From the beginning of time, sacrificing your former country’s identity for the identify of this new nation, was merely a rite of passage, a mandatory motion that one must oblige to in order to “fit in”. Immigrants eagerly gave up their faith, their dialect, and ultimately, their identity with hopes to prosper as an American. However, it wasn’t until the mid 1800’s when the term “Americanization” came in to full effect. This “Americanization” was a word used to describe the assimilation of immigrants primarily in the education systems. As America became more and more industrialized, an education became more and more of a necessity rather than a privilege. In the eyes of the American government, a formal education was what would enable these new, young, immigrants to flourish into valuable industrial workers later on in their life, helping the American economy.
Unfortunately, Americanization and racism walked hand in hand. The driving force of this want for Americanization and assimilation of immigrants was the white citizen’s need for consistency. There was obviously a fine line present here, as the white person wanted the foreigners to become like them, but at the same time they still wanted to be able to assert their dominance over them by being the “supreme race”. Many historic documents tell the tale of immigrants forced to go to school to learn English, but it was more of a burden than a blessing as the purpose of being taught to learn English was to wipe away their old identity and native language. These immigrant children were not allowed access to more academic areas in the schools either; their sole purpose was to become as much as an American as was deemed necessary by officials. These children would be forced to go to school everyday to complete tedious English exercises and recitations. Oftentimes the Native American children were even given English names and made to wear English clothes. Even though attempts at Native American assimilation eventually died down, the struggle to properly fit Native American identity into American culture still exists today.
"Sequence 177 : Wells, H. G. The Future in America :a Search after Realities. New York : Harper & Brothers, 1906. Harvard University Library PDS." Sequence 177 : Wells, H. G. The Future in America :a Search after Realities. New York : Harper & Brothers, 1906. Harvard University Library PDS. Harvard University Library, n.d. Web. 02 Sept. 2014. <http://pds.lib.harvard.edu/pds/view/3188262?n=177>.
"Assimilation Through Education: Indian Boarding Schools in the Pacific Northwest." ::: American Indians of the Pacific Northwest Collection :::. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Sept. 2014. <https://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/marr.html>.