Geraldine
Mejia
Paper
2
The
Pot That Continues to Melt: NYC
Most
commonly known as the melting pot, New York City is one of the most
multicultural cities on the map. There is not one neighborhood that
can be defined with solely one nationality or culture. New York City
has a population of 8 million, currently of which 40 percent is made
up by foreign born immigrants (Foner, 2007). With more than 200
languages being spoken in New York City, it is safe to say that
immigration has broken the physical and social barriers, creating an
entirely diversified location (Salvo & Lobo, 2002). The
immigrants that have stepped foot into this city have created
history, and became part of the continuous changing face of New York
City.
The first large
wave of immigration began during 1815 to 1915, during which over 33
million immigrants arrived into the United States (Saywack, 2012).
The majority of these immigrants passed through the Port of New York,
establishing two impertinent immigration centers: Castle Garden and
Ellis Island. Millions of immigrants passed through these famous
ports, commencing the beginning of the two powerful waves of
immigration. The first influx of immigrants, also known as the old
immigrants consisted of Irish and German immigrants. The second
influx, known as the new immigrants, were a larger group consisting
of Polish, Russian Jews, and southern Italians (Foner, 2007).
During
the 1840s a large amount of Irish began migrating to New York City.
By 1865, the Irish population had reached over 200,000 (Saywack,
2012). The Irish immigrated to New York City because of the
devastating potato famine that was basically causing them to starve
to death. They searched for better job opportunities, freedom from
British rule, and better living conditions. Although most of the
Irish immigrants came with basically no assets, they knew in their
hearts that New York City was the land of endless possibilities.
During the 1830s to the 1860s New York City also had a large number
of German immigrants. Most of the immigrants were farmers who wanted
a change because of their crops failing. The Germans migrated with
more savings than the Irish, and were able to acquire land in nearby
states. Many of Germans that lived in New york City opened their own
shops, that catered to the needs of other immigrants (salvo &
Lobo, 2012).
Between
1880 and 1919, 17 million immigrants passed through the Port of New
York, commencing the second wave of immigration (Foner, 2007). The
largest number of immigrants that settled during this time were the
Russian Jews. By 1910, there were 484,189 Russian Immigrants living
in New York City, the majority of which were Jewish (Saywack, 2012).
The Russians were fortunate enough to be more skilled than any other
immigrant group, most of them came to New York City with the ability
to perform crafts. Most of the Jewish immigrants worked in the
garment industry, which included dangerous sweatshops. The second
migration also brought about a large number of immigrants from
southern Italy. By 1910, there were 340,765 Italians living in New
York (Saywack, 2012). Southern Italian were rural farmers, and thus
were unskilled as urban laborers. Italian men mainly worked as
laborers in construction, laying gas lines, building bridges, and
tunneling out the New York City Subways (Saywack, 2012). Italian
women and even children worked to try and make ends meet. Women would
work in sweatshops, and children would work at home.
After
visiting the Tenement Museum one can finally begin to comprehend the
difficulties and the injustices the first wave of immigrants had to
endure. The Irish were banned from applying at many job locations,
and were portrayed as savages that were no different from African
Americans. They had to live in overcrowded tenements, reside
neighborhoods with high crime rates, and work in dangerous
conditions. Although they were in the land of opportunity, they were
met with great resentment from the native New Yorker's who made their
lives extremely difficult. The large influx of immigrants coming in
would create job competition, overcrowding, and violence amongst
themselves.
The
first and second wave of immigration were just the beginning of the
endless amount of immigrants that would end up searching for better
futures and the fulfillment of dreams in New York City. During the
1970s and 1980s, European immigration declined, accounting for under
ten percent of the flow (Salvo & Lobo, 2002). During this time
period New York City began to see a dramatic change in the influx of
immigrants that arrived. Latin America accounted for 29 percent of
immigrants to the city during the 1970s, the nonhispanic Caribbean
and Asia accounted for 27 percent and 22 percent, respectively, of
the flow (Salvo & Lobo, 2002). During the 1980s the European
immigration declined further, and other immigrant groups getting
larger, especially the Latins and Caribbean.
The
beauty of the immigrant population in New York City is the extreme
level of diversity that overtakes each area. Between 1990 and 1996
alone, as many as twenty countries sent more than 5,000 immigrants to
the city. In 2000, the top three groups: Dominicans, Chinese, and
Jamaicans- were just under 30 percent of all the foreign-born (Foner,
2007). New York City has become a receiving and welcoming city that
opens its doors to immigrants in search of something more. The
ability for cultures to coincide has developed greatly, and the city
has flourished the idea of having one of the most culturally diverse
areas in the United States. Officials and social service agencies
actively support events to praise ethnic pride and embrace the city’s
multi-ethnic character and history. Almost every group has its own
festival or parade, the largest being the West Indian American Day
Parade in Brooklyn, which attracts between one and two million people
every Labor Day (Foner, 2007).
A
perfect example of how immigration has diversified New York City is
by looking at all the numerous types of foods one can enjoy. Queens,
one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the United States, has
thousands of different ethnic places to eat!(Foner, 2007) Little
India, Little Columbia, Little Ecuador are only the tip of the
hundreds of cultures that can be found in that one borough. All other
boroughs also contain hundreds of "little" gatherings of
countries, such as Little Italy and China Town, that prove to us how
diversified New York City actually is. As we look into this melting
pot it is obvious that we all come from different places, however our
differences make new York City the beautifully diverse city that can
never be replaced. Looking at the bigger picture, we are all
basically immigrants to this city, and we are lucky to live in such a
unique history changing infrastructure.
References
Foner, N. (2007). How Exceptional is New York? Migration and multiculturalism in the
Empire City.Ethnic and Racial Studies, 30(6), 999-1023. doi:10.1080/014
19870701599440
Salvo, J & Lobo, A. (2002). Immigration and the Remaking of New York:1970-1998. Journal
of Immigrant & Refugee Services, 1(1). Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.
molloy.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=7cb2fe3a- d0ee-4265-8f26-
ae71f7ef458a%40sessionmg11&vid=4&hid=24
Saywack, P. (2012) Immigration in New York City. Retrieved from http://www.fordham.edu
/academics/colleges__graduate_s/undergraduate_colleg/fordham_college_at_l
/special_programs/honors_program/hudsonfulton_celebra/homepage
/the_basics_of_nyc/immigration_32224.asp
No comments:
Post a Comment