America: Immigration, Integration & Cultural Exchange - Essay Sample

Introduction

The united states of America have been considered as a country with lax immigration rules from the 19th Century. The notion has led to imminent immigrants from all over the world, settling in the country seeking better living conditions and educations opportunities. However, different people have different cultures and different economic life. Therefore, integration of the cultures has both positive and negative elements. People learn from each other, leading to the improvement of the production method and industrialization. However, immigration has increased the population of the United States of America, leading to contemporary issues of unemployment and an increase in crime levels.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Explain the prevailing social philosophy of many of the immigrant groups that migrated to the United States at the turn of the 20th Century.

According to Jones, immigration into the United States of America can be dated more than 400 years ago (1992). The groups arriving in America can be categorized into three, those that migrated willingly in search of a better life, those that were running away from their country due to war or other related reasons and the slaves (Jones, 1992). However, despite the differences in the reasons for migrating into the USA, the imminent immigrants led to the formation of the United States of America as a country. Therefore, the majority of the population in the USA has diverse origins, and only a small percentage are Native Americans.

Immigration in the United States of America has led to massive benefits in social and economic terms. The emergence of America as a superpower can be attributed to the diversified skills and knowledge that were imported to the country through immigration. The social-cultural norms and beliefs of the Americans or what makes America a great nation is the traditions brought by immigrants in the first four phases (Jones, 1992). Although immigration has been taking place since the 19th Century, the history of great American immigration is categorized into four. Twenty-seven million new foreigners arrived, mainly from Italy, Germany, Eastern Europe, Russia, Great Britain, Canada, Ireland, and Sweden between 1880 and 1930 (Hipsman, 2013).

The first period of immigration into the United States of America was characterized by the European settlement into the Americas (Hipsman, 2013). The industrial revolution started in the European continent, which led to large scale farming and replacement of human labor with machines. Poor peasants from all over Europe were forced to sell their land and relocate to other parts of the world, including America. The European settlers in the mid-19th Century, which was the peak of the industrial revolution in Europe, contributed immensely to economic growth, the industrial revolution, and large scale farming in the USA (Hipsman, 2013). The second peak of Immigration led to the shifting of the United States of America from colonial to an agricultural economy (Hipsman, 2013). The third peak led to the industrial revolution in the United States of America, which resulted in massive economic growth and the emergence of major cities in the country.

Many scholars have attributed the growth of the American economy to the massive immigration from the 19th Century (Hipsman, 2013). However, in addition to economic growth, immigration has contributed to the social and cultural position of the country. The fourth peak Immigration took place from 1970, and it is continuing up to date (Cornyn, 2020). This phase of immigration is a result of globalization and the emergence of America as a world superpower not only in economics but also in education-related matters. Many foreigners today are visiting America on student's visa, and upon expiry, they struggle to ensure that they become domiciles of the country. According to Hipsman, the United States of America immigration policies are rarely adjusted unless for political reasons (2013). Therefore, the legislation passed by congress since the 19th Century in immigration-related policies has ensured that the restrictions imposed do not affect the country’s economic position or destroy the political relationships with other nations.

Explain the interlocking relationship between Italian, Irish, and Jewish gangsters during the 1920s and 1930s.

According to Lyman and Porter, Italian, Irish, and Jewish migration in the 19th Century led to the problem of unemployment and social challenges owing to the language barrier (2019). The American society had problems allocating resources such as housing and other special needs to the immigrants because of their massive numbers. The immigrants who were not absorbed into the USA society in New York, Chicago, and Kansas formulated groups where they could meet and discuss their problems. However, despite the efforts of the groups, the language barrier continued to be a major challenge for them. The relationship formulated between the members of the three nations was in an attempt to seek political recognition in the United States of America, which later bore fruits for them as legislators started giving jobs to those who could vote for them (Lyman & porter, 2019). The Italian, Irish, and Jewish interlockings were also evident in other places such as Philadelphia, Cleveland, Boston, Detroit, Chicago, and New Orleans (Haller, 1971). The politically organized groups were in control of activities such as gambling, prostitution, robberies, and other criminal activities that started their operations in the mid-19th Century, and they increased their scope of control of illegal activities across America in the 1920s (Haller, 1971).

After the end of the First World War, Italians, Irish and Jewish immigrants had developed an understanding to commit crimes together. They formulated criminal organizations in the urban centers which were dealing with armed robbery, drugs, money laundering, and other banned activities (Haller, 1971). The organizations comprised of gangs that were responsible for most of the crimes in America in the 1920s. However, despite the ban of substances such as opium and other hard drugs, the immigrants found ways of satisfying the whole American market with the drugs and thereby replacing other dealers (Haller, 1971). While most of the gangs were ethnically based and they operated in small groups comprising of individuals with similar backgrounds, the leadership of the underworld criminal organizations had the understanding to stick to their territories and thereby reducing conflict among them.

According to Haller, the Jewish landlords were very powerful in the black market, and they were the second in control after the Irish merchants (1971). However, Italians large numbers and their hostility nature enabled them to emerge at the top of the chain. The United States government had issued a ban on the production and sale of beer and liquor, and therefore the competition in the industry was not stiff. The merchants dealing with the products were divided into those that specialized in production and the suppliers from Canada, Europe, and other parts of the world to the United States of America via sea (Haller, 1971). According to Fraser, the Jewish and Irish top officials controlled most of the best liquor and beer produced by pirates in Canada. However, the production of plants and other minor distributions were controlled by smaller ethnic crime groups. This research indicates that the origin of major organized groups in the United States of America can be attributed to the Italians, Jewish and Irish immigrants.

Talk about the political corruption that was central to organized crime in both the North and South (turn of the 20th Century) when the sheriff, the judge, the major, and governor were involved in organized crime. How would this impact society in general? How has this changed over the past Century or not, and why?

Corruption in world history can be attributed to major social vices in the society today. Government involvement with organized crimes makes the groups more powerful and impossible to deal with. According to Abadinsky, corruption contributed majorly to the success of organized crimes both in the North and the South (2012). However, it was widespread in the South and thereby leading to more criminal activities in the area than the North (Abadinsky, 2012). In the United States of America, political officials and government leaders such as the sheriff, judge, the civilian president, and a senator were responsible for the increased organized crimes in the North (Abadinsky, 2012). However, their power was rare in the Southern states, where more organized crimes were widespread.

The success of the illicit business in the southern part of America depended heavily on the involvement of the local and federal officials. The policemen are were tasked with the responsibilities of ensuring that activities such as betting, prostitution, drug trafficking, arms smuggling, human trafficking, among other common crimes among the members of the organized crimes, are reduced. The vital role played by the port urban organized crime communities in ensuring that there are not removed from the control by the southern who had more privilege was to take control of the authorities. The ports were crucial points for recruiting young girls into prostitution and human trafficking. In southern culture, the derivation of lighthouses for inland vessels was a common practice (Abadinsky, 2012). The northern communities had less control in the crime business in alcohol and other related activities. Tax avoidance was also a common practice that required ensuring that the authority's hands are tied to avoid constant arrests and prosecution.

Controlling criminal organizations required the leaders to be smart and avoid being caught. Therefore, the more connected and dangerous the activity was, the more they need to pay off the authorities. The corrupt sheriff ensured that the organized crime group members in the region are not arrested, and they are tipped when the federal officials were crossing upon them. The corrupt judge facilitated the release of criminals who were prosecuted in their courts, and the governor ensured that the criminal groups are not eradicated both in the North and the South.

Involvement of the government officials in organized crimes through corruption not only magnifies the problem in the society but also undermines the federal and states officials' attempts to eradicate them. Corruption ensures that despite the illegality of the activities that the groups are undertaking, the authorities are kept away from them, and in case they are arrested, the evidence is tampered with leading to their release. It facilitates the expansion of criminal organizations leading to intensified crimes in the nation. According to Sumah, the problem of corruption in society is still imminent (2017). Abuse of power to protect criminal organizations has not been entirely eradicated, but the problem has been minimized. The reduction of corruption cases can be attributed to the diversification of the roles of both the federal and states police in combating organized crimes.

References

Cornyn, J. (2020). Immigration Reform: Back to the Future. Yale Law Journal.

Abadinsky, H. (2012). Organized crime. Cengage Learning.

Hoerder, D., & Moch, L. P. (Eds.). (1996). European migrants: global and local perspectives. Upne.

Haller, M. H. (1971). Organized crime in urban society: Chicago in the twentieth century. Journal of Social History, 210-234.

Allum, F., & Siebert, R. (2003). Org...