Associate Program Material

Racial Diversity: Historical Worksheet

Answer the following questions in 100 to 250 words each. Provide citations for all the sources you use.

• Throughout most of U.S. history, in most locations, what race has been in the majority? What is the common ancestral background of most members of this group?

The most dominant race in the United States history in most locations has been the Caucasian race. Most of the settlers to the United States in the early years were from Western Europe. It was predominantly a caucasion region and this is why most members of this group’s ancestral background came from the Europeans. The Caucasian race was in search of new opportunities on this new land. The Caucasian race has successfully continued to grow without any help and founded the country on what profited them the most. The Caucasian race does not hold the majority race by their numbers in population, but on the grounds of their social standards in the United States.

• What are some of the larger racial minorities in U.S. history? What have been the common ancestral backgrounds of each of these groups? When did each become a significant or notable minority group?

Some of the larger racial minorities in the United States history are Native Americans and African Americans. The first to come to North America across the Bering Strait was from Asia were the first to arrive here and one of the biggest minority groups was the Native Americans. When it comes down to social standards, the Native Americans land was stolen and they were forced to move to reservations. Adapting to Chrisianity in place of their traditional religions, and schools were taught English in place of ancestral tongues. The common ancestrical background for African Americans is Africa. African Americans became subordinate because of their color of their skin. By 1776 it became legal in every state for them to work as slaves. Also, American Americans became a significant minority group when they were captured from their homes. The number of African Amercians made African Americans a minority at the time due to them arriving on ships.

• In what ways have laws been used to enforce discrimination? Provide examples. These laws were intended against which racial minorities?

Laws have been used to enforce discriminating by having consequences for actions when discrimanting against a person or any minority group. The Jim Crow laws have been used to enforce discrimination. Jim Crow was employed in the south just after the time of slavery. Some examples of Jim Crow laws are the segregation of public schools, public places, and public transportation, and the segregation of drinking from the water fountains, that were marked for whites and blacks. This such discrimination also entered into housing, bank lendings as well as job discrimination. African Americans were to be kept in their place by white intimidation. The Jim Crow laws made life hard for African Americans and prevented Afican African Americans from obtaining equality of life.

• In what ways have laws been used to eliminate discrimination? Provide examples. Did the laws work to eliminate discrimination?

Laws have been used to attempt to eliminate discrimination for many years. Some of these laws makes it illegal to refuse housing to people based on their race or sex. Many of these laws prohibit not only discrimination based on race, but gender, age and other factors. Also affirmative action of the courts and prison system which discriminates against Blacks and Hispanics and give twenty percent longer sentences Schaefer, 2012) is a great example of a law that eliminated discrimination. Although discrimination still exists today, these laws have definitately helped to deter descriminition and have helped to create equality among the different races all over the world.

References

Schaefer, R.T.(2012). Racial and ethnic groups (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:

Pearson Prentice Hall.