/characteristics make someone “American”?

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U.S. SINGLE-SYSTEM MONOCULTURE

In 1908, British writer Israel Zangwill wrote a stage play, the title of which popularized a term that came to be used as a metaphor for America itself: The Melting Pot.

The Melting Pot Americanization theory argues that immigrants should assimilate into “American” culture.

This often celebrated nativist viewpoint asserts that there are specific characteristics and behaviors individuals must possess or adopt to be regarded as a “real American”.

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SOURCE: http://www.newsweek.com/immigration-myth-melting-pot-408705

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U.S. SINGLE-SYSTEM MONOCULTURE

In an often quoted passage, President Teddy Roosevelt called for the assimilation of immigrants, saying,

“We have room for but one language here [in America], and that is the English language.”

The Ford Motor Co., among other major businesses, kept immigrant laborers after working hours for mandatory courses to teach them English and instill American values.

The Young Men’s Christian Association offered classes that taught immigrants the “American way,” educating them on American hobbies, hygiene practices, family life and more.

SOURCE: http://www.newsweek.com/immigration-myth-melting-pot-408705

U.S. SINGLE-SYSTEM MONOCULTURE

According to advocates of the Melting Pot theory and other nativist “Americanization” movements, a“real American”...

• Assimilates into white/Anglo European culture
• Speaks English
• Is Christian
• Supports Capitalism (more on that later!)

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Explain the differences between the melting pot theory and salad bowl theory

• What is going on in this cartoon?
• What is this cartoon trying to say? Is it a positive message or a negative message?
• What clues from the image did you use to come up with your answer?

• Which vocab term from the 15.1 textbook reading is this political cartoon an illustration of?
• What threats do immigrants pose to American society according to the cartoon?

Challenges Immigrants Face:

Language Barriers

Challenges Immigrants Face:

Path to Citizenship

Challenges Immigrants Face: Economic Exploitation

• Wal-Mart...In 2005, company officials escaped criminal prosecution when they paid the federal government an $11 million settlement, after it was discovered that cleaning contractors Wal-Mart hired were using and exploiting large numbers of undocumented immigrants. One report revealed that workers were locked in the stores to prevent them from going on smoking breaks or leaving at all before their bosses wanted them to.
• Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested and deported 245 undocumented immigrants at Wal-Marts throughout Pennsylvania.
• Government prosecutors claimed they had wiretaps to prove that Wal-Mart executives knew undocumented immigrants were working in their stores.
• However, according to the terms of the settlement, Wal-Mart never admitted to any wrongdoing, and the company placed all of the blame on outside contractors.

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Challenges Immigrants Face:

Prejudice and Discrimination by Individuals and Laws

If lawmakers would have studied their history they would have known this would happen...

Macro Level Racism: Law and Government Policy

OPERATION WETBACK

Challenges Immigrants Face:

Nativism, Prejudice and Discrimination by Individuals and Laws

Urbanization: The growth of cities and the people that built them