Q1.2 Living in the American society: American Dream, migration, puritanism, patriotism

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in society and entrepreneurial endeavors (unternehmerische Bemühungen) • believing that one is exceptional, a member of "God's chosen people", following a divine providence → Manifest Destiny - idea that the white Americans were divinely ordained to settle the entire continent of North America → America's Mission: to democratize the world → America = chosen / a country that is superior to all other countries → feeling of being superior to all other countries - feeling of being able to achieve everything • belief in authority as a means of protecting the personal rights of the people • prejudice against racial minorities and the poor • it formed American individualism Freedom /Statue of Liberty Symbol of freedom (broken shackles (Fesseln) as symbol for the end of slavery) mobility; optimism; flexibility The pragmatism of Americans and their belief in limitless resources is related to the American tradition of mobility. Settling the West ("going west") meant making a fresh start in a land of spaciousness (geographical mobility). Today with the same sense of optimism about their chances to succeed, Americans are still prepared to move great distances to improve their lives through a better job or a more pleasant climate. They also accept a high degree of social mobility (upward and downward) on the "ladder of success" as a fact of 1 Q1.2 Livin in the American society life, and relate this success primarily to individual achievement and their own flexibility when looking for new opportunities. Attitude of the people (Haltung) very (foreign) friendly, helpful. open, cheerful, active, happy, (always answer and help voluntary) Character of the people (Einstellung) optimistic, freedom-loving, sports-loving (football), linked between generations Mobility: drive everywhere, walking is seen dangerous The American Dream The phrase "American Dream" was first expressed by the American historian and writer James Truslow Adams in 1931 to explain what had attracted millions of people of all nations to settle in America. ● ● It describes a set of complex beliefs, promises of religious and personal freedom and opportunities for prosperity and success, as well as political and social expectations its basic underlying concept has roots in the Declaration of Independence of 1776 which refers to basic human rights such as "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" which are "inalienable" and God-given and based on the assumption that "all (peoplej are created equal" ● Idea: Dream of a land, where everybody has the chance, caused by their abilities to live a better life An open and dynamic society • being generally open to new ideas and inventions (→ progress) • being generally open to immigrants of any nationality, provided they contribute positively to the country Dream to be able to achieve everything though hard work (social status = unimportant) Key aspects: individualism (Idea of self-responsibility for own fate to get rewarded; Sceptics of government: causes lot of personal freedom, puritanism, patriotism, Manifest Destiny. • different concepts of how to integrate immigrants: a. the melting pot image: people are "melted together", i. e. they are expected to give up their original culture and identity and are "transformed" into a homogeneous "American culture" (acculturation) b. the salad bowl image: national, ethnic and cultural patterns/habits are kept distinct by the immigrants while they are rather loosely integrated into the "American culture" a) assimilation: process of becoming a member of a society by adapting to it, rather than remaining a separate group. b) multiculturalism: practice of giving equal importance to all members of society and to include people of different languages, races and traditions in it (salad bowl) c) Integration: Individual ethnic groups are equal in one society, not forced to give their cultural practices away, but have to learn the dominant language and obey the laws of the land Migration, insbesondere asiatische Einwanderer Emigrate means to leave one's country to live in another (point of view of the departure) Immigrate is to come into another country to live permanently (point of view of the destination) Migrate is to move, like birds in the winter. 2 Q1.2 Livin in the American society Emigrate means you are exiting your current homeland: People are always saying there's no quality of life in Russia, and everyone wants to emigrate. Immigrate means you are coming in to a country to live: Citizens from 17 European Union countries were given freedom to immigrate to Switzerland. Push factors; emigration ● pull factors: immigration democracy, safety, stable political system, better living standards, technological progress American Dream / Pursuit of happiness ● Better education or health care system principles of religious and social tolerance natural disasters ● ● Illegal immigration to the US - non citizens who enter the country without permission to stay beyond the termination date of their visa ● ● ● ● ● 1. economic reasons (low wage rates, infrastructure, unemployment, overpopulation, bad standards of living, poverty) ● 2. educational or health reasons (school system, college and university facilities) 3. religious reasons (oppression, discrimination and persecution because of religious belief) 4. social reasons (discrimination of minorities, racism, homophobia) 5. political reasons (oppression, discrimination and persecution because of political conviction, war, human rights situation) 6. personal reasons (marriage, transferred patriotism, evasion of criminal justice etc.) 7. physical reasons: Attractive environments, such as mountains, seasides and warm climates ● - 7 to 20 million (primarily from Central American countries like Mexico) - Tend to be less educated-> nearly half of them do not complete high school - Trump wants to restrict immigration, especially illegal immigration-> relation with neighboring countries are more strained than ever; Canada's attitude towards refugees couldn't be more different arguments against immigrants are dominated by stereotypes - Minorities in the US - since the birth in 1776, the USA has been a nation of immigrants - Boom in 19th and early 20th century -> therefore the society always been ethnically and culturally mixed - slaves (black ethnicity group) did not enter the country voluntarily; descendants of these slaves are the second largest minority group behind the Hispanics # Asian immigrants increased dramatically after the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act which prevented the immigration from asian countries) • Grew from 491,000 to 12.8 million in 2014 Top five countries: India, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Korea (removed a past 3 Q1.2 Livin in the American society ● Motivation for migration: employment, family reunification, educational or investment opportunities and humanitarian protection The first Asians to migrate to the United States were the Chinese in the mid-19th century to work in the railroads & gold mines in California in 1850´s, especially in San Francisco (Golden mountain). ➤Faced with economic hardship and political turmoil more than 300 000 Chinese entered the US between 1840 and 1900. ► 1868 Burlingame Treaty of 1868 established friendly relations between the U.S. and China, including the encouragement of Chinese immigration to the U.S., but naturalization (Einbürgerung) was strictly forbidden by the Naturalization Act. ➤ The Chinese-America of the late-nineteenth-century West was mostly a bachelor society, where the few Chinese women mostly became prostitutes. ➤ "Chinatowns" emerged in railroad towns, farming villages, and cities, where Chinese spoke their own language and established immigrant clubs. After 1882 the Chinese Exclusion Act barred nearly all Chinese from the United States for six decades. As a result, there was an increase in Japanese immigration to replace Chinese laborers (Arbeiter) The families who remained reared the second generation of Chinese Americans, who managed to open their own restaurants, laundries and other small businesses, that remain a source of livelihood for many Chinese-Americans even today. 20th Century Asian-Americans American commodore Perry's arrival in 1853 ended two centuries of Japan's self-isolation and led to the restoration of the emperor. A steep land tax imposed by Japan's new "Meiji" government drove more than 300 000 Japanese farmers off their land to America between 1885 and 1924. ➤ Japanese immigrants arrived with more money and a better education than European immigrants. They were expected to stay only temporarily and worked on the railroads or in fish, fruit or vegetable canneries. A separate Japanese economy of restaurants, stores and boardinghouses sprang up in cities to serve the immigrants´ needs. ➤ Many of them moved into farming and by 1940, they produced more than a half of California's strawberries, snap beans and tomatoes. White workers and farmers, jealous of Japanese success, pushed for immigration restrictions. ➤ 1908 Gentleman's Agreement hindered the migration of Japanese to the U.S. The U.S. would not restrict Japanese migration, but rather Japan would deny passports to laborers seeking to enter the U.S. 1913 the Californian legislature denied Japanese immigrants already living in the U.S. the right to own land. Discriminated against in their adopted homeland, Japanese immigrants became more determined than ever that their children succeed, by encouraging them to learn English, to excel in school, and to go to college. ➤ 1945 World War II ends / War Brides Act War Brides Act allowed the immigration of all non-Asian spouses, natural children and adopted children of U.S. military personal. 1950-1953 Korean War, in which many Asian-Americans served, which helped to combat Asian discrimination in the U.S. > 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act raised the Limit to 270,000 immigrants/ year 4 Q1.2 Livin in the American society → Model minority ● describes Asian Americans as a high-achieving, hardworking, and intellectually superior monolithic group characterized academic and occupational success ● ● ● ● ● the model minority myth dates back to the nineteenth century, when the first wave of Chinese immigrants came to America to work on the Central Pacific Railroad. They were often compared with African immigrants and praised for their superior work ethic. Several decades later, during America's involvement in World War II and internment of Japanese in the 1940s, Japanese Americans faced immense pressure to be model citizens in order to fit into American society and to diminish the racist sentiment toward Japanese. ● The stereotype reemerged again, especially during the civil rights movement of the 1960s. After a New York Times article (1966) contrasted the high achievements of Japanese Americans with the record of other "problem minority" groups (e.g., blacks and Latinos), conservatives started to use the model minority myth to dismiss civil rights activists claims that racism was responsible for the struggles of people of color and to delegitimize challenges to racial oppression. In essence, the myth was used to justify and maintain the racial order. However Asian Americans are not a homogenous group; this population includes over twenty-four distinct ethnic groups with different languages, cultures, political orientations, religions, educational levels, occupations and other attributes. Moreover, there are inequalities within this racial group: some Asian American ethnic groups face drastic economic, educational, and occupational inequalities. For example, while some ethnic subgroups (e.g., Asian Indian, Taiwanese) have considerably higher levels of educational achievement than the overall population in the United States, other ethnic subpopulations (e.g., Hmong, Cambodian, Laotian) have lower levels of education than the national average. PERSISTING CONSEQUENCES First, because the myth frames Asian Americans as universally successful minorities, it denigrates other minorities (Hispanics, African-Americans), since they are not as academically gifted or hardworking. Similarly, while some Asian American ethnic groups are relatively affluent, poverty rates for Southeast Asian Americans (e.g., Cambodian, Laotian, Hmong, and Vietnamese) are rather high. Second, due to the fact that the model minority stereotype masks significant inequalities within the racial group, it fuels the misconception that Asian Americans are problem-free, it delegitimizes the challenges these people face and leads to them feeling additional pressure to succeed, which can affect their mental health and well-being. Third, the myth constructs Asian Americans as honorary whites who are not as good as individuals in the racial majority but superior to other minority groups. In doing so, the model minority stereotype pits racial minority groups against each other. Also: → American jealousy → Supressing their success in Hollywood: fear of Asian people dominating media 5 Q1.2 Livin in the American society 6