The nature of race, racism and ethnic relationships in the United States is largely determined by the history of immigration. In the following paper, the reasons why the above-mentioned conclusion can be made will be addressed based on class readings. Overall, racial antagonism in the United States is the result of something even broader than nationalistic hatred; in fact, it is connected with the desire to dominate over the other race both economically and politically.
The development of the idea of race and ethnicity along with the idea of racial antagonism has two main stages in the history of the United States. First, this is a stage when the descendants of European settlers were forming their position regarding the descendants of African slaves. Initially, the African population was seen as inferior to the white population because it had been subjected to slavery. Later, the motivation behind racial oppression and discrimination has changed. The new idea, that became the foundation of nationalism, bias, and race discrimination, emerged in the XIX century. During that historical period, there appeared scientists and scholars who believed that black people were an inferior race because of their poor intellectual abilities, mentality peculiarities, and even their looks (“Race and Ethnicity” 5-10). The influence of the ideas of these scholars on society was considerable, which resulted in the development of a new vision of race issues in the United States. After that, due to the transition to industrial forms of economic relations, black citizens, who were mainly occupied in industry, we’re able to increase their economical and political potential, and this was the basis for the formation of a new type of race relations in the United States (“Ethnic Relations” 5-7).
The next stage is the period of the new wave of immigration, which began at the end of the 1800s, and actively continued from the 1960s (“History of Immigration” 2-6). During this stage, an abundance of immigrants from the most different countries in the world came to the United States. As a result, today, American society has become a multinational one. The descendants of Asian, Latin, European, and African immigrants have formed second-generation communities. Not all of these new American citizens are well-excepted by the local population. Here, ethnicity plays the main role because of the idea that a real American citizen should have a white color of skin. However, modern legal rights activists have made a great contribution to the understanding of the ethnicity of an American by addressing racial discrimination issues. As a result, the idea of American identity is gradually changing in society during the period of the past few years. Also, the state intervention, designed to promote racial equality, together with the reciprocal relationship between the polity and the economy has become an important point in the development of race relations in the country.
In conclusion, it should be stated that the history of the development of American ethnicity and the racial antagonism thought features many aspects. Among them, the two main points, when African Americans have managed to overcome the main consequences of racial discrimination, and when the immigrant of the new wave have contributed to the formation of the new American mentality, accepting racial differences, are the most important.
Works Cited
“Ethnic Relations in the United States”. Course Reading 3(2012): 1-11. Print.
“History of Immigration to the United States”. Course Reading 2(2012): 1-6. Print.
“Race and Ethnicity in the U.S.”. Course Reading 1(2012): 1-14. Print.