Nativism In The 1800s

In the eyes of the early American colonists and the founders of the Constitution, the United States was to represent the ideals of acceptance and tolerance to those of all walks of life. When the immigration rush began in the mid-1800's, America proved to be everything but that. The millions of immigrants would soon realize the meaning of hardship and rejection as newcomers, as they attempted to assimilate into American culture. For countless immigrants, the struggle to arrive in America was rivaled only by the struggle to gain acceptance among the existing American population.

In his book, Not Like Us: Immigrants and Minorities in America, 1890-1924, Roger Daniels explores the true history of American nativism in a time period where immigrants entered the country in greater numbers than ever before, or since. Instead of focusing on politics or economic growth at the turn of the twentieth century, Daniels instead discusses the social context of the time and the treatment of immigrants and minorities. Born in New York City and educated at both the University of Houston and UCLA, Daniels holds a Ph.D. in History, is the Charles Phelps Taft Professor at the University of Cincinnati, and has written several books on the matters of race and ethnicity.

With the immigration of Europeans, primarily the Irish, came conflicting views that created tension within the United States and caused Americans to fear change and reform their society. Due to these tensions, a new ideology, nativism, became popular. Nativism, an anti-immigration ideology, emphasized the idea that immigrants were only liked for their ability to serve and listen to what their priests told them to. Also, nativism stated

During the 1920s, new big waves of immigrant took place especially catholic and Jewish European immigrants. These had increase the Nativism feelings among the white native born Americans. The National Origins Act was the accumulation of ant immigrant orientation. The national origin act of 1924 limited immigration from Europeans countries’ more importantly it had linked the rate of immigrant allowed to enter the US as linked to number of the total immigration on 1890. These clearly showed the tradition of the nativist sentiment, because most immigrants until 1890 were white, Anglo Saxon protestants from Britain and Anglo-Saxon countries. The act aimed that America

In early 19th century America, there was a shared feeling of exceptionalism, often leading to egocentrism and prejudice towards foreigners. This egocentrism and prejudice belief system has been passed down, and ignorance towards reforming these beliefs is evident throughout history. Many Americans believe that the colonies of Jamestown and Plymouth were the first settlements in America, thus that the Europeans who traveled across the Atlantic were the first to inhabit the New World. In fact, St. Augustine was a Spanish settlement in Florida established in 1565, 42 years prior to the Jamestown settlement and 55 years prior to the Plymouth settlement. Historical accounts of the American nation tend to neglect this information, resulting in American citizens believing that people of Spanish and Mexican descent do not belong, when in reality, they settled America first. Furthermore, American history tends to neglect mentioning the resistance which Anglo-Americans met as they expanded westward into lands which Native Americans and Mexicans lived in. Accordingly, people of Mexican descent occupied present-day Texas when Anglo-Americans first arrived. Through brutal, immoral, and unjust conquering, Texas became a state separate from Mexico, disregarding the Tejanos of Mexican descent and forcing them to migrate elsewhere.

The term “nativism” is appealed for ethnic, religious, cultural or racial reasons. It is also referred as discrimination based on where you come from. The upsurge of nativism was caused mainly by immigration in the 1920’s. The substantial inflow of new immigrants into new regions petrified most of the population. These people were known as “Nativist” who are opposed to immigration. Nativists always spoke against immigration and used propaganda to persuade the public. If convincing others wouldn’t work, then they would use violence to threaten the immigrants who were here. Many reasons as to why nativists disliked immigrants was due to fear. Some of the reasons were economic situations since nativists believed that the immigrants would take jobs away from their residents or overload the government if they are unable to be responsible for themselves. Immigrants were

“We are nation of immigrants. Some came here willingly, some unwillingly. Nonetheless, we are immigrants, or the descendants of immigrants, one, and all. Even the natives came from somewhere else, originally. All of the people who come to this country come for freedom, or for some product of that extraordinary, illusory condition. That is what we offer here—freedom and opportunity in a land of relative plenty.” (Middletown Journal 2005)

James Madison, the fourth President of the United States, once stated that “America was indebted to immigration for her settlement and prosperity. That part of America which had encouraged them most had advanced most rapidly in population, agriculture and the arts.” In this quote, James Madison explains that to the US immigration is vital and indebted to to for making America what it is. Though stated in the past long ago, this quote still has relevance in today's society. America is still and always will be just as indebted to immigration as it was long ago. For this reason, I believe that, not only to the US, but to the entire world; immigration ought to be recognized as a human right not only because it can be defined to be one already by

We’ve spent so much time in our class on various racial issues seen in the United States of America. It’s our national sport, in a way, it’s always as if there is only one side: nonwhites. But this is one of those binaries where you need both sides to make sense of it. When comparing Asian Americans in America during mid-19th century and the turn of the 20th century, there were many similarities and differences. One way in which they were similar was most Asian Americans intended to work hard, make a lot of money, and then return to their families and villages as wealthy men or stay and fulfill the American dream because this goal didn’t differ from Asian Americans from many immigrants who came to the United States. One way in which they were different was that many white/ European Americans looked down on all immigrants, but Asian Americans were considered racially as well as culturally inferior because most Americans believed that Asian Americans were too different to ever assimilate successfully into American culture. This view was expressed and reinforced by the stereotypical “imaginations” and “images” of Asian immigrants in the 19th and 20th century.

Third, the weak political institution also made the efforts to restrict immigration from Europe to fail during the 19th century. For instance, different nativist parties emerged before the Civil war to seek limits on immigration, but they usually collapsed quickly. The famous one must be the "Know-nothing" party of 1850s. This party had 7 know-nothing governors and 48 representatives in congress. Most of them proposed tightened naturalization. For instance, immigrants must have 21 year residenece for naturalization. But the party was gone quickly as it was declined in 1860. Since there was no strong nativist parties existed in government for long-term, the Euorpean restriction did not continue and even failed. Besides parties, the seperation

He says “Crane’s fundamental point in these chapters that the home is not a sanctuary from the struggle and turmoil of the world but is rather where warfare is even more intense and where the animals qualities encouraged by a life of battle-strength, fear, and cunning-predominate.” (Pizer, pg. 170). Understanding the circumstances the Johnson children were raised in is consist amongst many other American children were raised, especially, in the highly populated cities featuring slum neighborhoods. The concept nature versus nature is not only relevant in today’s debates but also, 19th century America where Crane is capturing the realities of an upbringing in a harsh environment.

Immigration has always been a contentious issue in the United States. Benjamin Franklin thought that the influx in German immigration would flush out the predominately British culture in America at the time. (5) Furthermore, a continual wave of foreign cultures began pouring into the American metropolitan areas at the turn of the 20th century. The migration of Italians, Poles, and Jews across the Atlantic Ocean began a mass assimilation of cultural ideology and customs into the United States, yet many people thought that these migrants could not adapt. Today, the American society has become a melting pot of foreign influence; however, many cynics remain skeptical about the incorporation of Latin American people and their influences.

Nativists are people who believe that foreigners who come into the country and “take” their jobs and are the cause of all problems. To prevent these “problems” nativists took certain precautions like: the Chinese exclusion act, not helping the Irish during the potato famine, and basically forcing all immigrants to live in poverty. All of these were very effective, and unfortunately, there is still nativism in today’s society.

The unsuspected success of Donald Trump’s campaign for president has proved to be the spark of a new nativist moment in the United States. Open hostility and opposition to immigration has moved into mainstream culture, as Americans become increasingly intolerant of migrants as a result of their financial and cultural woes. Nativist sentiments are not a novel fixture of American political culture, however, as throughout history there have been countless crusades against migratory movements of the Irish, Chinese, Japanese, and countless other minority groups. The rationale behind nativist movements, however convoluted, seems to reduce to the notion that it is in the nature of the immigrant to cause economic and cultural harm to a nation, as immigrants steal jobs, scrounge off social welfare benefits, contribute the rising crime rates, and warp the indigenous culture of the host country. However, the reality is that immigrants are essential components in the U.S. economy and cultural fabric, playing a key role in the creation of economic well being and contributing positive influences to the American experience. Calls by Mr. Trump and past demagogic leaders to essentially ban immigrants can be traced back to racism, xenophobia, and the urge to scapegoat a helpless group for the economic troubles facing many Americans.

Nativism in the late 19th century against immigrants attribute more to cultural differences. In this essay, I will explain how and why the anti-Chinese movement started. Also, explain how immigration is more related cultural differences than the economical competition and how this began a rise in nativism.