What do you think of when you hear the word diversity? In America, a diverse population has impacted history in the United States from the very start. Let's explore the history and role of cultural diversity in the United States.
America has always been a diverse place. Different groups have mixed with one another to shape our history, and given us the society we have today. Despite growing pains with diversity that have led, at times, to immigration restrictions and nativist attitudes America, on the whole, has found itself better for its diverse population. Let's discover the diversity that has made America great! From the earliest explorers and settlers to the modern day, America has been a nation of immigrants. Different waves of immigrants have washed ashore in the United States at various junctures, helping to shape and build America in critical ways. Let's examine a few of the notable groups who have impacted American history.
Initial forays, and then later settlements, were orchestrated by the colonial empires of the British, French, Spanish, and Dutch. They coexisted with Native Americans and those of the enslaved African peoples they brought over. There were three other major waves of migration, closely linked to crucial periods in the growth of America.
Irish, German, Scottish, Scandinavian were the most notable groups among that came next. With the opening of the West to the relentless march of American expansion, these people would be the backbone of settling the Western frontier, as well as providing cheap labor on the eastern seaboard. They also were frequently the ones starting new settlements and states out on the Western frontier.
Italians, Eastern Europeans, and the Chinese came next, as the industrial revolution came into full swing. These groups would be the ones who bore the brunt of the massive industrialization that transformed American society. The Chinese, in particular, would make a considerable contribution to the growth of the country, as they were responsible for much of the backbreaking work of building the railroads that would connect the East and West for the first time.
Lastly, since World War II, Mexican, Latin American, Middle Eastern, and South Eastern Asian peoples have immigrated in great numbers. Today, many of these people open businesses and have been, in large part, responsible for the construction boom in America's ever-growing economy.
In response to each of these waves, nativist political movements have had a tendency to crop up. Ironically, they tend to decry the latest immigrants as anti-American and have difficulty accepting new peoples, despite America's long history of diversity. Each time, however, the groups in question have become part and parcel of American life.
