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The Second World War was the bloodiest and most terrible event in the entire life of mankind. Over 55 million people died in World War II, of which 27 million died in the Soviet Union. Although the American continent was not a place of military battles, Second World War significantly influenced the way how Americans feel about the world order and world peace. The war influenced American culture, economy, and politics. One of the underresearched topics of World War II is the experience of immigrants in the US. In this essay, there will be a summary of the key points concerning the sufferings they experienced during the war.
During the war, the interaction of cultures and ethnicities was disrupted due to an increased sense of suspicion and caution towards each other. For example, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces, the American Japanese faced enormous difficulties in their homeland. Some representatives of the American authorities wanted the exclusion of the American Japanese from certain territories (Takaki 411). Furthermore, American Italians and Germans faced discrimination problems and threats of exclusion from their homeland (Takaki 412). At the same time, with more and more frightening news coming about the Jewish genocide, Americans began to think about the inappropriateness of their perception of African Americans.
To understand the atmosphere of suspicion toward particular nations, there is a sense to describe the events that happened after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor was a catastrophic event for the US army which took the lives of 2 388 soldiers (Takaki 409). After that, Roosevelt issued the recommendation to move 20000 dangerous Japanese from the strategically important Hawaii to the mainland because of their alleged fifth column activities (Takaki 410). On the West coast, Lieutenant General John DeWitt justified the exclusion of Japanese and U.S.-born Japanese from the West states explained this decision in racial terms designating the Japanese as an enemy race (Takaki 412). Takaki indicated that at the control centers, <..> [Japanese] were registered and each family was given a number, and they found themselves surrounded by soldiers with rifles and bayonets (Takaki 413). Therefore, the conclusion about a derogatory attitude toward Japanese from some state authorities and parts of the population is legitimate.
Native Indians and African Americans have been obliged to serve in the US army during the Second World War. Indians were mostly enlisted by authorities from the Navajo Nation with approximately 20% of all Indians in the army coming from these territories (Takaki 437). They thought about the Second World War as of fight against Whites, so it was something with which they did not want to associate themselves. As for African Americans, 900 000 black people served in the specific segregated military under the Jim Crow law (Takaki 419). Such discrimination was condemned by The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for its relative similarity with Hitlers actions toward Jews (Takaki 420). In practice, African Americans performed extremely dangerous military operations that required tremendous courage while being excluded from high military ranks and air forces (Takaki 421). On the home front, African Americans faced unequal employment opportunities which black protesters opposed in big rallies (Takaki 423). The same problems were faced by Latinos and Indians, but the discrimination toward African Americans was the most discussable issue in American society during the Second World War.
To sum up, the Second World War entirely changed the state of mind of many American citizens. They started to think about their nation as for democracy that provides inclusion and equity for all ethnicities and races. It was caused by the extreme example of Hitlers Germany whose ideology was based on hatred and atrocity toward Untermensch . However, there were still a lot of problems to be realized and fixed in American society shortly.
There are different kinds of examples of how cultures interacted in the United States in the 20th century, the ways how cultures interacted before and after the Second World War are entirely different. The American nation saw such horrific events in Europe that they started to focus on the inclusivity of their democratic institutions. This essay discusses the main events and features that differ the perception of immigrants in the second half of the 1900s from other periods.
The main narrative in American society after the Second World War was the end of segregational policies. Takaki puts that at the end of the war, African Americans were determined that they were never gonna serve again in segregated armed forces (457). The fact that African Americans defended democracy in the far-away states was the reason to demand inclusive democratic institutions in their own country. American Japanese also demanded the return of their right to live in the places which they left after the orders from the government. It seems that the atmosphere in the interaction of different nations in the United States can be described as a desire not to miss the window of opportunities for obtaining greater rights and freedoms that emerged after the Second World War.
After the war, the immigrant groups realized themselves as equal members of American Society. Many American Mexicans, African Americans, and other minority groups lost their friends and relatives in the battles for distant regions. Hence, they were motivated to achieve a bright future for their groups in memory of the fallen heroes on the battlefields. Eva Hernandez, a Mexican woman, indicated: When our young men came home from the war, they didnt want to be treated as second-class citizens anymore. (Takaki 460). The wind of protest against social injustice was the major characteristic of the time after the end of the Second World War.
The major role in the change and removal of discriminatory laws and policies played by the Supreme Court of the US. Firstly, one of the major decisions was made in the Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954. Segregation was found to be unconstitutional and contrary to basic human and American citizens rights (Takaki 461). However, segregation remained in reality because it was so rooted in the style of living of white Americans (Takaki 462). The Supreme Court also overturned the Alien Land Law in 1948, which prohibited to Japanese to have property because of their race (Takaki 458). The basis for all these decisions was the 14th Amendment which granted citizenship to any person born in the United States.
Asian Americans and African Americans opposed the discrimination by participating in rallies and boycotts. As for African Americans, the main figure in their resistance was Martin Luther King. He started his active participation in protests as a leader of the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 (Takaki 463). Through time, he had become the leader of the black movement in their struggle for equality and human rights. The Civil Rights Movement came to success in 1964-1965 when the Jim Crow laws were finally abolished. From 1964-1965, African Americans achieved equal employment, ultimately equal voting rights, and abolishment of remaining laws of segregation. Concerning Asian Americans, they also achieved legal equality by pushing the change of discrimination laws that appeared during the Second World War (e.g. abolishment of Alien Land Law).
In conclusion, the time after World War II fundamentally changed the way how African Americans and other minorities were perceived. The minorities organized powerful civil rights movements that opposed existing discrimination. At this time, all legal barriers for African Americans were abolished by the Supreme Court of the United States. Nevertheless, the reality was not so inclusive at this time, so it has taken a lot of time to achieve the level of equity that exists in the modern US.
The last stage of immigration considered in this set of essays is immigration in the 21st century. From the very beginning, this era was covered by the frightening events that happened on 11th September 2001 in New York. Terrorist attacks at World Trade Center have fundamentally changed Americans perception of different aspects of life, especially immigration from Muslim countries. After that, people could not tolerate the manifestation of Muslim identity through the wearing of hijabs in the public sphere. The prejudice that women in hijab is a terrorists has increased its value significantly through the years after the tragedy. All in all, this essay will raise the most important topics about immigration of different ethnicities in the United States.
Immigration to the United States in the early 2000s strikingly changed the cultural code of Americans. First of all, this period is characterized by the substantial growth of mass media. Although the traditional newspapers experienced a decline in sales, foreign-language newspapers and journals were at the top of their popularity (Dinnerstein and Reimers 99). In addition to the print press, the number of television channels created for immigrants has increased. For example, the most popular Spanish TV channel Univision was listed fifth in the overall TV rating in 2010 (Dinnerstein and Reimers 99). Besides, another important sphere that was hugely impacted by immigrants is religion. Dinnerstein and Remers (99-100) provide convincing statistics about this matter. In 2010, 40% of the members of the Roman Catholic Church were Hispanic immigrants. The number of Chinese and Korean Protestant churches and Pentecostal Hispanics has also raised at a rapid pace. In addition to Christian immigrants, the Muslim population has grown tremendously. Their special way of life-based on a special attitude toward religion and traditional values tremendously impacted American society and its cultural life.
The new wave of immigration that came mostly from Mexico has brought new challenges to US society. The dilemma of whether to arrest and deport them or allow them to live in the US. The millions of new migrants result in dissatisfaction with the federal policy of a considerable part of the population. Moreover, economic reforms like the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico destabilise the economy in Mexico and cause many Mexicans to move to the United States in pursuit of survival (Takaki 502). The new wave of immigration brought political division between the Republican and Democratic parties and increased the number of arrests of illegal migrants. The US officials should create the proper economic and migration policy that will the flow of migrants controllable and legal without any coercive methods.
The experience of Muslims in the United States since the Second World War can be characterized as a difficult life associated with discrimination, bias toward them, and the absence of understanding from other American citizens. The key event that influenced the perception of Muslims was the terrorist attacks on 11th September. These events were one of the integral reasons for the hostility toward the Muslim community in the United States (Dinnerstein and Reimers 101). For example, in 2010 protests arose after New York City approved the building of two blocks for Muslims near the place where the World Trade Center had stood (Dinnerstein and Reimers 101). Muslims also faced discrimination in the workplace with 25% of workers complaints based on religious discrimination in 2009 sent by Muslims who constituted only 2% of the overall population (Dinnerstein and Reimers 103).
In this context, it is useful to compare Muslims experience with that of Jews community in the United States since the Second World War. The common feature is that Muslims and Jews arrived in the United States without any significant money to live on (Takaki 481). In the US, they needed to start their life all over again. There is also a common fact that the overwhelming majority of Jews and Muslims had very weak knowledge of the English language (Takaki 481). As a result, 80% of Jews needed welfare support (Takaki 481), while many Muslims worked at the lowest wage jobs possible (Dinnerstein and Reimers 103). The difference is that one of the integral reasons for Jews coming to the United States was the threat that in the Soviet Union and the East European States they can face threats of murder and reprisals (Takaki 480). At the same time, the logic of Dinnersteins and Reimerss text implies that geographically diverse immigrants of Muslim religion came to the United States because of the desire to earn more money.
The focus on Latino immigrants appeared after the Republican party won the presidency and a considerable number of seats in Congress at the beginning of the 21st century. Bush administration and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, concerned with the massive illegal immigration, agreed on the law to build the wall on some parts of the US-Mexican border (Dinnerstein and Reimers 106). The reason why this agenda dominated the discourse was the huge number of migrants that came from the Mexican border. The number of migrants from there was much higher than from any other place worldwide. What is more, the US has a long border with Mexico which is not properly controlled. Thus, the topic of Latinos is dominating the discussion about migrants even now.
To sum up, it is indisputable that the 21st century is the freest time in the history of the US. The American society overcame the injustice of Jim Crow laws and eliminated most discriminational practices from daily life. Although racism toward African Americans is still in place, the immigrant agenda is concentrated on Muslim and Hispanic communities. The fight against racism and discrimination has not ended, so Americans aim to bring more equity and inclusivity to society.
Works Cited
Dinnerstein, Leonard, and David M. Reimers. The world comes to America: Immigration to the United States since 1945. Oxford University Press, 2014.
Takaki, Ronald. A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America. eBookIt.com, 2012.
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