Since the beginning of the nation on the shores of Virginia, has remained highly diverse I terms of race and ethnicity. Recent statistics have indicated how more than a third of Americans are unable to trace their specific origin, making America to stand at the verge of being dominated by pre-conceived minorities in the next few years. This is evidenced by the predominance of racial diversity in the major cities like New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles among others in America.
This prevalent racial diversity arouses the fundamental question about America’s cultural historical identity. Perhaps, it is not possible to tell the story of the United States without considering racial and ethnic lens. According to Takaki (7), the significance or racial diversity in America’s history remains remarkable with respect to the prevalent demographic trends in the country. This paper analyses the role of immigration and laws based on ethnicity to describe America’s historical pathway.
As it has been revealed, much of what is known in America’s cultural setting has ethnic perspective. It is important to note that, some outstanding figures like Martin Luther and Ah Bing among others are not Native Americans, yet their contribution in shaping the nation remains remarkable (Takaki 19). More so, president Barrack Obama’s origin is traced in Africa, yet his superiority in the nation is inarguable.
Despite being the central minority all through the nation’s history, African Americans are currently becoming majorities in many academic institutions in US today. This is an indication that, America is taking new shape as a result of its diverse ethnic background in its historical development. It thus goes without saying that, historical immigrations in America are of great significance in telling the history of the United States.
With reference to Takaki (8), massive migrations from various parts of the world to America have largely been focused by historians to explain the prevalent American culture. For instance, artisan manual workers of Philadelphia and the Irish immigrants are described as historians as key elements in the revolution of various artistic works in America.
Basically, studying each ethnic group in America separately reveals one or more aspects of the entire American culture at large. It is the integration of these diverse cultural values and practices that have shaped the prevalent American culture today. In the historical make-up, the nationality of Americans can be attributed to the various ethnic groups that migrated into the country several decades ago.
Various laws in United States have as well contributed towards the prevalent situation in terms of the nation’s culture. For instance, the immigration and marriage laws in the US have largely contributed towards the homogeneity of the previous diverse cultural practices. Since the immigration laws have been liberated, many people from various global regions have migrated into the country, increasing the level of cosmopolitanism in the country today (Takaki 29).
Having fewer restrictions in marriage amongst races and ethnic groups, the current states laws in US can be considered as having played significant role in promoting cultural integration in the country. Indeed, immigration and law based on the race and ethnicity has played remarkable role in the historical development of the United States of America.
Generally, studying America’s past from racial and ethnic diversity can form a fundamental perspective of understanding the current demographic trends in US. The realization of how America’s pre-conceived minorities as the future’s majority is becoming a real issue in explaining America’s history. In this regard, it is not possible to unravel the history of the United States without focusing on racial and ethnic lens.
Work Cited
Takaki, Ronald. A Different mirror: A history of multi-cultural America. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1993.