BCParrillo

Chapter 5

Northern and Western

Europeans

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Sociological Perspective

• The Colonial Period

• Reasons for each immigrant group coming to America:– Economic Reasons– Political– Religious Reasons

• Encountered Native Americans– Cultural differences on both sides resulted in

xenophobic reactions

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Sociological Perspective Cont.• European – Native American relations

punctuated by:– Misunderstanding– Fear– Suspicion– Hostility– Exploitation– violence

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Cultural Diversity

• Parrillo: “ From the moment Europeans first landed on these shores, cultural differences existed”

• [A Eurocentric point of view]– The indigenous population was already a

diverse population with differences in:• Culture• Language• Religion

• New Amsterdam

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Religious Intolerance• Religious differences cause more problems

than did nationality differences

• Europeans were seeking a place of religious harmony– Brought with them their religious prejudices– Intolerant of others with different beliefs

• Example: Expulsion of religious dissident Roger Williams from the Massachusetts colony

BCReligious Intolerance Cont.

• Baptist the most persecuted in New England– Fines, … Beatings, … Whippings, … etc.

• Baptists thrived in Philadelphia• The Massachusetts Charter extended

“liberty of conscience” to all Christians except the “Papists” (Catholics)

• Religious intolerance created wide cultural gulfs– Gary :Nash “Any attempt to portray the colonies

as unified and homogeneous would be misguided.”

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The Early National Period• Anglo-Americans dominated American

culture, economy, politics– A common language, history, and culture

solidified by 1820– Included belief in Protestantism, individualism,

and political democracy

• U.S. Constitution drafted in 1789– A bedrock principle of “the separation of church

and state”

• Some religious tolerance, but Catholics and Jews were barred from running for office

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The 1790 Census

• Anglo-Saxon Protestants were the dominant group

• American society was both culturally and racially diverse (Table 5.1, p. 130)

• English 48%

• African 19%

• German 7%

• Scots 7%

• Native American 2%

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Early Signs of Nativist Reactions

• During the post-Revolutionary period, a broad based antiforeign attitude

• Jeffersonians and Federalists feared the other side would benefit from immigration

• George Washington had reservations of immigrants (newcomers, strangers)– Quote, (p. 132)

• Federalists believed the foreign immigrant population was the root of all evil in the U.S.

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Nativist Legislative Action

• Federalists attempted to limit office holding to the native-born

• Evidence of Xenophobia, … Ethnocentrism

• 1798, …Alien and Sedition Acts– Concern of a war with France

• Jefferson Elected President in 1800, … the acts were abrogated

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Pre-Civil War Period• 1820 Census:

– Excluded Native Americans– 9.6 Million Americans– 20% of the population was black – Remainder were mainly Northwestern

Europeans

• Between 1820 and 1860, … 5 million immigrants– Irish and Germans accounted for the greatest

number, … Irish, 44 to 49% during this period

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Structural Conditions

• Urban living conditions were substandard

• Irish– Poverty stricken– Lived in squalid conditions– High disease and mortality rates

• Quote (page 144)– “Typical of overcrowded cellars … “

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Pre-Civil War Xenophobia

• Xenophobia: Immigrants 1820 to 1860

• Seen as a threat to American institutions

• An imagined radical threat

• An imagined Catholic threat

• Antiforeign organizations, …“Native Americans”, … The Know Nothings”

• Frequent mob action, burning, … assaulting, … murdering

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The English• First white ethnic group in New World

• First two settlements:– Jamestown VA, … Southern aristocracy– Plymouth, … Yankee origins

• Different purposes, …religions, … climates, … terrains– Developed different cultures

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English Departure

• Departure: The Pilgrims

• Fled England for Holland

• Experienced Culture Shock in Holland– “Heard a strange and uncouth language”– “Different manners and customs”– “Strange fashions and attires”

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Resisting Assimilation

• Not all immigrants desire full assimilation

• Many never become naturalized citizens

• Do not intend to forsake their cultural heritage, … seek to preserve their heritage

• Often children become assimilated

• Pilgrims feared their children would become assimilated into Dutch culture

• A factor in Pilgrim migration to New World

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English Influence

• Greatest English impact occurred during the Colonial period

• 1790, 63% of U.S. population, … English descent, … nationality

• Made a great impact on U.S culture– Language, … Law, … customs, … values

• Seldom experience prejudice or discrimination– Relatively few ethnophaulisms for the English

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English Enfluence• Many British found America less attractive

than England– It failed to live up to their expectations– Read quotes pages 148-149

• Between 1881 to 1889, more than 370,000 British returned to England– Found U. S. a “debased copy of their

homeland

• The Second Generation fit in, ..assimilated

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The Dutch

• Two greatest periods of migration:– 1881 to 1930, about 1.6 million– 1941 to 1970, nearly 98,000

• Had a significant impact on early American development– Settled in the present New York City area

• Very little reason to immigrate to America– Few “Push” factors

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The Dutch Cont.

• Pluralism: Dutch settlements were pluralistic, much like their homeland– Holland offered sanctuary to many groups

• Maintained their culture, language for a long period (Quote)– Dutch endogamy and isolation

• Many immigrated during 1880 to m1920– Did not encounter the ethnic antagonisms that

Southeastern Europeans experienced

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The French

• Three population segments:– Migrants from French Canada, who settled in

New England– French Expelled from Nova Scotia in 1755

who settled in Louisiana, … Cajuns, …– The Huguenots, … came to America to

escape religious persecution

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French Cont.• The Huguenots: Protestants, … anxious

to convert to the Anglican Church– Adopted English language– Assimilated as rapidly and possible

• Changed their names, … Customs, … Lost their ethnic identity

• The second generation experienced a marginal status

• Lost their ethnoreligious status

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French Cont.• Francophobia; The XYZ Affair• Jeffersonians were French sympathizers• Federalists were anti-French• French officials demanded bribes for U.S

diplomats to obtain desired agreements• To Federalists every Frenchman was a

potential enemy• By 1801 the Republicans ended Federalist

dominance, … the Louisiana purchace

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French Cont.

• Pluralism– Have assimilated many groups– Examples: Germans, … Spanish

• Loss of ethnic identity as a distinct culture– Television accelerated ethnogenesis– Increased Anglicization, … names, language– Education, … migration looking for jobs

• An effort to retain French (Cajun) culture

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Germans• Has supplied the greatest number of

immigrants to the U.S.– 7.2 million since 1820– Today 58 million claim German ancestry

• Early Reactions:

• William Penn recruited Germans for the Pennsylvania colony– Large number, … different language, …

customs, … religion

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Germans Cont.

• Early Reactions by “Americans”

• Benjamin Franklin: – Quote on page 158

• Franklin’s worries:– The duality of language– Clannishness– Their meager knowledge of English

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Germans, The Second Wave• The second wave settled in the midwest• Preserved their heritage through schools,

… churches, … newspapers, … language, … mutual-aid societies, … recreational activities

• Some considered creating a German state• Other of creating a separate German

country• Concentrated in “Germantown”

communities

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Second Wave, Cont.

• Increasing criticism:– Being clannish, … attempting to preserve their

culture

• World War I: became targets of harassment, business boycotts, … physical attacks, … vandalism of their property

• Cultural Impact: German influence– American speech, … food, … drinking, … P. 160

• German immigrant industrialists, … p. 161

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The Irish• Prerevolutionary immigrants were Ulster

Irish (the Scots-Irish)– Settled in New England at first– Clustered together preserving their culture

• Irish Catholics fared poorly because of:– Religion, … peasant culture, … rebelliousness,

… increasing numbers, … Anti-British

• “Dublin Districts”, … overcrowded, … deplorable conditions, … – First immigrants to come in large numbers

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Irish, Societal Reaction

• Native U.S. citizens blamed Irish for:– Their widespread poverty– Resented the heavy burden they placed on

charitable institutions

• Stereotyped the Irish as:– Prone to alcoholism, .. Brawling, … corruption,

… and crime

• Anti-Irish feeling linked to Anti-Catholic feeling and fears of “Popery”

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Societal Reaction Cont.

• Strong social and job discrimination– NINA, … “No Irish Needs Apply”

• Played a key role in U.S. industrial expansion– Canals, … Waterways, … Railroads, …

• A Middleman minority

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Irish Response• Irish experience, a prototype of experiences

of later immigrants– Hostile reception, … prejudice and

discrimination

• Irish actions and reactions– Alternately retreatist and aggressive– Small degree of intermarriage, … with other

Catholics– Built parallel social institutions– Irish labor in low–status jobs

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Irish Response Cont.

• The Molly Maguires– Secret terrorist group in conflict with mine

owners– Movement ended with hanging of 20 men

• Draft Riot of 1863 in New York City– 400 rioters were killed

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The Functionalist View

• Immigrants generally highly desirable• Forge a civilization from a vast

underdeveloped country• Economic opportunity• Religious freedom• Political Freedom• Unskilled built cities, canals, railroads• Entrepreneurial skills, craftsmanship to

supply a growing nation

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Functionalist View Cont.

• “Useless and withered plants”, … “have taken root and flourished”

• Large numbers of immigrants, ... Dysfunctional, … could not absorb quickly

• Immigrants generated prejudice and discrimination

• In time with adjustments and education they became upwardly mobile

• Finally acceptance and assimilation

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The Conflict View• Dominance of English Americans• Influence, … language, customs, political

principles• A propertied elite saw immigrants as

“common” people and a threat to their power– Federalist and Nativists saw them as a threat

• Immigrant Economic exploitation, … working under brutal conditions– Industrial expansion at their expense

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Key Terms

• Anglo conformity• Assimilation• Discrimination• Ethnocentrism• Nativism• Pluralism• Prejudice• Upward mobility• Xenophobia

• National period• Pre-Civil War Period• Push, Pull factors• Marginality