Chapter Overview
Race is a powerful sociopolitical construct and it has been used to exclude people in the United States. Racial groups are in fact extremely diverse communities that have no biological basis. Throughout our nation’s history, those seen as racially different have been treated as outsiders, they have been considered inferior, and they have been discriminated against. The oppression of many communities of color, as well as white Americans such as Jews, is still evident to many today.
The community of Native Americans stretches back to the millions of indigenous groups living in what is now North America. In the 15th century, European colonists began to settle in North America. Colonists brought disease that resulted in the widespread death of native peoples; colonists also actively murdered and displaced native peoples.
Many Latinos were also indigenous to what is now the United States. In the 1800s, the United States aspired to expand its territory to the Pacific Ocean. After the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, the United States government took over the Southwest, and many Mexicans who lived in that region became citizens.
The first African Americans were explorers and indentured servants. However, slavery became a legalized and legitimate institution before colonies were formed. An estimated 10 million African people were taken against their will, sold, and enslaved in the United States between 1451 and 1870. Much of the contemporary oppression of African Americans is rooted in the history of slavery.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are a heterogeneous population that includes a wide range of cultural, linguistic, and ethnic groups. The Nativist movement first resulted in barring Chinese immigrants from entering the United States, and then sought to evacuate and imprison Japanese Americans during World War II.
During World War II in Europe, 14-20 million Jews were imprisoned and 6 million were murdered by Nazis. Although typically members of the white population, they have faced persecution and anti-Semitism primarily because of their religion.
Learning Objectives
L01. Describe how racial oppression continues to be a powerful force in the United States.
L02. Examine how immigrants influenced the lives of Native Americans.
L03. Examine how Latinos/Hispanics were caught in the United States policy of Manifest Destiny.
L04. Investigate the slavery of African Americans as a legal and accepted practice in the United States.
L05. Assess the exclusion and internment of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.
L06. Explain the segregation of Jewish Americans and summarize their fight for economic and political equality.
Readings & Resources
Due this Week
Chapter Overview
Race is a powerful sociopolitical construct and it has been used to exclude people in the United States. Racial groups are in fact extremely diverse communities that have no biological basis. Throughout our nation’s history, those seen as racially different have been treated as outsiders, they have been considered inferior, and they have been discriminated against. The oppression of many communities of color, as well as white Americans such as Jews, is still evident to many today.
The community of Native Americans stretches back to the millions of indigenous groups living in what is now North America. In the 15th century, European colonists began to settle in North America. Colonists brought disease that resulted in the widespread death of native peoples; colonists also actively murdered and displaced native peoples.
Many Latinos were also indigenous to what is now the United States. In the 1800s, the United States aspired to expand its territory to the Pacific Ocean. After the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, the United States government took over the Southwest, and many Mexicans who lived in that region became citizens.
The first African Americans were explorers and indentured servants. However, slavery became a legalized and legitimate institution before colonies were formed. An estimated 10 million African people were taken against their will, sold, and enslaved in the United States between 1451 and 1870. Much of the contemporary oppression of African Americans is rooted in the history of slavery.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are a heterogeneous population that includes a wide range of cultural, linguistic, and ethnic groups. The Nativist movement first resulted in barring Chinese immigrants from entering the United States, and then sought to evacuate and imprison Japanese Americans during World War II.
During World War II in Europe, 14-20 million Jews were imprisoned and 6 million were murdered by Nazis. Although typically members of the white population, they have faced persecution and anti-Semitism primarily because of their religion.
Learning Objectives
L01. Describe how racial oppression continues to be a powerful force in the United States.
L02. Examine how immigrants influenced the lives of Native Americans.
L03. Examine how Latinos/Hispanics were caught in the United States policy of Manifest Destiny.
L04. Investigate the slavery of African Americans as a legal and accepted practice in the United States.
L05. Assess the exclusion and internment of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.
L06. Explain the segregation of Jewish Americans and summarize their fight for economic and political equality.
Readings & Resources
Due this Week
- Discussion Post
- Answer the following question. Post your response on FORUM in LAULIMA. Your discussion post will be due on Friday by 11:55pm.
- Consider the large racial category/categories (e.g., White, Hispanic, Asian, African American, etc.) you belong to. In what ways are you as an individual well described by your racial label? In what was are you as an individual not well described by your racial label?
- Answer the following question. Post your response on FORUM in LAULIMA. Your discussion post will be due on Friday by 11:55pm.
- Peer Responses
- Respond to one of your classmates' discussion posts. Your response must be respectful, thorough, and well thought-out. Peer Responses will be due by Sunday at 11:55pm. Submit your peer responses directly to the discussion post in FORUM on LAULIMA.
- Quiz
- This is an open-book, open-resource quiz that you are required to take after completing the assigned readings and videos. This quiz is graded but you are able to take the quiz as many times as you like and only your highest score will be counted. To complete the quiz, go to LAULIMA TESTS & QUIZZES. The quiz will be due on Sunday by 11:55pm.