AMERICAN IDENTITY: Four Narratives

1. AMERICAN IDENTITY: Four Narratives The American Dream (Letters From an American Farmer) (1782) Immigration/Naturalization Policy (1790-present) Americanization Movement (1890-1920) Americanization Movement for 21st Century (2008)

2. Activity Who are �us�? Who are �aliens�? (Does �alien� help define �us�?) Which �aliens� should be allowed to become �us�?

3. Narrative I:  The American Dream: (Letters from an American Farmer) Hector St. John de Crevecoeur (1735-1813) France to Canada to New York First to describe �American Dream�

4. America Expansive Geographically variable Abundant resources Land cheap Laws �indulgent� �Here individuals of all nations [England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany] are melted into a new race of men�

5. Americans Ubi panis ibi patria (Where there is bread, there is my country) Equal; no aristocratic class Self-interested, industrious Religiously diverse/tolerant Friendly, disciplined, grateful What else?

6. Narrative II:Immigration/Naturalization Policy  (1790-Present) 1790: Congress limits naturalized citizenship to "free white persons� �Any court of record� can naturalize Immigration laws primarily state-based

7. Who can�t become �us�? Indentured servants African Americans Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857): No African American can become U.S. citizen Native American Indians �not taxed� Those on reservations or in unsettled parts of country Not included in census

8. Citizenship Defined 1868: 14th A. citizenship based on �jus soli� naturalization 1875: Congress limits naturalized citizenship to persons of white or black descent; states cannot regulate immigration

9. U.S.Naturalization Service1906 Created in response to lack of uniformity in naturalization procedures Racial eligibility requirements create persistent interpretive problems Relationship between race and nationality unclear �List of Races or Peoples� as practical guide for immigration officials

10. Who can�t become �us�? Asians 1882: Chinese Exclusion Act 1922: Ozawa v. U.S.: Japanese born in Japan cannot be naturalized. �White person" means Caucasian Indians 1923: U.S. v. Thind: Do not qualify for citizenship Are �Caucasions� according to anthropologists BUT �the average man knows perfectly well that there are unmistakable and profound differences.�

11. �Average Man� definition of race Webster�s Dictionary 5 races Caucasian (white): Europe and western Asia Mongolian (yellow): China, Japan, and region Negro (black): Africa American (red): natives of North and South American Malay (brown): islands of Indian Archipelago region

12. Immigration Acts1904-7 Limit immigrants from Latin America Exclude immigrants from Philippines, Guam, Samoa and Hawaiian Islands Exclude �idiots, imbeciles, feeble-minded persons, epileptics, insane persons"

13. Shift from race to national origins 1921-24: Congress adds per-country quotas 1922: Indian (Native American) Citizenship Act 1952: Congress substitutes per-country quotas for race as eligibility factor for nationalization @ 70% given to UK, Ireland and Germany

14. Who can�t become �us�? People whose languages, customs, and/or religions different from previous immigrants E.g., Italians, Greeks, Poles, Portuguese, E. & S. Europeans) Asians Laborers Political ideologues threatening American system of government Poor

15. Abolition of per-country quotas1960-present Substitutes hemispheric limits for per-country Discrimination based on race, place of birth, gender eliminated Focus shifts to undocumented aliens and terrorism 2003: Department of Homeland Security takes over immigration & enforcement

16. Who can�t become �us�? �Illegal aliens� Some states want right to regulate Some states want to limit benefits

17. Narrative III:Americanization Movement(@1890-1925) Closing of frontier Industrial revolution Labor conflict World War I Millions of immigrants from southern/eastern Europe Red Scare after Bolshevik Revolution Rise of nativism and fear of foreigners Thousands of aliens deported

18. Sociologist Frances Alice Kellor1873-1952 U.S. must abandon laissez-faire attitude towards immigration American loyalty incompatible with ethnic loyalty Need pro-active government/business response to immigrants

19. Strategies Teach women �American habits of home-making� Make schools �culture factories� English immersion Teach government/history Private organizations/businesses to help

20. What happened? Americanization movement faded when anti-immigrant sentiment grew in 1920s

21. Narrative IV:Americanization Movement for the 21st Century (2008) Legal Permanent Resident Flow by Country of Birth: 2007 Mexico 148,640 China 76,655 Philippines72,596 India 65,353 Colombia 33,187 Haiti 30,405 Cuba 22,405 Vietnam 29,104 Dominican Republic 28,691 Korea 28,024 2042: America a nation of minorities; no dominant racial/ ethnic group 2050: Whites @ 47 percent Hispanics @ 29 percent; Blacks @ 13 percent Asians @ 9 percent.

22. �America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens. Every child must be taught these principles. Every citizen must uphold them. And every immigrant, by embracing these ideals, makes our country more, not less, American. President George W. Bush Inaugural Address, January 20, 2001

23. �American identity is political� www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/M-708.pdf  Embrace principles of American democracy Identify with U.S. history Communicate in English Task Force on New Americans (2008) �The cultural sphere� traditions, religion�is up to the individual.�

24. How Achieved? Department of Homeland Security & 19 other federal agencies coordinate Initiatives/partnerships State/local governments Community/faith-based organizations Public libraries Adult Education Business/private sector initiatives Foundations/Philanthropies Civic Organizations/service clubs

25. Discussion Can Americans unite under banner of political identity? Samuel Huntington: Political values PLUS Christianity required Pat Buchanan: Immigrants must not retain own culture Should English be made official language? How should American history be taught?