Racial Struggle in America
Yes East and West and North and South, the Palm and the pine, the pole and the equator, the crescent and the cross - how the great Alchemist melts and fuses them with his purging flame! Here shall they all unite to build the Republic of Man and the Kingdom of God. (Rereading America 535)
The myth of the melting pot, similarly to The American Dream [i] , brings a lot of immigrants to America hoping to find equality, freedom and opportunity. The promise of a new race in which individuals of all nations are melted into one, and whose labors would change the world, eludes people all over the globe. The drama of becoming an American requires that immigrants take on a new identity, because they want to become equally members of the community with all the rights, responsibilities, and opportunities that their fellow citizens have. The myth then falls flat on its face, because it lies when it says that all Americans are "created equal." The melting pot ideal has often masked the reality of racial supremacy, constantly reminding us of race [ii] when we feel our differences becoming signs of inferiority, and as inferiors we are treated as subhuman. Thomas Jefferson as third president of the United States (1801-1809) recommended that all emancipated slaves should be sent out of the state to form separate colonies, and to prevent racial conflict as well as intermarriage with whites. While he believed in the "Group Separatism" relation, which in "Models of American Ethnic Relations: A Historical Perspective" George M. Fredrickson explained as a self-governing community, President Ronald Regan declared himself "color blind" in matters of race. Neither a "group separatism," nor a "color-blind" socie...
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...eading America. Eds. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martins, 2001. 598-609.
Cose, Ellis. "Can a New Race Surmount Old Prejudices?"Rereading America. Eds. Gary
Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martins, 2001. 635-646.
Lindholm, William C. "Origins of the Old Order Amish." http://holycrosslivonia.org/amish/origin.htm
[i]American Dream: the notion that anyone can succeed in America only through hard work.
[ii]Race: population distinguished by genetic traits
[iii] politics of identification: Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s term to define our capacity to identify with others regardless of their differences. "A Liberalism of Heart and Spine"
[iv] model minority: Asian Americans were used as model minorities to other minorities to claim that the American Dream is alive.
Henretta, James A., and David Brody. America: A Concise History. Vol. 1. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009.
Perhaps, the “Melting Pot” myth gained strength during the Industrial Revolution. With millions of immigrants entering the United States, culture was changing within the United States. Americans set a high standard for there society and everyone wanted to be accepted. There was a social requirement to live in a civil society creating together the “American Dream,” which leads to prosperity. Many immigrants moving to the United States brought with them various traditions of their culture and after moving, they repressed such beliefs and forged ahead with a new way of “American Thinking.” The rituals and traditions of such societies should have brought diversity to this nation’s culture however, these ways would soon become a part of the past. The “Melting Pot” myth heavily influences American society and people believe that everyone no matter what skin color or religious belief is created equal. This belief of the American Way of life is idyllic to say the least. Unfortunately, this myth has been thwarted due to a high level of racial supremacy within the nations past and even present. There are two particular events in national history, which will forever hinder equality: slavery of African Americans and Japanese internment camps during World War II in America. These substantial events shape our society and are only the tip of the iceberg when it
Divine, Robert A. America past and Present. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education/Longman, 2013. 245. Print.
In an era of addressing social issues and inequality, many African Americans were segregated and divided; they fought for justice but racial tensions still formed. The Progressive Era: a time of major movements of the American population. During the decades between the 1890s and 1920, Americans were faced with many challenges and in turn, they entered a modern era of change. The states and cities were experiencing a newly diverse and urban society. There were new technological advances and industrial economics were growing rapidly since the Civil War. Although, not all innovations made during this time were beneficial. With the large innovations in society and the progressive mindsets, the lives of African Americans dramatically changed. The
Fletcher says that when unions and politics come together, people especially interpret unions’ missions and their power critically. He does not expand on how he titles the myth, but skims the surface on union consensus regarding politics. The myth is about the belief that “unions should stay out of politics and focus on what’s happening in the workplace” (Fletcher 65).
Before you can form an opinion on unions, you must first understand how they operate. Labor unions are organizations of wageworkers in a specific field that lobby their specific inte...
Of course, the actions of bureaucracy are not enough to drive the idea within us that racial divisions are omnipresent. Even as we acknowledge that our government has driven the ideas of racial harmony since our founding days, the golden question is whether we the people have arrived at a junction where we no longer need a higher authority to remind us, that we are fully aware and ready for a nation that is united on the common hopes and dreams that we
3. Divine, Breen, Fredrickson, Williams, eds., America Past and Present Volume II: since 1865 sixth edition (New York: Longman 2002).
The basis of today’s opposition’s argument is that unions have outgrown their usefulness and can be harmful to American businesses and the economy as a whole. The opposition’s argument has some merit and supporting evidence albeit with personal and political bias.
In this essay I’ll write about union membership, membership trends, the two types and levels, and the importance of unions. I’ll also discuss some of the negative sides of unionization in corporate America today.
Ethics and the Unions - Part 1. Industrial Workers of the World. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.iww.org/en/history/library/Dolgoff/newbeginning/1
It is very interesting on how the America’s mindset on the Asian American community has changed from yellow peril to model minority in the span of 100 years. I remember my family talking about how Asians are taking over the educational market and the jobs in the USA and accepted it as a fact and backed up the fact due to the cultural values and tiger parenting as one of the major reason. However, after surveying 600 middle and high school children, and the research by Pickerill showed that tiger parenting causes children to lose self-esteem and complicates school adjustment compared to supportive parenting. While taking the course, I was surprised to know how the government played an important role in shaping the model minority myth. In the
Leaders benefit from building a team to create and implement change, this is a key theme in the Kotter model of change. This teambuilding engages employees throughout the process. Allowing employees to be a part of the change process gives them the opportunity and trust to be creative moving toward the future (Cochrane, 2002). Leaders can create opportunity for employees and leaders to dialogue about the change, which can help troubleshoot the process. Leaders who engage employees throughout the organization from various levels of the organization will receive perspectives from the entire organization helping them make better-informed decisions. Employees want to be allowed the opportunity to help an organization they believe in, in a way that enhances the
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov's life was one of triumph in spite of tragedy; nevertheless he lived life on his on terms. While a child, he was involved in an accident that prevented him from beginning school until he was 11 years old. Yet, still had the wherewithal to abandon theological seminary at the age of 21 to pursue physiology. The son of an Orthodox priest, he was ironically diverted from becoming a second-generation clergy, by the works of Charles Darwin and Russian physiologist Ivan Sechenov, which he read while in seminary. Even his marriage was not spared the cyclic heartbreak then elation pattern that appeared to prevail in his life. He married Seraphima Karchevskaya, with whom he had six children. Of their six children, two died prematurely, the first of a miscarriage, the second while as a young child. Yet, despite the odds to the contrary, one of the surviving children followed their father's career path and made his own reputation in physics. Pavlov's love of physiology apparently made a lasting impression.
Herold, D. M., Fedor, D. B., & Caldwell, S. (2008). The effects of transformational and change leadership on employees' commitment to a change: a multilevel study. American Psychological Association , 93 (2).