Nativism as a Reaction to the Threat to American Culture

Running head: NATIVISM AS A REACTION TO THE THREAT TO AMERICAN CULTURE
NATIVISM AS A REACTION TO THE THREAT TO AMERICAN CULTURE
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Author Note

NATIVISM AS A REACTION TO THE THREAT TO AMERICAN CULTURE
I agree that Nativism was a justifiable reaction to the threat to traditional American culture from
modern ideas and foreigners for the following reasons.
Firstly, Nativism gained its name in 1840s and 1850s from the “Native American”
parties. Immigration had actually threatened American culture. Immigrants also has a significant
impact on the society. At the end of nineteenth century immigration had increased tremendously
in the United States. Along with bringing new cultures to then country, it also impacted the
economy. As most of the immigrants were from Europe the growing diversity of new religions,
customs and new languages increased anxiety and racial enmity. Nativism refers to political
sentiments which favours privileges and rights for native born Americans. Though globalizations
heavily influence cultural, scientific and technological innovations yet it poses threat to the
diversity of cultures. German and Irish immigrants also used to compete with the native workers
and therefore American men with families had to accept low wage jobs.
Source: Young, Julia G. "Making America 1920 again-Nativism and US Immigration, Past and
Present." J. on Migration & Hum. Sec. 5 (2017): 217.
Secondly, the pace of immigration from Europe, Berlin, Germany in the United States
increased in the 1850s. Immigration resulted in the cultural transformation of the nation. It also
resulted in high unemployment rate which resulted from the economic crisis which took place
due to immigration. Most of them were attracted by the cheap farmland available in America.
The California gold rush also attracted thousand of immigrants from Australia and Europe. A
large number of immigrants from different cultures during the 19th century started a number of
anti-immigration movements which restricted the entry of large number of immigrants and the