New York is one of the most culturally diverse places in the world. Only 18% of New Yorkers are native born children of native born parents. This diversity causes ethnicities to mix in both positive and negative ways while at the same time highlighting the similarities held amongst people of the same ethnic backgrounds. This has been documented for many years and goes back even into the 1800’s.
In the mid 19’th Century the idea of manifest destiny was running rampant in America. American’s thought themselves chosen by God to not only inhabit the land of the New World (which wasn’t actually theirs to begin with) but also expand into nations that were inferior (which Americans believed to be everyone). American’s believed they had all the characteristics to make them a surviving race. Angelo-Saxon ties, that the predominately Caucasian population had, meant a knack for government, survival against the odds that early colonists faced meant there was toughness and resiliency in the American population, etc. These gifts were believed to be divine in nature and they solidified a sense of an American Angelo-Saxon race. The idea of Manifest Destiny came around in a time when an interest in ethnology was increasing. Americans traced their lineage back to Aryans, who believed it was up to them to bring civilization to the whole world. These ideas came together and provided a means for making moves guilt free. It’s hard to tell if Manifest destiny was truly the result of a sense of national pride and divine right, or simply the desire for personal greed and the right story to make the oppression of non Angelo-Saxon’s permissible. Was it really a sense of nationalism that spurred these people on to do “God’s Will” or were they looking for land to take and money to make?
It is clear that the Caucasians were not against oppressing those who were different, which ultimately meant color difference. Between black slavery and Native American oppression it’s clear that the Caucasian population of America, who traced there roots back to Aryan races, believed others were inferior. Through American literature and Slave narratives you can see how the term “American” only seemed to apply to whites. This isn’t that far off from how people identify themselves now. Even second or third generation americans often identify themselves by cultural ties. For example I say I am Italian-American even though I was born on Long Island. It’s a way to be American while still retaining your cultural identity. This is similar to the idea behind cultural neighborhoods in cities like New York. People want to live in America while being able to connect to their roots. I rarely hear people just say they’re American.
In New York there is a certain kind of assimilation. Neighborhoods form with specific cultures making up the majority of residents and children of immigrants become more and more “American”. Originally children were encouraged to cover up accents and native languages because parents believed that by assimilating, the children would be more successful. It is evident through studies that as the generations progressed children did become more successful. Now as the as the bulk of New York starts to “challenge the Angelo-Saxon protestant elite”, minority activism is starting to increase. Ethnicities start to carve out little niches for themselves and find success in these niches. While it’s un-clear exactly how people from the West Indies seemed to gravitate towards healthcare or Asian-Americans seem to excel in computer science fields, it has been shown that cultures in New York have made names for themselves in different fields.
The cultures in America, while retaining connection to their roots, are unable to avoid mixing. For better or worse, from generation to generation, an increase in multi-ethnicity is evident. Between mixed race families and close proximity between neighborhoods that allow things like clothing style and specific types of slang to overflow into different areas, New York residents are seeing a culture clash. On the negative side ethnicities are also shown to have violent clashes as well. Where as in the 1800’s whites and minorities would clash, studies show minority groups find themselves at odds with each other more often than they do with whites.
