I. Tracking the Population
A. Census - process to count the population
1. every 10 years
2. provides a snapshot of the country
3. affects govt. services: services are distributed to an area based upon
the population of that area (more people = need for more services)
II. Restrictions
A. Mid-1800's: Americans worry that immigrants are
taking their jobs
B. 1882: govt. set quotas (numerical limits)
for the first time
C. 1921: Congress demanded that immigrants take
a literacy test
D. 1960's: policies loosen to allow more immigrants
in (no literacy tests)
III. A Nation of Immigrants
A. Everyone is descended from someone that came
from another place
B. How mixed is our nation?
1. 2 theories
a. Melting Pot - different cultures melt together to form one, distinct
American culture. Our society is so mixed that you cannot tell the
individual cultures
apart.
b. Salad Bowl or Quilt - individual cultures make up an American culture, but you can still tell them apart. Each culture retains its distinctive features