Blog 3

To begin, when I read these readings I thought that the Jewish and Mexican immigrants were the most interesting so I will compare the Jewish and Mexican immigrants and the challenges they faced and how they handled the threats to their culture and how they assimilated into the American culture.
To continue, I will first start with the Jewish immigrants and how they handled their threats to their culture and how they assimilated into the American culture. Jews were required to live in the Pale of Settlement and they were not to be found outside of the Pale, because they were Jews. They were prohibited from owning land so most Jews were forced to live in the urban areas where they earned their living as merchants and artisans. They lived in the shelts, which were Jewish towns and villages. There was anti-Semitic violence that was in the pogroms, which were massacres of Jews and the destruction of their shops and synagogues. They came to America because of the higher wages and they believed American was the Promise Land. The Jews saw themselves as exiles and they were unable to return to Russia, they had to make America their new home. When they got to America they landed on Ellis Island and then headed to New York City’s Lower East Side. They were living in “the same environment” as they did before with harsh conditions, but they settled in the Lower East Side and began to establish organizations to create a community. They were very involved in political issues and they went to many organizations to debate these issues. Then the Jewish peddler became a figure of Jewish-American folklore. 10% of Jews were peddlers while 60% worked in the garment industry. They worked in sweat shops because they had good skills especially in sewing. These immigrants were needed in New York’s growing garment industry. They were assimilating into America by making new garments in New York. These Jews revolutionized the way clothes were made and what Americans wore (Takaki). The only problem was, Jews were they were treated like “a slave” at the sweatshops, it was horrible for the Jews to work under these conditions. The Jews went on strike because of the harsh conditions and they wanted higher wages. After the strikes it had given them a sense of belonging to the new land, America. When they arrived in America they were dressed foreign and their language was different, but the Jews assimilated into the American culture and started living an American life, they did not want to live the life of a “greenhorn.” To dress fashionably and language was indicators of assimilation.
Next, I will talk about the Mexican immigrants and how they handled their threats to their culture and how they assimilated into the American culture. Mexican immigrants thought of American as “El Norte.” Mexicans saw America as a land of opportunity and they wanted to leave Mexico because of poverty and violence. They were basically forced out of their country, so the Mexicans went North in search of safety and work. Mexicans enticed across the border because their labor was needed. They worked as industrial workers, construction, garment factory workers, food processing plants, and most of them worked in agriculture. Labor struggles were very difficult for these Mexicans, so they decided to go on strike because they wanted higher wages. While working in the agriculture labor, immigrants from India were right beside the Mexicans. Most of these Indians were Sikhs and love was not the only reason why the Mexican men wanted to marry the Sikhs. They wanted to become farmers in California. Mexicans were also excluded from Anglo society. At sunset, Mexicans had to go back to their barrios separate from the Anglos. The Anglo educators were preparing Mexican children to follow in the footsteps of their parents. The Anglo farmers wanted schools to help reduce the labor force. However, the Mexican children didn’t receive any education. Takaki explains that Mexican immigration seemed to be endangering American culture identity. The Mexicans assimilated by inventing a new identity, they were becoming Mexican American. Their religion was a uniquely version of Catholicism stated Takaki. The Mexicans were still Mexicans but they did assimilate into the American culture by adapting and creating new cultures.
In conclusion, the Jewish and Mexican immigrants came to America for opportunity, I believe this came true for their generations to follow, because now in today’s society some Jews and Mexicans are well-know and have assimilated into the American culture.