Ethnically Challenged
This week the Census Bureau reported that, for the first time in U.S. history, births among non-White Americans have outstripped those of Whites. California, Hawaii, Texas and New Mexico already have “minority majority” populations. If current demographic trends continue — and you can bet they will — White Folks will be in the minority nationwide within three decades.
"How about after the meeting we grab some shawarma?"
Coincidentally, tomorrow, Saturday, May 18, is the 91st anniversary of the Emergency Quota Act. Passed in 1921, this was the first law designed to control the ethnic composition of immigrants entering the United States. The law restricted immigration from any particular country to just 3 percent of fellow countrymen already in the U.S.A. So, for example, if the Census determined there were 1 million people of English descent living in America, we could admit as many as 30,000 new Brits in any given year. But if only 500 Ethiopian-Americans had been counted, then we could only admit another 15 Ethiopians.
How they planned to count the children of an English-Italian or Bolivian-Japanese marriages remains unexplained.
And what about the Irish-Mexican-Hungarian-Jews?
With the American Melting Pot starting to look more and more like a chopped salad, perhaps it’s time we toast an English muffin, open a nice bottle of Chianti, mix up a bowl of guacamole and collard greens, and lay out the sushi, pho and moo goo gai pan as we take a Friday Fun Facts look at Ethnic America.
———————————–
Until 1875 the United States had open borders.. If you wanted to live in America, basically all you had to do was show up.
Or be dragged here.
Before 1820, the U.S. received only about 8,000 immigrants per year. By 1907, our largest point of entry, Ellis Island, New York, was processing more than 1 million immigrants annually.
Back then, new immigrants were greeted with open arms. Or in some cases, just small arms.
Although America’s growth has always depended on immigrants, immigrants themselves have always been viewed with suspicion. Even Founding Father Benjamin Franklin was anti-immigration, particularly of Germans whom he believed would not assimilate into the American culture.
If someone sneezed, he refused to say "Gesundheit."
In the 1850s, a nativist movement called the Know Nothings sprung up to fight against the influx of Catholics, particularly the Irish. The movement’s name came from its “secret society” origins. If asked about its activities, a member was supposed to respond, “I know nothing.”
Ironically, one of the group's founding members.
By the late 19th century, Italians had become the target-de-jour among nativists. In fact, one of the worst mass lynchings in U.S. history occurred in 1891 when 11 Italian immigrants were strung up by an angry mob following their being found not guilty in the assassination of New Orleans police chief David Hennessey.
Actually, only nine of the 11 had been tried and acquitted. The other two were bystanders hanged just because their names happened to end with a vowel.
As of the 2000 Census, the largest ethnic group in the United States was German (15.2%). (Sorry, Franklin.) This was followed by Irish (10.8%), African-American (8.8%) and English (8.7%). Still no numbers for English-Italians or Bolivian-Japanese.
Today, everything is so complicated!
Among today’s first-generation Americans, the number-one country of origin is Mexico (11.7 million in 2010). Of the Top 10 Countries of Origin for 2010,all are either Central/South American, Caribbean or Asian. Not one European country in the bunch.
Although something tell me we may soon be getting lots of Greeks.
Despite”common wisdom,” 75 percent of today’s immigrants still enter the country via legal means. Of the 25% who are “illegal,” 40% merely have expired visas.
Because in America, it's so easy to lose track of time!
Among our 50 states, the most popular destination for new immigrants is California. The least popular? West Virginia.
Go figure.
Today, 40 percent of Ph.D. scientists working in the U.S. are foreign born.
And they're taking jobs away from American astrophysicists!
Happy Friday, and have a great weekend!
