Dealing With Diversity In The United States From Reconstruction Era Through The 1920s

Introduction

The issue of diversity has been present for a long time and it has been subject to several debates with various leaders taking dissimilar positions regarding the matter. Today the world as it was many decades ago is a diverse place with people coming from different backgrounds in terms of culture, political and religious views, race and ethnicity and the diversity of thoughts among others. Several strides have been made over the years to try and promote diversity. However, the issue was a big problem especially during the period of slavery and the decades after the civil war. The period 1865 to 1920 perhaps presented some of the biggest challenges in managing diversity. The period after civil war saw former slaves attain some form of freedom and renewed opportunities to interact with other members within the society but the freedom were short-lived as some laws were later enacted to curtail or reduce such freedoms. Unfortunately, it came with lots of prejudices especially among those who felt that they were superior to others. That period also saw large numbers of immigrants coming from Europe and Asia despite facing a lot of social and political restrictions. Although there are laws that tried to encourage diversity, several deliberate efforts were made in terms of coming up with laws and policies meant at hindering and dealing with the issue that issue. It is therefore important to note that political policies in the period from 1865 to the 1920s generally tried to hinder or restrict diversity and the “melting pot”, in part as a result of widespread prejudices. Three Examples One example worth mentioning is the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. During that period of time, the U.S saw an influx of immigrants into the country. On its onset, many of the immigrants were welcomed although the Asians were not. Asians were especially resented because they were seen as coming from an alien culture. The Chinese were also not welcomed due to the mentality of their readiness and willingness to work under harsh conditions while receiving meager pay, therefore, they were considered to be destroying the amount of wages paid to workers as a result of their cheap labor. The Act was passed by Congress in 1882 after more anti-Chinese agitation sentiments intensified in California and the west.

The Act placed a ban of ten years for Chinese immigrants from entering the U.S. The other legislation closely related to the Chinese Exclusion Act in the 19th and 20th century which restricted issue touching on diversity was the Jim Crow laws. Towards the later part of 1870s saw many African Americans lose many civil rights that they had received during the reconstruction period. The rights became subject to racial discrimination as there was increased racist violence and lynching of Africans as a form of punishment. In practice, that law allowed ethnic segregation to be practiced in public institutions and facilities from 1870sn to 1880s. The law was upheld by the U.S Supreme court in 1896 under the “separate but equal” legal doctrine. Public facilities such as schools, public transport, medical care, housing, and employment were segregated by race. The “separate but equal” doctrine made ethnic segregation to appear not to violate the Fourteenth Amendment of the constitution that guaranteed all people “equal protection” in the eyes of the law. However, in practice, there was no equality since services offered to African-Americans and people of color were usually below standards, inferior and poorly funded compared to those offered to the white Americans. This could be seen from the bank’s lending practices, employment preference discrimination, and labor union practices. The Jim Crow laws trampled own the gains that had been made during the reconstruction era where legalized slavery had ended allowing citizenship for former slaves. However, the laws made African Americans to become second-class citizens. The period from 1863 to 1877 with President Lincoln setting up the Freedmen’s Bureau in 1865 to assist former slaves receive better health, receive education and employment. The thirteenth amendment brought to end slavery. Most radicals at the time tried to impose some more legal restrictions that would deny the former rebels voting rights and the opportunity of holding elective positions. While this was happening, there was a conflict between some Indian tribes and the miners, settlers, and ranchers. The government decided to force American Indians to be assimilated to the general society or be assigned reservations and be forcefully kept there. In 1887 the Dawes Act was enacted in a bid to integrate the American Indians to the mainstream and be absorbed to the American society. The ones that refused to be assimilated and were left to languish in poverty on the reservations where they were supported using federal food, medication, and education. The Dawes Act was clearly a political policy that aimed at dictating the means by which different ethnicities could be accepted within the American mainstream society and given land to farm. It thus hindered or restricted diversity as a result of widespread prejudice against the American Indians. It, therefore, means that political leaders during that period of time had the power to determine whoever received certain services through the laws that they were enacting. There were other legislation during that period that seemed to suggest that political policies being enacted played a key role towards hindering or restricting diversity and the “melting pot” largely in part as a result of the widespread prejudices. One such policy was the Immigration act of 1924 passed by Congress.

The period immediately after the civil war saw several people migrating to America from other countries and continents in search of better living and plenty of opportunity in terms of jobs and farming land. The law was passed in response to a large number of immigrants that were coming from places thought by the policymakers during that time to be unwanted to the Anglo-Saxon. The country had received growing sentiments from the public who were against unrestricted immigration. The Act introduced quotas by restricting the number of immigrants coming from certain countries. For instance, immigrants coming from southern and Eastern Europe and Asia was restricted to less than 2% of the total number of population of people living in America at that time. This can be seen in the context of the leadership being wary of the future racial structure of America. Persching a close ally to the president at the time was present during the signing of the bill a clear indication that he was in support for it and the views of the policymakers. The immigration lawn became selective because the number allocated to each country every year took into account a percentage of the number of nationalities that were present in the U.S by 1920. The third aspect at play that hindered diversity was the Anti-miscegenation laws. The laws outlawed marriages between whites and non-whites. In practice, the laws mainly targeted the marriage between whites and blacks. Other states also passed laws that outlawed marriages between the whites and Native Americans or Asians. A case in point is Utah’s 1899 marriage and anti-miscegenation law outlawing marriage between whites and anybody that seemed to be a Negro, mulatto, quadroon, octoroon, Mongolian and Malay race while it remained silent on the marriage between people that were not “white persons”. Outlawing marriage between people coming from dissimilar backgrounds ensured that those policies hindered cultural exchange and that people considered as minority continued being marginalized and remained in poverty. This was yet another clear indication that the policies were meant to further segregate people and prevent inter-marriages that could encourage diversity within the nation. the armed forces was also not left behind as the units were segregated where black soldiers received poor training and equipment yet they were usually put on the frontline when in battles. Dealing With the Opposing view But while it is evident that the policies of political leaders during that time did a lot to ensure that huddles were placed on diversification, there are others that may disagree with my thesis and argue that political policies in the period from 1865 to the 1920s generally tried to promote diversity and “the melting pot” despite the strong prejudices from the few. The policies during that period support the notion that the leadership was afraid of or unwilling to accept a diverse nation. Legislations such as the Jim Crow Act is a clear pointer to this fact.

According to Parsons, 2011, Jim Crow Act sort to promote ethnic segregation in public facilities. The whites had better schools, better healthcare, and better recreational facilities and were employed ion plum jobs unlike the African-Americans, Asians and people of color lived in poor housing, their schools had fewer facilities with teachers that were not properly trained, poor health facilities and they were considered second-class citizens with the introduction of the “separate but equal” doctrine that served to make the Jim Crow Act not appear to contravene the fourteenth amendment that guaranteed all citizens equal protection within the law. These laws were an affront towards attaining the freedom and that could help integrate people coming holding diverse backgrounds to live peacefully and coexist with one another. The Chinese Exclusion Act also banned the Chinese for ten years from migrating to the U.S for they were considered to be from an alien culture and they were ready to offer cheap labor by working in harsh conditions in exchange of small wages. The Chinese whom were mostly brought in the north to work on the railroads were unwanted by the community because they were seen as having taken up the job opportunities present by offering cheap labor under some of the harshest conditions. The number of other Asians entering the U.S was also restricted to 2% of the total number of their population in the U.S by 1920. The Dawes Act put a condition for the American Indians being able to win farming lands where they were forced to be assimilated to the mainstream American society or remain enclosed in reservations where they would be left to languish in poverty. These tactics were hindering racial diversity among the population in America during that period of time. Women were also disadvantaged as they were not allowed to vote because of the prejudice that they were not yet ready to make the right decisions regarding the political leadership of the nation until after several demonstrations and agitation by the women suffrage before they could be allowed to exercise their democratic right of choosing their political leaders and taking part in the elections. These are some of the political tactics used by the political leaders during that time to hinder diversity in part by their widespread prejudices.

Legacy Today and Conclusion

Diversity issue continues to play a big role today especially the places of work and within various professions. Diversity as covered over several decades has helped to shape rules and regulations that govern how the process of hiring is conducted in places of work. Deliberate efforts have been made over the decades to make sure that the places of work are as diverse as possible. Many organizations and employers have policies touching on diversity at the workplace where employers are required as a matter of law to make sure that their workforce does not consist of people from one ethnicity only. It has also promoted cohesion and coexistence because working with people coming from diverse backgrounds promotes cultural exchange and understanding of how different cultures behave. Perhaps the most significant role that diversity has played is to enable a person to work anywhere in the world provided they are competent and they have the qualifications that are needed for the job. It has also promoted inter-marriages between people from different cultural backgrounds thereby making the world a global; the village where people can live, work and interact with one another from any part of the world. The laws ensure that there is a fair share that anybody that is qualified can be employed based on their qualifications and not factors such as race and ethnicity. Laws were also enacted to ensure that the issue of equality is upheld and that all citizens are equal before the law and are supposed to receive the important services form the government of state without being discriminated against or segregated in schools, hospitals, houses and or recreational facilities. One can get an education in different countries and even get employed theirs without the fear of being victimized as was the case during those years.