Ean Aubrey History 2200 Chris Case Since the start of Americas history, immigration has always been

a part of it. People looked for a better life for themselves and their families. When headed to America, they believed they would achieve that life. They wanted to be accepted, to be one and become Americanized. It was not that easy for immigrants because there were several acts of legislation passed to limit and exclude certain nationalities and in some cases immigrants had to give up part of their cultural identity. They wanted to be an American. For many different nationalities, it was very difficult to assimilate. Such as the Chinese with the Chinese Exclusion act of 1882, this excluded Chinese laborers from immigrating to the United States for a period of ten years. This was renewed by the Geary Act for an additional ten years, in 1892, but the attitudes did not change because it was renewed again in 1902 with no termination date. (Packet pg. 9) Like the Chinese, the Japanese had a difficult time being accepted. The increase of Japanese in California gave rise to an anti-Japanese movement and a 1906 San Francisco school board order segregating Japanese- American students. (Everyculture/efforts to ban) The Immigration Act of 1917 banned immigration from Asia and the pacific islands which made it difficult for the immigrants to assimilate. With the rise of Nativism, immigrants were no longer safe even in their own ethnic
enclaves. There was wide spread violence against various ethnic groups throughout the country, characterized by lynching, beating, killings, and wrongful arrests. (Packet pg. 13) Social

Darwinism also plagued the second wave. Social Darwinism implied that dark skinned

individuals were inferior to those of lighter skin color. The second wave primarily came from the South and East such as Italy and Greece whose skin color is darker to those of first wave. Many different nationalities believed that there was a fusion of religion, language and nationality that created their identity such as the French-Canadians who sought to preserve their cultural identity. They also believed that to sacrifice any of those would be sacrificing your own identity. The Germans are a prime example of the Americanization process. The Germans settled in groups, kept to themselves, and did not assimilate easily (Olson page 27). Many Germans migrated over, settling together in isolated communities away from other groups which allowed the Germans to remaining loyal to their language, church, and communities. They were reluctant to associate with non-Germans. By doing so, this started causing suspicion among the English majority. By doing those things, this lead to the Germans having to take loyalty oaths, which allowed them to start to become accepted. Very few other nationalities had to take loyalty oaths to be accepted. The Germans would almost fully accept the American way of life in 1787 when the constitution was drafted. After the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1789 with their guarantee of rights, the Germans hopped on board for the American way of life. Prior to the1790s, Germans spoke German, supported parochial school, and were not keen on assimilation. Post 1790s, Germans spoke English, advocated public school and married outside of their nationality. As immigrants have come to America, they have faced many challenges to be accepted as an American and as they struggled through the Americanization process discovered that even

with the struggles and many obstacles to be accepted and considered an American was worth the struggle and price they paid.