The United States of America has always been called the “land of the free”. It is one country that everyone, almost, would like to come and live at. They say that America is a country full of hope and fulfillment. All some can see was the promises, golden promises that are being offered to those who became citizens of this country. They all wish to fulfill the American dream. America was the dream came true for most migrants who were able to find a place to stay here and live a good life. Especially to those poverty stricken places, America is like a pot of gold for them.
Money is not that easy in America for like in other places, you really have to work hard for it but still because of America’s good economic standing in the world market, they still see America as a good place to work and fulfill their dreams. America is composing of a group of nation, there is no one place in America where there is only Americans, Native Americans that is. America is fast to attract people from different places or countries because of the promise of a good life. “The Land of the Free” – that is what we are called.
But like in other places where various types of people reside and live, our country is no exception for us in the imperfect relations between people inside the society. It is free to dream, to hope for god things to come and to wish for a better life but not all were able to live this wonderful dream. There are still some who area victims of inequality in America. There are times when one is being harmed because of the color of their skin. Yes they say that America is the land of the free but that is the bitter irony.
That here in what they call land of the free some are being contained just because the color of their skin is black or brown and not as white as some thinks American color should be. These people have not thought of the fact that America is the land of Immigrants. That if we trace it way back in history, the native dwellers of this country are the Indians. So why should one discriminate another when if we look back, our brothers fought for freedom and equality, the very thing that some are not giving their fellowman. Gjerde has presented in his book the pattern of migration for this different people.
America has been a target for migration because of the promises but was able to retain some of their cultural heritage because they were able to sequester themselves in tight-knit settlements built around familial and community institutions. (2000) Last August 15, the Census Bureau had released the 2005 American Community Survey (ACS). The Survey presented the extent of immigrants in the labor force. Between 2000 and 2005, foreign-born population was 35. 7 million with an increase of 4. 9 million. (Paral, 2006) Among these are Chinese, Japanese and Irish immigrants.
Immigrants have been an important contributor for the economic development of the country. In the past, most of its laborers are immigrants of the likes of Japanese, Chinese and Irish nationals. Only now that the trends are changing and that they are gaining more important jobs. The largest group that entered US was the Irish. In the past, Irish immigrants has come to America in three waves; the missionary effort of the early medieval Christian church, the fight of the Roman Catholic nobility and the mass emigration since the great potato famine of the mid-19th Century.
They were first laborers of the country and some still aspire to enter but government laws forbid them unless they are able to complete a certain years of waiting. It was 1848 when Chinese entered California because of the promise of of Gam Sann or “Gold Mountain”. However, they were also entered as laborers and were they barred from migrating entering in 1882 because of massive unemployment. IT was only in 1952, upon the passage of the Walter-McCarren Act, that they were allowed to apply for citizenship. In the 60’s Chinese wre more than skilled workers but now also holds professional title.
The 1964 Immigration and Nationality Act removed the last barriers to Chinese immigration initiating a new era in the history of America’s melting pot Two of the leading countries when it comes to technological development are America and Japan. However in the past, Japanese immigrants in the USA had undergone the same route with Chinese, they were also skilled laborers. First Japanese immigrants were in Hawaii. Like the Chinese, they was also a time when the like of them was prohibited form entering the country because they were though of as threat to other workers.
Most Japanese migrated to the US in the 1870s because sugar industry was flourishing in Hawaii at that time and Japanese economy was depressed. Chinese and Japanese were seen as Yellow Peril by some native dwellers that‘s why laws were passed to weaken their spirit on migration.. Irish have gained greater advantage rather than those of Asian nationals, like Chinese and Japanese, migrating in the past. They only needed a specific amount of years before they can migrate while Japanese and Chinese were banned form entering and was only limited to less than a hundred that have the grant a year.
However, the Nativist’s movement sees them as threat to American life as they presented the Catholic faith while the Nativist’s were Episcopalians. The Nativist tried their best to maintain power. They employed those that have the same religion as them; this was their way of discriminating those that are of other nationalities like Jews, Chinese and Iris Catholics. African Americans suffered much discrimination than that of Irish or Asian nationals. They were treated with much prejudice because of the color of their skin.
They were treated as the lowest class of workers during the colony days. It took longer for them to be accepted in a society rather than that of other nationalities. In fact, until now there are still some parts of the country where discrimination for their kind is rampant. Life is a continuous journey, like a car, we go through a lot of highways and streets where we see a lot of views, some are good and some are not so good, but whatever the view is, it still has an impact on us, life of ours is about inter-dependency, whether we like it or not.
All men are created equal, we all have rights and responsibilities as well that must be fulfilled. The past should not be a hindrance in fulfilling a better today for all immigrants in the States. There is no one who could account that they rightfully own the land, it has been and will always be the land of immigrants. The school must also be involved in the process of removing cultural barriers between students and teachers. Immigrants will not feel trouble-free if they could not function well in school.
This is where children spend most of their time and this is where some core personalities are being developed thus school faculties and teacher must take great precautions in how they handle multicultural students. One should not also stereotype a person depending on his or her cultural background. Though we should be attuned to their cultural background, we should eye them as unique individuals and not be blinded on our judgment, as to take them for what is generally know about them though some may not be true. We should be aware of our differences.
Reference:
American Immigration Law Foundation. A Brief History of Chinese Immigration to America. American Heritage project. September 4, 2006. http://www. sanfranciscochinatown. com/store/chineseexclusionact. htm Encyclopedia of American Social History Vol. 1 Ed. by: Mary Kupiec Cayton, Elliot J. Gorn, and Peter W. Williams. Published by Charles Scribner’s Sons – 1993 Gjerde, Jon. 2000. Ethnocultural Evolution in the Rural Middle West, 1830-1917 University of North Carolina Press. September 4, 2006. http://uncpress. unc.
edu/books/T 163. html Golway, Terry. The Irish in America. Hyperion, New York. 1997 Immigration: A Journey To America. Japanese. September 4, 2006. http://library. thinkquest. org/20619/Japanese. html McNamara, Customs and Etiquette in Ireland, Global Books LTD, London. 1996 Paral, Rob. 2006. New Census Bureau Data Underscore Importance of Immigrants in the U. S. Labor Force. The Growth and Reach of Immigration. Immigration Policy Brief. September 4, 2006. http://www. ailf. org/ipc/policybrief/policybrief_2006_81606. shtml