QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

SUMMARY

1. The vast majority of Americans trace their ancestry to one or more of immigrant groups. 7 % of population identify themselves as Americans only. The ethnical distribution of the U.S. population on the U.S. territory is as follows: white 69.1%, black 12.3%, Hispanics of any race 8.01%, Asian 3.6%, Amerindian 0.9%, two or more races 2.4%, other 5.5%.

2. Native Americans are the only indigenous peoples of America. By 1492, about 18 million people inhabited North America. According to 2003 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, 2,786,652 Native Americans live in the United States.

3. Between 1619 and 1808, about 500,000 Africans were brought to the colonies as slaves. On the eve of the Civil war, there were 1.5 million black slaves. Now Afro-Americans make 12.3%, out of the 300,000,000 of the U.S. population.

4. The Germans were the largest 19th century immigrant group, more than 5 million people left Germany for the U.S.

5. Between 1820 and 1860, the Irish constituted over one third of all immigrants to the United States.

6. In the 1880’s, Italian immigrants numbered 300,000; in the 1890’s - 600,000; in the decade after that, more than 2 million.

7. Over 200,000 Russians entered America between 1881 and 1890, and over 1.5 million between 1901 and 1910. More than 2 million fled the country after the October revolution.

8. In the 19th century, 25,000 Chinese immigrants and 400,000 Japanese men and women left their homes for the U.S.A.

9. Millions of poor Mexicans have entered the country in recent years, along with more than 1 million Puerto Ricans. Now the top points of immigrants’ origin are Mexico (57,000), the Philippines (55,000), Vietnam (49,000), the Dominican Republic (32,000), and China (29,000).

10. The growing undocumented immigrant population of the U.S.A. is estimated to be between 9 and 10 million.

1. What says that the U.S. population is growing and what are the sources of this growth?

2. What the largest ancestry groups in the U.S.S.?

3. In how many epochs can American immigration history be viewed?

4. When did the European immigration dominate?

5. How is the immigration to the U.S.A. regulated?

6. Why do and did people immigrate to the U.S.A.?

7. Is immigration good or bad for America?

8. What reactionary organizations and movements tried to curb the immigration to the U.S.A.?

9. What are the economic effects of immigration?

10. What is the aboriginal contribution to the American heritage?

11. Did Native Americans assimilate into the mainstream society and disappear as unique peoples?

12. What was the Afro-American contribution to the industry (agriculture, culture) of the U.S.A.?

13. Did Germans have a powerful influence over the development of American culture: institutions, traditions, and daily habits? Give examples.

14. What role did the Irish play in the American history (Italians, Slavs, Jews, Chinese, etc.)?