Approfondir ses connaissances sur le
phénomène d'immigration
aux États-Unis.
Points clés
Les États-Unis sont une terre
d'immigration, depuis les explorateurs espagnols, en
quête d'or, au 16me siècle.
Puis, des Britanniques, puritains protestants en
désaccord avec l'Eglise anglicane, établirent
des colonies dans le Nord-Est.
Au 19me siècle, les immigrants
venaient surtout d'Europe du Nord et de l'Ouest.
Après 1880, ce sont les Européens du Sud et
l'Est qui arrivèrent massivement (jusqu'à 1
millions d'immigrés par an !). Ils cherchaient
à fuir les troubles politiques et les mauvaises
récoltes.
De nos jours, les nouveaux venus viennent surtout
d'Asie et d'Amérique latine. Mais aujourd'hui, ce
qui ressort avant tout c'est le fossé entre le mythe
de la Terre d'accueil et les discriminations
xénophobes persistantes.
The United States is a society of immigrants. Since its early
days, the country has admitted more than 50 million
newcomers, a larger number of immigrants than in any other
country in history. Most people came, and still come today,
for wealth, land and freedom.
1. The first immigrants
Stories of the New World's gold attracted the
first Spanish explorers, who in 1500s established
outposts in what is now Florida.
The British, who were the first to colonise on
larger scale, came for profit and also for religious
freedom. English Puritans, Protestants who
disagreed with the teaching of the Church of England,
established settlements in the north eastern region.
When they settled in the New World, many immigrants
tried to preserve the traditions, religion, and
language of their particular culture. But the American
society was predominantly English White Anglo-Saxon
Protestant (WASP).
2. The major immigration wave
Between 1840 and 1880, the United States received
the greatest influx of immigrants. During this period, 10
million people came to America. By the middle of the
century the United States, with over 23 millioninhabitants, had a larger population than any
single European country. The proportion of newcomers
increased rapidly so that by 1860 about 13 of every 100
persons in the U.S. were recent immigrants.
Up until 1880, the overwhelming majority of immigrants,
however, came from northern and western Europe.
Many left Europe to escape poor harvests, famines and
political unrest. Between 1845 and 1860, a
serious blight (maladie de la pomme de terre) on
the potato crop (récolte) in Ireland sent
hundreds of thousands of Irish people to the
U.S. to escape starvation. In one year only
(1847) 118. 120 Irish people settled in the U.S.
3. The new immigration wave (1880–1924)
A new wave of immigration began in the late 1880's. The
new immigrants were Latin, Slavic, and
Jewish peoples(peuples) from southern and
eastern Europe. Among these new arrivals were
Italians, Hungarians, Poles,
Russians, Rumanians and Greeks. This new
wave of immigration was so important that in the peak
years of unlimited immigration between 1900 and 1920 the
number of immigrants rose to as many as a million a year.
4. Immigration today
The Americans continue to debate the issue of
immigration, which is still important. New groups of
immigrants have come and go on coming, specially from
Asia and Latin America. Their integration depends
above all on their cultural background.
Some groups in favour of tightening immigration
restrictions argue that overpopulation is a threat.
Today, the paradox between the myth of the "Open
Door"and the reality of xenophobia is striking.
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