American Immigration and Ethnicity American Immigration and Ethnicity A Reader David A.Gerber,Alan M.Kraut Palgrave macmillan AMERICANIMMIGRATIONANDETHNICITY © David A.Gerber and Alan M.Kraut,2005. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2005 978-0-312-29349-9 All rights reserved.No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published in 2005 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™ 175 Fifth Avenue,New York,N.Y.10010 and Houndmills,Basingstoke,Hampshire,England RG21 6XS Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St.Martin’s Press,LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States,United Kingdom and other countries.Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-0-312-29350-5 ISBN 978-1-137-08615-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-137-08615-0 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd.,Chennai,India. First edition:November 2005 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Transferred to Digital Printing in 2009. For the teachers who have inspired us,and the students who have challenged us to inspire them • • • • • The editors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Jane C.Morris and the support of the University at Buffalo (SUNY),the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy,and the College of Arts and Science of American University. C O N T E N T S List of Illustrations xi Preface and Introduction 1 One A Comparison of Contemporary Immigration and the New Immigration of the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries 13 Introduction 13 Pyong Gap Min,“A Comparison of Post–1965 and Turn-of-the-Century Immigrants in Intergenerational Mobility and Cultural Transmission” 15 Two Making a New Home in a New Land—Resettling in the United States 32 Introduction 32 Virginia Yans-McLaughlin,“New Wine In Old Bottles:Family,Community,and Immigration” 39 Mary Antin,The Promised Land 48 Barry Newman,“For Asians in the U.S., Mini-Chinatowns Sprout in Suburbia” 53 Three Transnational Ties:The Immigrants’Continuing Relationships with Their Homelands 57 Introduction 57 Johanna Lessinger,“Investing or Going Home? A Transnational Strategy among Indian Immigrants in the United States” 61 Lawrence J.McCaffrey,The Irish Diaspora in America 71 Silvio Torres-Saillant,“Nothing to Celebrate” 76 Four Ethnicity and Ethnic Identification 81 Introduction 81 Kathleen Neils Conzen,David A.Gerber,Ewa Morawska, George E.Pozzetta,Rudolph J.Vecoli,“The Invention of Ethnicity:A Perspective from the USA” 85 Claire S.Chow,“Ethnicity and Identity:What It Means to Be Asian American” 99 viii Contents Five Generations 105 Introduction 105 Victor Greene,“Old-time Folk Dancing and Music among the Second Generation,1920–50” 111 Jane Addams,Twenty Years at Hull-House 119 Stephen Henderson,“Rakhi Dhanoa and Ranjeet Purewal” 124 Six Nativism, an American Perennial 126 Introduction 126 George J.Sánchez,“Face the Nation:Race,Immigration, and the Rise of Nativism in Late-Twentieth-Century-America” 131 Edward Alworth Ross,“American Blood and Immigrant Blood” 146 Peter Brimelow, “Time to Rethink Immigration?” 153 Seven Becoming White:Irish Immigrants in the Nineteenth Century 161 Introduction 161 David R.Roediger,“Irish-American Workers and White Racial Formation in the Antebellum United States” 169 Niles National Register—August 6,1842—State of the Union, “Riot in Philadelphia:Conflicts between Whites and Blacks” 177 Frederick Douglass,“Colored Americans,and Aliens—T.F.Meagher” 180 Stephan A.Douglas (Speech at Jonesboro,Illinois) 182 Eight Becoming Black:Contemporary Jamaicans and West Indians in the 1990s 183 Introduction 183 Adam Nossiter,“A Jamaican Way Station in the Bronx: Community of Striving Immigrants Fosters Middle-Class Values” 187 Milton Vickerman,Crosscurrents:West Indian Immigrants and Race 191 Virginia Turner,“Jamaicans Outraged:New York Police Targeting West Indians” 200 Nine What the Immigrants Make,America Takes: Work in Immigrant Communities 202 Introduction 202 Mark Wyman,“Immigrants in an Industrializing Economy” 207 Louise C.Odencrantz,Italian Women in Industry:A Study of Conditions in New York City 215 Laura Parker,“USA Just Wouldn’t Work Without Immigrant Labor; Demand will Continue to Grow for High- and Low-skilled” 226 Contents ix Ten Family,Domestic Economy, and Women’s and Men’s Lives 231 Introduction 231 Nancy Foner,“Immigrant Women and Work in New York City,Then and Now” 234 Margaret Byington,“Family Life of the Slavs” 244 Sonia Shah,“Three Hot Meals and a Full Day at Work:South Asian Women’s Labor in the United States” 251 Eleven Language:Social and Political Perspectives 259 Introduction 259 Stanley Lieberson and Timothy J.Curry,“Language Shift in the United States:Some Demographic Clues” 263 Richard Rodriguez,Hunger for Memory:The Education of Richard Rodriguez—An Autobiography 270 Guillermo X.Garcia,“Border Battle Centers on ‘Spanish-only’Town” 275 Twelve The Physical Health and Mental Well-Being of Immigrants 278 Introduction 278 Alan M.Kraut,“‘That Is the American Way.And in America You Should Do as Americans Do’:Italian Customs,American Standards” 282 John Foster Carr,Guide for the Immigrant Italian in the United States of America 293 Sarah Kershaw,“Freud Meets Buddha:Therapy for Immigrants” 297 Thirteen Traditions and Invented Traditions 300 Introduction 300 Robert Anthony Orsi,“The Origins of the Devotion to Mount Carmel in Italian Harlem” 305 A Reader from the Bronx,“Letter to the Editor”(of the Jewish Daily Forward) 315 Bruce Frankel,“Savannah Going All-out Irish:Just 1% Irish,but City Boasts Gigantic Fest” 317 Fourteen Ethnicity and American Popular Culture 319 Introduction 319 Donna R.Gabaccia,“The Big Business of Eating” 325 Emily Wax,“World’s Fare:Schools Offer Ethnic Dishes to Entice their Increasingly Diverse Students” 337 Index 340