Philadelphia in the Life of America: Culture Reports |
From the early seventeenth century, people have looked to this country as a place to escape persecution of all kinds. Immigrants have flocked to America to start new lives with a promise of freedom and hope. Thomas J. Archdeacon's book, Becoming American: An Ethnic History, explores the history of immigrants in America. The book moves in chronological order, beginning with the early 1600s and ending with the 1980s. Archdeacon details the events in the founding of America and describes the ethnic groups here today. He explores the problems these groups have encountered throughout their history and deals with the idea of ethnic assimilation.
Thomas J. Archdeacon explains the importance of Philadelphia in the colonial era of America in the first chapter, "The Formative Period, 1607-1790." Pennsylvania was founded in 1682, when William Penn established a colony for Quakers to practice their unique religion. Directly after being formed, the colony of Pennsylvania grew as a very diverse group of European immigrants sought refuge there. Most of this new group came from Great Britain, but an array of others settled there as well. German Mennonites, led by Daniel Francis Pastorius, came as a small group in the late seventeenth century, but grew in size rapidly. Both Mennonites and Quakers have similar religious beliefs. The populations of these two religious groups controlled the area of Philadelphia for many years.
Later in the book, Archdeacon details theories of ethnic assimilation--the idea that certain groups have conformed to "fit in" with the rest of society. He presents the argument that America is such a diverse country because of the long history of immigrants from many different cultures coming together and interacting. He supports the idea that the country is truly a "melting pot," with many different ethnic groups and cultures, some that have blended together to form new groups altogether.
Summary by Lori Wolz, student, North Carolina State University
The United States, over the past four hundred years, has essentially become the melting pot of the world. We have fast become the collection point of a variety of races, ethnic backgrounds, and religious groups. Thomas Archdeacon addresses how these groups came to the United States and what their reasons for immigration were. By combining various beliefs and practices that were taken from the Old World, a New World was gradually being formed. Once the immigrants were in the United States, their cultural backgrounds and experiences blended with that of others who were fleeing oppression or simply seeking a new life in a country that they could call their own. The first migration into the United states in the 1600's left many European settlers coming in contact with Native Americans. The Indians, being the earliest of settlers, saw the land of the United States in a different way than any of those who would follow in the years to come. The Native Americans experienced America as the untouched, unspoiled resource that it originally was. Those who followed the Native Americans experienced the country in different ways, each one a little changed from those who came before them. As the influx of Europeans began, the goal of the settlers became to change the New World to fit some of the ways and practices of the Old World lifestyle. However, eventually, over time, immigrants assimilated and have begun to mesh more as one body of people rather than so many distinct and separate groups. Since the final mass immigration in the 1900's, it is seen that many of the immigrants have become quite Americanized in the way that they act and live. Yet, it is important that we remember that although America is a melting pot population, it is comprised of a variety of immigrants, not merely those who were seeking refuge from oppression.
Summary by Cortney Robinson, student, Meredith College
Elizabeth was a Quaker in Philadelphia and as a female in the 1700s and early 1800s she exceeded many of the boundaries that were set for women of that time. Her diary shows many of the female experiences, included significant links to marriage, children, and domesticity. Elizabeth had four specific phases of her life including her youth and courtship, being a young wife and mother, middle aged crisis years, and her role as a grandmother. In her unmarried years she was offered more mobility and a less strict regiment of roles. She held her family in high regard and especially her sister Mary. Both of her parents died when she was very young. In 1971 Elizabeth entered another phase, marrying Henry Drinker. They had 5 surviving children and a multitude of grandchildren. Her diary encompasses all aspects of her family from her husband, her sister, her children and grandchildren, to her servants. She was very concerned about all of her children's health and well being and implied that this had stemmed from her parents' death and her anxiety over that. Elizabeth was also known for developing and mixing her own medicines. She especially cared about the medical state that her servants were in. Drinker was also very interested in nature and the outside world. She tended to be classified as an upper class white woman, and attempted to serve the role. She sewed and embroidered. The abridged version tends to omit some of the sights and sounds of Philadelphia, but it does mention the many church bells, the fire alarms, burning buildings, the carriage accidents. This Philadelphia woman could be considered a model woman in the eighteenth century, living a typical upper class white woman's lifestyle.
Summary by Kelly Fish, student, Meredith College
The Souls of Black Folk was written by W.E.B. DuBois in 1903. It is probably the most well known of all books written by DuBois concerning African American culture. It focuses on the problem of color as it existed in the United States around the turn of the century.
DuBois begins by telling the story of the emancipation of the slaves and describing several of the struggles they encountered in trying to place themselves as free people in white society. The Freedmen's Bureau, founded by Pierce, was the beginning of a large-scale relief effort which, although was greatly needed, could only make small strides in the great destitution of the freedmen in the South. In the end, it set up schools, assisted freedmen in the buying and selling of land, and administered justice in all areas of daily life in which the freedmen needed assistance.
DuBois spends a whole chapter on Mr. Booker T. Washington. Some people applaud Washington for his lack of confrontation and his choice to quietly succeed in America despite his status, while others ridicule his silence as a "lack of manhood." DuBois chooses to criticize. He agrees that Washington should be commended for his convictions about things such as "Thrift, Patience, and Industrial Training," yet DuBois strongly opposes apologies for injustices against the African American race, not highly valuing the right to vote, and the toning down of the effects of caste distinction.
DuBois continues in his book to describe the African American culture of the time. In his own words, he describes the differences between black and white as something that is separated by a veil. It is his hope that through the rest of the book he will be able to give readers a glimpse behind the veil. He does this by sharing things about religion, the continual struggle of master and man, and the search for identity which so many freedmen encountered.
DuBois ends with a song with the words, "Let us cheer the weary traveler." It is as if he believed that the African Americans who lived through slavery and suppression need to be cheered and comforted because they have endured much. They are the weary travelers and they deserve rest.
Summary by Emily Anthony, student, Appalachian State University