Questions based on the book American Immigration by Gerber

Questions based on the book American Immigration by Gerber

Question one                           

Racism refers to the circumstances under which an individual or individuals are/is discriminated against different skin color based on one’s belief that a particular race is superior. Ethnicity and racism are portrayed by David Geber throughout his book “American Immigration, s concise introduction” he says that the U.S. experienced massive and ceaseless immigration; due to the situation, several questions started to come up. “Who are we? we are everyone.” ‘Many cannot accept the answer’ (Pg 21). The debate progressed by reflecting on the policy and law of immigration. It is said that at first, it was difficult to regulate the flow of immigrants, and only non-white were banned from being naturalized citizens. Besides, between the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century variety of origins from Asia were forbidden from entering the country because of their race (Pg 21). After that, in 1965, gates were opened for all kinds of persons, limits being only how many from diverse regions. It was done to appease the guilty that had made vulnerable in the middle of Cold War racism struggles as past law of immigration (Pg 21).

The book has also indicated immigration from a different perspective; immigrants were considered according to their groups such as farmers and workers, store owners and industrial workers, and adults and children. The national-level American party at that time allowed this kind of categorization because they knew immigrant farmers and workers were crucial to the power and prosperity of America (Pg 37). Some groups were considered beneficial than the others, thus privileged during immigration.

The differences were justified by their titles or skills they possessed. This determined whether the immigrants will be allowed in the country or not. These situations have changed over time due to increased working together hence uniting folks. For instance, during the bloody Civil War (1861-65), in which the natives and immigrants fought together, thus creating peace and harmony across ethnic lines (Pg 37).

Question two

There was a time the American government posed relaxed restrictions, laws, and policies on the immigrants. This was mainly done because the immigrants were of an advantage in the economy at large. The leaders of labor unions such as Samuel Gompers, who was the head of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), conscientiously opposed restrictions on immigration, reflecting the anxieties of their members about the availability of work and wage scales (Pg 52). They were also preferred because a large number of the immigrants consisted of illiterate persons; therefore, they were used as workers in factories, outdoor laborers in an extractive and construction industries such as coal mining (Pg 54). The immigrants used to be the working-class segment, primarily due to the problems of organizing a simple mobile workforce with an increasing number of the immigrant cohort. The fact that the latest immigrants were frequently ignorant of their employment conditions, they were sporadically used as strikebreakers. Highlighted for the workers of America that new immigrants were poor organizational material based on solidarity class (Pg 53). All these factors constituted the few and easy restrictions on the law and policy of immigration.

On the other hand, due to the unlimited restriction on immigration resulted in broad thinking of industrial employers saying that the manufacturing economy had a sufficient labor supply enough to cater to its needs. Additionally, prominent industrialists like Henry Ford, an automobile manufacturer, become more concerned with their workforce stability and desirous promoting settled behaviors through Americanization strategies and a diversity of incentive wage and job policies. Consequently, compared to their past encouragement of high immigration rates, the situation found them less or more indifferent to the debate about the restriction of immigration. These changes have resulted in several consequences; the Immigration Restriction League (IRL) formed in 1894 by urban reformers, national political leaders, and northeastern academic coalition stated that; the social problem growth and persistent political corruption in the fast developing industrial towns. They blamed such circumstances on the uncontrolled increased immigrant populations (Pg 53).

Question three

Despite having disadvantages, immigration has also been such importance to the culture and society of America; since migration involves diverse ethnicity and races of persons, it has contributed significantly to make the globe more connected. From the book, we see that immigrants come from different countries such as Italy, Mexico, and Japan, Chinese, Poland, etc. and meet in the U.S. This has dramatically contributed to nowadays peace and harmony too.

Immigrants have majorly played a role in the shaping of the United States. In reality, the immigrants have improved culture for the better by resulting in the introduction of new expertise, art, cuisines, customs, and ideas. Roughly 34million of 50 million individuals who emigrated from their native homes in search of material and opportunities around 1819 and 1920 to the United States led to the transition of the United States to the urban and industrialized nation from agrarian and rural state. Immigrants offered cheap labor that enabled this transition (Pg 17-18).

Immigration is not unique to the U.S. alone; it is an act that has been practiced by other countries too all over the world, such as Canada, Dubai, and Qatar.