Reading about the earliest immigrants to America showed me how true the idea of the American Dream is, and especially the truth of New York City as a melting pot for different ethnic and religious groups. Although today’s major immigrant groups to New York City are Hispanic and Asian instead of the Irish, Italians or Russian Jews of past generations, there are many commonalities between immigrants’ experiences. Firstly, the groups are usually discriminated against upon their arrival. Employers are often hesitant to hire from the newest immigrant group (“No Irish need apply”), and we see this today when people speculate over the immigration status of Hispanic laborers.
In the presentation at John Jay, we saw that many New York City neighborhoods are segregated by group: the Caribbean people settle in Flatbush, the Chinese in Flushing, and the Dominicans are replacing the Puerto Ricans in neighborhoods in the Bronx. This parallels to how the Irish concentrated in Five Points upon their arrival, and the Jews later settled the Lower East Side. Many immigrants find the comforts of home by settling in these neighborhoods, whether through shared food or language traditions.
It amazed me that despite the discrimination that groups face in New York City, they continue to immigrate here. For many, racism and low wages are a better reality than the one they escape, and America, particularly New York City, has always held a unique place in the hearts of refugees and dissidents. The Dutch established a precedent of economics over all else, which has remained pretty true in our capitalist society. This, in essence, is the American Dream. Despite discrimination, there is a chance for anyone to prosper here, no matter his or her roots.
I did notice, however, that, just as it is today, it was much easier for the more skilled immigrants to find work and then become accepted into society. The Germans, for example, were more skilled workers than the Irish and were therefore less discriminated against. I found it interesting that the most diseased wards of the city were the ones in which the Irish lived. When I went on the Irish Outsiders tour at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, the tour guide mentioned that even though the building was in a German neighborhood at the time, the Irish family likely moved there because it was cleaner and more spacious than the Irish neighborhoods. It even had plumbing, not just a pit underneath the outhouse.
