With what truth can it be asserted that the U.S.A was the land of equality for all minorities?
The idea that the US was a land of equality for all minorities is one that lacks truth and accuracy. Many barriers stood in the way of the US being a land of equality, namely the negative attitude of whites, the Supreme Court, Presidents and Congress' working against them or lack of action to support them, standard of living conditions and education and minority action. The factor that created the greatest barrier was white hostility, although the other factors did play an important part.
The negative attitude of white's towards minority groups was a key factor in denying them a land of equality in the U.S. The most notorious anti minority group was the Ku Klux Klan, which used any means possible to deny both African-Americans and the individual minority groups their rights, thus hindering any chance of the US becoming a land of equality for all minorities. Immigrants were targets of their hatred as they blamed for the growth in radical republicans. The Ku Klux Act of 1871 was introduced in order to try and curb their activities, increasing the chances of the US becoming equal and although it was successful in curbing some activities did not expel their activities altogether. The existence of the KKK meant that the US could not be a land of equality for all minorities. In order for this to be achieved they needed to be eliminated altogether.
A number of Jim Crow Laws also denied the minorities their right to a land of equality. Despite being predominantly aimed at African-Americans, they could be applied to all minority groups and enforced segregation. Despite the philosophy that segregation was legal if equal, the facilities were anything but. Minority groups generally had poorer facilities from everything from poorer education facilities to poorer standard restaurants. This meant that if minority groups had less education and facilities available to them, there was no way they could be regarded on equal footing as whites, thus were denied a land of equality. This also had the effect of emphasising the segregation between whites and minorities which in turn, increased hostility and made the minority groups easier to target. This also meant that the US could not be a land of equality for all minorities, as for equality to be achieved, minorities needed to be integrated not segregated.
The above segregation was towards minorities in general but there was also hostility towards the minority groups for different reasons meaning that they were denied equality. The 1917 Bolshevik Revolution on 1 January 1920, when 6000 believed communist 'aliens' were rounded up in New York by the Justice department and then either imprisoned or expelled is a perfect example of white hostility not only by the general public, but by leading figures of America. Jury's were often influenced by prejudice, thus these citizens were often denied their rights guaranteed by the 14th and 15th Amendments, and thus the U.S was not a land of equality for these groups. The Hispanic Americans also suffered from hostility due to the fact that they were labourers and though of as bringing down the general wage level and also being a drain on the economy by many whites. The Japanese especially, suffered from an increased level of hostility during and after World War Two. Fear increased white hostility towards the Japanese which resulted in a curfew being imposed upon them and a relocation programme introduced which interned over 100,000 Japanese. Japanese people, of which over 2/3 were U.S citizens were denied the right of freedom. In order for the US to be a land of equality for all minorities, these minorities needed to have freedom of choice which they were denied as a result of the hostile actions of whites. This unequal treatment meant that the U.S was not a land of equality for all minority groups and could never be until the hostility of whites was eliminated or at the least, reduced. The Native Americans were a different case altogether. They were viewed with suspicion by the whites due to the large differences in the culture and general way of life and many were hostile towards their plight. The level of hostility although less than that towards some of the other minorities, was significant in ensuring that the US was not a land of equality for all minorities.
The idea that the US was a land of equality for all minorities is one that lacks truth and accuracy. Many barriers stood in the way of the US being a land of equality, namely the negative attitude of whites, the Supreme Court, Presidents and Congress' working against them or lack of action to support them, standard of living conditions and education and minority action. The factor that created the greatest barrier was white hostility, although the other factors did play an important part.
The negative attitude of white's towards minority groups was a key factor in denying them a land of equality in the U.S. The most notorious anti minority group was the Ku Klux Klan, which used any means possible to deny both African-Americans and the individual minority groups their rights, thus hindering any chance of the US becoming a land of equality for all minorities. Immigrants were targets of their hatred as they blamed for the growth in radical republicans. The Ku Klux Act of 1871 was introduced in order to try and curb their activities, increasing the chances of the US becoming equal and although it was successful in curbing some activities did not expel their activities altogether. The existence of the KKK meant that the US could not be a land of equality for all minorities. In order for this to be achieved they needed to be eliminated altogether.
A number of Jim Crow Laws also denied the minorities their right to a land of equality. Despite being predominantly aimed at African-Americans, they could be applied to all minority groups and enforced segregation. Despite the philosophy that segregation was legal if equal, the facilities were anything but. Minority groups generally had poorer facilities from everything from poorer education facilities to poorer standard restaurants. This meant that if minority groups had less education and facilities available to them, there was no way they could be regarded on equal footing as whites, thus were denied a land of equality. This also had the effect of emphasising the segregation between whites and minorities which in turn, increased hostility and made the minority groups easier to target. This also meant that the US could not be a land of equality for all minorities, as for equality to be achieved, minorities needed to be integrated not segregated.
The above segregation was towards minorities in general but there was also hostility towards the minority groups for different reasons meaning that they were denied equality. The 1917 Bolshevik Revolution on 1 January 1920, when 6000 believed communist 'aliens' were rounded up in New York by the Justice department and then either imprisoned or expelled is a perfect example of white hostility not only by the general public, but by leading figures of America. Jury's were often influenced by prejudice, thus these citizens were often denied their rights guaranteed by the 14th and 15th Amendments, and thus the U.S was not a land of equality for these groups. The Hispanic Americans also suffered from hostility due to the fact that they were labourers and though of as bringing down the general wage level and also being a drain on the economy by many whites. The Japanese especially, suffered from an increased level of hostility during and after World War Two. Fear increased white hostility towards the Japanese which resulted in a curfew being imposed upon them and a relocation programme introduced which interned over 100,000 Japanese. Japanese people, of which over 2/3 were U.S citizens were denied the right of freedom. In order for the US to be a land of equality for all minorities, these minorities needed to have freedom of choice which they were denied as a result of the hostile actions of whites. This unequal treatment meant that the U.S was not a land of equality for all minority groups and could never be until the hostility of whites was eliminated or at the least, reduced. The Native Americans were a different case altogether. They were viewed with suspicion by the whites due to the large differences in the culture and general way of life and many were hostile towards their plight. The level of hostility although less than that towards some of the other minorities, was significant in ensuring that the US was not a land of equality for all minorities.