Diversity Created America Over the Years

Diversity Created America Over the Years

Since the Colonial Era, new world expansion was formed, which has brought many positive and negative changes. Our country’s development could not have happened without immigrants. The United States of America’s democracy represents heritage from many countries, the land of the free. Throughout history, America has changed with many ethnic backgrounds, heritage, and religious groups. However, certain cultures are welcome with open arms as other races feel discriminated against. Over time we have seen injustice against a few select groups that suffer from being marginalized by individuals or other groups who is superior to others because of their skin color. Our country is not perfect and has made mistakes over different years. American history has changed throughout the last 400 years, and diversity has created America over the years.

The beginning of the Colonial Era was the start of the reform of what we today call The United States of America, which required a large population. The three colonizers, New Spain, France, and The British Colonists, formed the new world and grew by leaps and bounds. Each of the three counties brought different ideas to help enrich their community. The 13 colonies began the U.S. States privatizing corporation and small farms that enslaved worked on the plantations to grow crops for the United States to trade with France and Spain. France traded with the natives for food, material, and other items—the British experience and knowledge were to operate small farms and oversee manual labor to produce food sources to barter. Spain created the encomienda from American Indians to Feudalism that helped economic growth by having a military and a diversity of cultures. (Lecture on Basic United States History, Part I.)

The three colonization they each had a part by contributing to the local community and their financial system for The New World expansion; this allowed them to have a plantation to buy material and seeds for agriculture. Because of colonies, they could trade with Native America, which brought in additional resources or the possibility of bartering for goods and services for more land to grow agriculture. Since there is a significant growth in the population for goods and materials now, there is a labor shortage. (Lecture on Basic United States History, Part I.)

When America was established on July 4th,1776, the founder’s father wrote the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which we “supposed to be a Democratic Republic.” ( Basic United States History, Part I.) The three colonization’s contributed a circle of repetition to captivate their enslaved as property as government officials and wealthy white men stayed in control of power. President Andrew Jackson for the “Universal (White, Male) suffrage” to keep “women and people of color were still disenfranchised, America was still the most democratic country in the world” (Basic United States History, Part I.).

However, our government was selective on whom they would allow in our country that contribute wealth or knowledge to benefit America—over time, prejudice against certain ethnic groups, starting with the Native Indians and continuing as other groups migrated to America. Initially, there seemed to be distrust in the relationship between Europeans and the Native Indians. The Native Indians seem to be second-class citizens treated as brutal (Lecture on American Indian History, Part 1.), pigeonholed and degraded as red skin if they were the property of white men. The prejudice and injustice that the Native Indians experience has cost many lives by eradicating most of their population. The Native Indians realized the U.S. government reneged on their agreement once the treaty was signed. Accordingly, “Red Cloud’s Speech after the wounded knee” fought against the U.S. Amy because of the invasion. Early Republic starts the French and Indian War of 1754-1763 lack of representation without a representative from our government.

The issue was a lack of trust with the European settler, as the Native Indians only wanted peace for their tribes—the Indians were looking for good education, advanced medicine, and tranquility with the local government and for their people. The “New Indians” and Pan-Indianism want to intertwine with the white boarding schools to help the Indians progress. (Lecture on American Indian History, Part II.) The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, “The Indian new deal,” helped the reservation because of unfortunate living conditions, terrible illnesses, high death rates, and inadequate care for children, among many other diseases that plagued their tribes. (Lecture on American Indian History, Part II.)

Many immigrants’ journey to America was accepted, yet select groups experienced discrimination based on color heritage, including their background. Most immigrants came through Ellis Island, NY., or by slave traders that brought enslaved for trade. Many immigrants face challenges once they arrive in America and feel the wrath of discrimination against their heritage or skin tone (considered not white), including the social and economic environment. Even their own countries abandoned misfits but sought a better life for themselves and their families. Seeing America as a country of misfits represents individuals from many other places. Upon the arrival of the British immigrants that landed in Jamestown, they picked this area for many reasons, such as resources, water, and limited entry access should they get attacked. Many settlers were men and boys with craftsman skills or military backgrounds. The Anglo-Saxon white Puritan society where each sex group has a role in responsibilities. “In the British in the United States, the term is mostly used unironically by xenophobic and/or White supremacists.” (Lecture on White American History).

The first surge of immigrants started coming to America after July 4^th, 1776, of Independence. Many immigrants face adversity with language, housing, jobs, and being accepted by other groups and white Americans. However, each culture may differ, as others face resentment based on their heritage. When the Germans immigrants first arrived here in our country, our government accepted them because of their background. The German’s professional background in education and as a lawyer can contribute to society as upstanding citizens in America.

On the other hand, the Irish settlers left their homeland for a better opportunity; they faced much adversity in their country because of the potato famine infected with Blight Fungus (phytophthora infestation), including here in America, when they arrived. They “faced scams and tenement poverty” in both counties. Because fleeting their own country of starvation and a lack of shelter caused the “fever fleets” of many Irish settlers, who became sick or dying when coming to America. (Lecture on White American History, Part II.)

Millions of Italian immigrants left their home country to relocate to America because of the laws for each Territory and the Roman Catholic Church in Italy over the years. (Lecture on White American History, Part 4: Italian and Jewish Immigration). The Italians who came to the Americas suffered adversity and were considered destitute and second-class citizens. Out of most immigrants, the Jewish community suffered greatly with the significant loss of family and friends, “fleeing violent pogrom.” (Lecture on White American History, Part 4: Italian and Jewish Immigration). They never gave up on hope or prosperity, keeping their faith are Judaism. Although they were the first to believe in equality of gender roles in the life of Judaism “to combat antisemitism 1913”. (Lecture on White American History, Part 4: Italian and Jewish Immigration)

Here in America slave trade was essential for the economic growth of the United States across many communities. Why were West African enslaved sold to America and Asia? There was a high demand for enslaves to be traded for material goods, is big money for slave traders, and they provided inexpensive labor to plantation owners that created wealth off the back of African Americans. The white men created an economic system set up to that the enslaved people will never be able to pay off their debt. Realizing there are two different types of slavery, “Racial and Chattel Slavery vs. Indentured Servitude” (Lecture on African American History)—there is a difference between enslaved people from East and West Africa. The slave traders would get the enslaved people from West Africa to transport them to America. When the slave traders captured enslaved people, they would use “Middle Passage Ankle Shack” for restrains to transport their enslaved. (Show and Tell week February 20th, 2023).

America’s journey in history is based on the culture of diversity on which many immigrants and enslaved people built our country, and this represents our democracy. Throughout the years, our country has experienced changes with civil rights and reform movements regarding women’s equal rights to men. Over the years, immigration laws changed based on select group/s or which president is in office. All immigrant groups, ethnic backgrounds, and various religious beliefs have faced some form of anti-sentiment.

Written by: Greg MD