Peterson 1

Taylor Peterson
Professor Case
HIST-2200
1 May 2018
E-PORTFOLIO

Throughout all walks of life, people have dreamed of coming to America. They dreamed
of a land of plenty, where boundless opportunity is met with the power to do anything. However,
they were unaware of the difficulties that were ahead, and of the dark history that the country
had with past immigrant, and native groups. What were the most difficult obstacles that these
groups faced, and how exactly were they marginalized?

The Creek People

Native Americans are many groups of people who inhabited the continental United
States before the arrival of European settlers and traders. With the establishment of European
colonies, and eventually the United States, Native American peoples were eventually kicked off
of their lands. The Creek tribe, for example, was one of those tribes. As the United States
began to expand westward into Native lands, problems arose, specifically land and cultural
problems. The United states effectively relocated “all of the Creeks to Indian Territory in what is
now east-central Oklahoma”(Everyculture.com/Creeks/RelationsWithNonIndians). The Creek
people faced a plethora of obstacles. They were faced early on with assimilating into American
culture, by adopting cultural methods of farming and production that were unfamiliar to
them(Everyculture.com/Creeks/TransformationOfCulture).

As mentioned above, the Creek people were effectively assimilated into American
culture -- their ways of life were changed to how White settlers lived. Even more obstacles were
encountered; for example, the Creek tribe “traditionally shares their possessions readily and
relies mainly on current food supplies” it continues by saying “These basic inclinations conflict
with prevailing American values of acquisition and saving for the
future”(Everyculture.com/Creeks/TransformationOfCulture). Similarly with any other Native
American group, there is a general lack of understanding for Native American culture, which can
also be seen as another obstacle these people may have faced, and face to this day.

The Creek tribe also encountered marginalization from the encroachment of European,
and later American settlers. Speaking of the Creeks, English colonists viewed the Indians “as
an uncooperative, hostile, savage, treacherous, murderous
creature”(Everyculture.com/Creeks/MisconceptionsAndStereotypes). The Creeks have
generally become a target of overall prejudices that are directed at all Native Americans. The
Creeks also had a problem with drunkenness as a marginalization, as the group had difficulties
being introduced to White liquor. Whenever an Indian member would drink, they quickly
became “Noisy, rude, insolent, and
violent”(Everyculture.com/Creeks/MisconceptionsAndStereotypes). More marginalization was
encountered, as a professor from the University of Oklahoma stated that “So far the whites of
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Creek country are concerned they have no intention of accepting Creeks into the main stream of
their social and political life”(Everyculture.com/Creeks/MisconceptionsAndStereotypes). In
order for the Creek to be considered American, they would need to overcome the obstacle of
hatred.

The Choctaw People

The Choctaw tribe has had its fair share of obstacles, going back as far as the early 19th
century. Along with a few other tribes near the Mississippi river valley, the Choctaw
experienced the obstacles that were brought with white settlers, and mainly the United States
government and military. In the early 19th century, the Choctaw were just one of the groups
that was forcibly removed from their ancestral homelands, which were “east of the
Mississippi”(Everyculture.com/Choctaw/ChoctawSovereignty). After this obstacle was passed,
they were later given a treaty in 1820 by the United States government, which gave them new
land which was west of the Mississippi. In order for the people to feel safe, the Choctaw people
later negotiated with the United States government, in turn giving over about more than ten
million acres of land. They would later lose their sovereignty. Was losing their sovereignty a
way to secure their home, and safety -- and a way to later become American? This could be
seen as a major obstacle.

The Choctaw, like any other Native American tribe, faced the obstacle of an ever
growing American presence. The Choctaw tribe, for the most part, maintained friendly relations
with the United States. The Choctaw showed good will and a friendly composure by expelling
“Tecumseh from their nation when he tried to enlist them into his indian
confederacy”(Everyculture.com/Choctaw/RelationsWithColonizers). They would later fight
alongside the United States and Andrew Jackson -- in just a few occasions, the Choctaw would
fight the Red Stick faction, and would later join Andrew Jackson's army at the Battle of New
Orleans. Unfortunately, “despite the Choctaw loyalty, the United States demanded further land
cessions in 1816”(Everyculture.com/Choctaw/RelationsWithColonizers). This was the price that
had to be paid in order to live among the Americans.

Marginalization for the Choctaw people, and the obstacle to be accepted into American
culture, was difficult for them. The Choctaw people were relatively ignored while also being
overwhelmed in Oklahoma. Some researchers did write books on the “fraudulent” acquisition of
Indian land, which the University of Oklahoma later refused to publish the work. The Princeton
University press would later publish the book And Still The Waters Run -- with the author stating
that the University of Oklahoma rejected the book, citing her publication as
“dangerous”(everyculture.com/Choctaw/AcculturationAndAssimilation). The media altogether in
Oklahoma has ignored the native plight, furthering their discrimination, and setting forth even
more obstacles for the tribe, and others as a whole.

The Navajo People

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The Navajo tribe, which is one of the larger existing tribes today, had their fair share of
obstacles and marginalization. The people of this tribe, in order to become accepted into
American culture, sacrificed their culture, sacrificed their homeland, and accepted a foreign
culture in order to live peacefully. The Navajo reservation, which most of the Navajo live on,
was created in 1868 by a treaty. This treaty, unfortunately, only encompassed 10 percent of the
ancestral homeland. This was a very difficult obstacle for the Navajo to get over, as 90% of
their homeland was no longer their “home”. While also tripling the reservation size, the Navajo
people still do not contain their entire homeland. Marginalization and hostility from their own
home, they were kicked to undesirable land in the Southwest, where they now
reside(everyculture.com/Navajo/ModernEra).

The Navajo “remained relatively isolated from the centers of European

population”(everyculture.com/Navajo/AcculturationAndAssimilation). The Navajo were able to
retain their culture, language, and customs, along with their native homeland until the late 19th
century to the early 20th century. The first obstacle the Navajo would face would be the treaty,
mentioned above. However, as time passed, more and more white settlers would enter the
area, bringing in an unfamiliar and seemingly hostile culture. Boarding schools were introduced
to the native population, which seemed to only want to eradicate the native culture. These were
marginalistic, and an obstacle that the Navajo would need to face in order to become Americans
themselves.

“Until 1896, Navajo schools were operated by missionaries, who were frequently more
interested in attempting to eradicate the Navajo religion, culture, and language than in educating
their charges”(everyculture.com/Navajo/Education). These schools were also established far
away from Navajo homes; these schools also subjected the Navajo children to the intense
trauma of being removed from their families and culture. These schools, were of course, only
conducted in English. Navajo schools were eventually changed from missionaries to civil
servants, but there still remained a lack of appreciation for the culture of the children they
taught. For the Navajo to hurdle over this obstacle of hostility and become Americans
themselves, they must subject themselves to this treatment in order for a better life.

African-Americans

African-Americans were primarily the most marginalized group in US history. They also
faced many obstacles on their path to freedom, and even forward. Africans were believed to
have traveled “To the New World with European explorers” it continues by saying “They served
as crew members, servants, and
slaves”(Everyculture.com/AfricanAmericans/TheFirstAfricansInAmerica). The early Africans
that landed in America were then used as a slave population for European goods, such as
coffee, cocoa, tobacco, and many other things. In the mid 1600’s, the availability of labor was in
a crisis. The Indian slave labor that was once being used was found to be unsatisfactory, and
indentured servitude that was being used at the time was also ineffective. The idea to enslave
Africans was starting to catch on with the “Old World Sponsors”. The first marginalization for
African-Americans to overcome was slavery based on skin color.
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Soon after, slavery later became a crucial and vital system to the growing American
agricultural economy. Marginalization like “racism and subjugation became the means to justify
the system”(Everyculture.com/AfricanAmericans/TheFirstAfricansInAmerica). Another act of
marginalization were slave codes, which were enacted to control a slaves rights -- this left them
with absolutely zero rights, or freedoms. This was a large obstacle for African-Americans to
face if they wished to be considered Americans themselves.

Puerto Rican-Americans

Immigrant groups also faced their fair share of challenges and obstacles on their way to
become considered Americans. One of those groups were the Puerto Ricans. Puerto Ricans
were encountered with numerous problems on their way to living in the United States without
marginalization. Their home island of Puerto Rico soon became an island plagued by social
problems, and drug problems, with an ever increasing amount of crime, overcrowding, and
unemployment. These problems on the island prompted many Puerto Ricans to come to the
mainland, and most remained there permanently, with 2.7 million living in the United States by
1990(everyculture.com/PuertoRicans/SignificantImmigrationWaves).

Puerto Ricans first obstacle to cross was the large amounts of unemployment that they
faced when landing on the mainland. The advantages of being an American citizen helped
greatly, but there were still serious problems -- the Puerto Rican immigrant group also
happened to be the most economically disadvantaged latino group within the United States
alone. A lot of educated Puerto Ricans opened up herb shops, book stores, and many other
things; this was not able to economically sustain the community. However, In the 1990’s, nearly
half of the Puerto Ricans that lived on the mainland had incomes near, or in poverty. Economic
stability was just one of the obstacles the Puerto Rican community had to face if they wished to
truly become Americans.

While some Puerto Ricans did encounter some discrimination and marginalization based
upon stereotypes, for the most part they just encountered economic hardships. In fact, Puerto
Ricans chose not to speak English, which also brought more problems upon them. The etext
states that “When jobs started focusing on educational and technical skills, most Puerto Ricans
had to settle with minimum wage jobs”(TheEthnicDimensionInAmericanHistory, PG 276). This
issue alone had set Puerto Ricans within the poverty level -- as mentioned above, it was a
serious issue. Puerto Ricans wished for the American dream -- and the only thing blocking
them was economic hardship, an obstacle that is not easily passed.

Slovak-Americans

Slovak Americans were also another immigrant group that experienced not only
hardships, but marginalization based on where they came from. At the current time of
immigration for them, the United States was “in a period when anti-foreign sentiment was on the
rise”(everyculture.com/SlovakAmericans/Immigration). Americans generally responded by,
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again, reflecting the anti-immigrant attitude onto the Slovaks. At the time, Americans felt
threatened because of the Slovakian desire to live cheaply. Not only that, but the Slovakian
immigrants were in a large part unskilled industrial workers, who were male. This large
concentration of workers was seen to be a threat to the United States economy and workforce.
This was one obstacle the Slovak Americans had to overcome -- the ability to get a job, and live
cheaply, in a growing anti-immigrant nation.

Unfortunately for the Slovaks, “they fell into a general category of undesirable
immigrants.” It goes on to say that “Judging person from both eastern and southern Europe as
biologically and intellectually inferior and a threat to American
society”(everyculture.com/SlovakAmericans/Immigration). This broad, and largely offensive
marginalization was also an obstacle that these people had to overcome. A large amount of
Americans also demanded that the Slovak immigrants be, in a sense, removed or even banned
from the country. Later in the 1920’s, a new law was introduced that effectively diminished
eastern and southern European immigration. According to Everyculture, from 1929 to 1965,
only about 2,874 persons from Czechoslovakia were admitted to the United States. This
marginalization effected them directly as a group, because it severely halted immigration
processes -- families could have been separated, among many other things. The ability to find
a cheap home,and become Americans, among all the marginalization against their immigrant
group, was the biggest obstacle these people faced during the late 19th and early 20th
centuries.

Chinese-Americans

Chinese-Americans were an immigrant group during the late 19th century to the early
20th century. The Chinese migrant groups were also one of the largest groups to migrate.
When the Chinese migrated to the United States they brought with them their culture, language,
and “made lasting contributions to their adopted country and tried to become an integral part of
the United States
population”(everyculture.com/ChineseAmericans/HistoryOfChineseImmigration). The Chinese,
like any of the other migrant groups mentioned above, had their fair share of marginalizations
and obstacles. In fact, the Chinese were the most marginalized group in the history of
immigrant groups. The people that came from China experienced all sorts of exclusions,
racism, and were singled out by the population.

The first hurdle the Chinese would need to overcome would be the discrimination -- not
only through average persons who thought it necessary to marginalize, but actual and proper
governments and laws, who sought it necessary to marginalized as well. This could be seen as
not only an obstacle, but a marginalization. According to everyculture, “The Chinese were the
first immigrant group to be targeted for exclusion and denial of U.S. Citizenship by the United
States congress in 1882”(Everyculture.com/ChineseAmericans/HistoryOfChineseImmigration).
Americans at the time were very anti-immigrant, and saw the introduction of a large population
of low skill workers to be a threat towards their jobs and lives. This marginalization was an
obstacle the Chinese had to overcome in order to become American themselves.
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The Chinese began to come to America during the Gold Rush in California -- which
brought forth the first race influenced immigration law. As young Chinese men arrived on the
shores of the United States, they were met with “a strong anti-Chinese sentiment that greeted
them upon their arrival”(everyculture.com/ChineseAmericans/HistoryOfChineseImmigration).
This marginalization would prevent most from becoming permanent settlers -- which is an
obstacle of itself, because the Chinese would have needed to overcome that if they wished to
become Americans themselves. In the mid 20th century, the Chinese were still rather
segregated from the rest of the American public -- this marginalization was in most part created
from the anti-chinese sentiment that existed 100 years before that time. The Chinese-
Americans would live in “segregated ghettos” which were called Chinatowns. This deprived
most Chinese-Americans of their democratic rights. This way of life was an obstacle that, like
mentioned above, deprived Chinese-Americans of their democratic rights. This, coupled with a
still high anti-Chinese sentiment, created a large and daunting obstacle that they must
overcome in order to be accepted by the American public, and become Americans.

E-portfolio Reflection

How has this course increased your awareness of the difficulties that
immigrants faced in America in their quest to be accepted and considered
"Americans"? What information/knowledge from other courses you have taken
has added to your experience in this course?

This course in particular has made me become more aware in my average day
thinking of the history of the United States. In most of the historical courses that i’ve
taken, from Junior High, to High School and in to intro collegiate class levels for history,
there really wasn’t much of an emphasis in study for the immigrants who helped build
the nation alongside everyone else. Citing from my personal experience, The Jr. High
and High school courses focused purely on the achievements of the United States, and
into the wars that the United States participated in. Of course, the Civil War was
covered because it was such a large event in American history -- and of course slavery
was covered, but not as much as it should have been.

As mentioned above, the covering of immigrant groups was almost nonexistent,

except for the slight skimming of the slavery chapters on African-Americans. This
course has opened my eyes almost indefinitely. It didn’t concern me before I took this
class, but as I delved further into this course material; yes, my eyes were almost
definitely opened. I was almost unaware of the amount of groups that either fled their
home countries, or those who just came searching for economic opportunity. Citing a
specific immigrant group, I was also completely unaware of the fact that the Chinese
were probably one of the most targeted immigrant groups in US history. This course
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added to my knowledge that the state of California actually passed legislation which
targeted Chinese-Americans.

My awareness of these problems, through this course, became open to me.

Throughout this course, I was told to use the website Everyculture which cataloged
almost every minor and major immigrant group that has come to America. This catalog
went over Native American tribes, to almost every eastern and southern European
immigrant group. Through these entries on Everyculture, I was able to be aware of the
suffering these people had to go through in order to become considered American.
While this course has been eye opening, it is also good to note that through previous
experiences with different courses, that America also has done a lot of good for the
world, and that focusing on the bad only created a negative mindset.

With the knowledge from my past and current history classes, it helps open my
eyes and mind to a more balanced mindset, while being fully aware of what horrors the
United States has been responsible for, and also being aware of the amount of good
that the United States has brought. This course has taught me that yes, the United
States may have been marginalistic to most immigrant groups -- this nation offered a
place for their hope. Previous knowledge of the nation moulds with this course to create
a full understanding of the nations history.