4. 4
The Native
Americans
The first people on the
American continent
came from Asia .
They came across the
Bering Strait from
Siberia to Alaska at
various times.
5. 5
The Indians
When Columbus arrived in the fifteenth
century , there were perhaps 10 million
people in north American . There were
people that Columbus called “Indians”
when he thought that he had come to
the east of India . Later, when defining
this is not India but the new land,
people are called “Indians” to
distinguish Indian .
The Native Americans
7. 7
The British
In 1600s, the British settles the Eastern part of North America.
By the time of the American Revolution (1776), the cultural of the American colonists
was British .
The British culture was the foundation on which America was built.
American Revolution 1776
8. 8
African-Americans
From 1620 to 1820 by far the largest group of people to come
to the US came, not as willing immigrants, but against their
will.
These people were West Africans brought to work as slaves .
About 8 million people were brought from Africa.
9. 9
The civil war , in the 1860s , ended slavery and established equal rights for black Americans
Many states passed laws segregating and discriminating against black Americans
-> The civil rights movement, in the 1950s and 1960s .
Today about 12% of America’s population is black.
African-Americans
10. 10
African-Americans
Lincoln led the United States through its Civil
War—its bloodiest war and perhaps its greatest
moral, constitutional, and political crisis.
Abraham Lincoln
an American Baptist minister and activist who became
the most visible spokesperson and leader in the civil
rights movement from 1954 through 1968.
Mather Luther King
12. 12Immigrants from Northern and
Western Europe
Where they came from :
Northwestern Europe- from Germany, the UK, Ireland, Sweden, and Norway.
Why they came :
Escape religious persecution.
Political conflict in home country such as
revolutions.
Jobs and new economic opportunities.
Irish came as a results of massive potato
famine in Ireland.
13. 13
Many new immigrants
became farmers in the
Midwest .
German and
Scandinavian
influence is obvious
in Midwestern foods
and festival.
Immigrants from
Northern and
Western Europe
14. 14
From 1900 to 1910 alone ,
almost 9 million people
arrived from these and
other countries.
IMMIGRANTS FROM
SOUTHERN AND
EASTERN EUROPE
15. 15
Immigrants from Southern and
Eastern Europe
The United States was changing
from a mainly agricultural to a
mainly industrial country .
Many settled in cities and worked
in factories , often under
conditions that were quite bad.
16. 16Immigrants from
Southern and Eastern
Europe
By 1920 the Quota Law
will be passed limiting the
amount of people each
foreign nation can allow
to immigrate to America.
Immigration showed
down until the 1960s
when these laws were
changed.
17. 17
Hispanic-Americans
Hispanic America is
the region comprising
the Spanish-speaking
nations in the
Americas.
Hispanics are people
of Spanish or Spanish-
American origin.
18. 18Hispanics come from many different countries.
3 large groups
Mexican-
Americans
- In Texas and
California
- 2/3 total Hispanic
population
Puerto Ricans
- In New York
Cubans-
Americans
- In Florida
19. 19
• Hispanics are one of the
largest growing groups in
the United States
population.
• Within 25 years
-> The largest minority group.
Population Growth Rate
Race or Ethnic Group Growth Rate
(%; 2014-2015)
Segment Size
(MM; 7/15)
Asian Americans 3.4% 21 Million
Hispanic 2.2% 56.6 Million
African American 1.3% 46.3 Million
American Indians/Alaska Natives 1.5% 6.6 Million
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific 2.4% 1.5Million
Source: US Census Bureau, July 2015
20. 20
Asian-Americans
• Laws limited Asian immigration in the 19th
century
-> Asians in the U.S (such as the Chinese and
Japanese who had come to California) met with
widespread discrimination
• Mid-1960s, changes in immigration laws +
conflicts in Southeast Asia
-> a major immigrant group
22. 22
“Melting Pot” and “Mosaic”
“Melting Pot”
• The "melting pot" metaphor implies
a melting of cultures
• Immigrants would come and adopt
the American culture as their own.
“Mosaic”
• A nation of people who are different, and represent
a variety of cultures, religions and ethnicities
• Societal structure where immigrants keep their
cultural identity.
23. 23Advantages of “melting pot”
Everyone shares the same identity which
they can take pride in together
A feeling of nationalism which everyone can bond on
Everyone is
coming together
to make one new
and unique
culture
Possibly less
conflicts and
tensions between
ethnic groups due
to the fact that
everyone first and
foremost identifies
as an American
Advantages
1
2
3
4
24. 24
Disadvantages of “melting pot”
Having to put
the cultural
identity second
to the new
American
identity.
Losing all parts
of their
traditions and
becoming fully
assimilated in
American
culture.
Losing of the
native language
because
children learn
English at
school.
Many people live
in ethnically
segregated
neighborhoods
which causes a lot
of tensions and
violence between
different ethnic
groups.
1 2 3 4
25. 25
Advantages of “mosaic”
1 2 3 4
Multilingual in
various
languages.
Many different
events
throughout
the year.
There is a lot of
religious, ethnic,
and cultural
diversity which
should mean that
Americans are
more accepting
and open.
The benefit of
America and
the nation
become
stronger.
26. 26
Disadvantages of “mosaic”
1
Some ethnic groups
may alienate
themselves in their
own areas which
defeats the point of
a mosaic country.
2
The courts are
applied with English
and Spanish legal
systems although
there are various
cultures in America.
3
Cultural
identities may
clash with the
American
identity.
