Frederick Jackson Turner and Oscar Handlin's theories of American immigration and settlement

¶ … America

He is known most for the seminal piece he wrote, entitled The Significance of the Frontier in American History, or commonly called The Frontier Thesis. Frederick challenged the notion that the ideals and culture of America came from their ancestors of European origin who fled or immigrated into USA, and fought against the people of England in order to be a new independent nation. Turner believed conventional wisdom took no consideration of the advances and struggles that were made to America as well as the environment and experiences that compelled this people to settle in and adjust their European ancestry, hence creating a culture for their nation, different from Europe (Munive, 2014).

Thernstrom (2012) states that Oscar Handlin was not only the preeminent American immigration historian, but also examined the experience of Americans in general. Handlin\'s dissertation, Boston\'s Immigrants (1941) focused on urban America rather than the rural part and the generality of immigration, and its involvement in shaping of American society. In The Uprooted (1951), Handlin explained the common factors in what many of the immigrants experienced and subtly assessed their psychology. He centered on the wrenching difficulties involved in their shift from a permanent social order of the Europeans to the dynamic and flexible one of the Americans. Handlin also opined that the law of American immigration was out of order when it passed the biased national roots quota system. He crucially wrote on that issue, took part in reform-advocating groups and gave a testimony in Congress. In 1965, Handlin received credit for taking part in the historic legislative success in the Act of Nationality and Immigration.

Many have taken interest in the works of Handlin since they center on psychological and social adjustment to industrial and urban civilization among the immigrant society. Handlin\'s works have been significant in the prevailing issue about global immigration. Turner on the other hand was different from his generation in terms of the study method and writings on history. He believed that every factor in historical occurrences with information which set a full context of that event was important. Turner\'s historiography is currently thought of as a standard (Munive, 2014).

Lincoln in NYC (1859)

Abraham Lincoln went to New York during his campaign to be nominated as a Republican candidate. He gave a speech, titled \'Cooper Union\' which showed a rare confluence of culture in politics, technological innovation, human genius and rhetorical opportunity. The speech was both a statement of Lincoln\'s beliefs and a campaign speech in a risky position. Lincoln stated that the national government could have regulations on slavery within the territories, instead of completely prohibiting and eliminating it due to its moral repugnance (Holzer, 2005).

Lessons Learnt

Historians have for a long time agreed that Lincoln\'s speech partly contributed to his rise as the U.S. president, from an unknown man outside Illinois. According to Holzer (2005), Lincoln was the first American to succeed in his campaign through his speech. He also stated that one would have to change from an operative of a local political party into a candidate for presidency.

Draft Riots in NYC (1863)

The Draft Riot was a huge major four-day violent outbreak caused by deep discontent of workers with the conscription\'s inequities during the Civil War of the U.S. There were minor riots in many cities, and mobs most of whom were foreigners (especially Irish) went to the street, attacked residents and draft headquarters, defied the police and burnt several buildings. The Riot also contributed greatly to racial job competition. Northern labor was concerned about an increase in the workers of the African-American race from the Southern side due to slave emancipation. Employers even started using African-American laborers as strikebreakers at that time. Consequently, the white people in the riots eventually expressed their anger by attacking the businesses and residences of innocent blacks leading to the association of freedmen\'s from the Civil War rushing to help their kin (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016).

Lessons Learnt

The Riots were among the main Civil War catalysts and were led so well that they involved an organized revolution, instead of a random mob uprising. There may be definite strategy observed in the attempt to block approaches to New York, to capture forts, to sever communications, to seize munitions and armories with every one of their ammunition and weapons, and to raid banks and National treasury vaults (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016).

Between the Revolution and the Civil War

The 1775-1783 American Revolution also referred to as the U.S. Independence War and the Revolutionary War is viewed as a civil war by scholars. Nonetheless, the Revolution of America is peculiar, since it took place in two places; the Isles of Britain and North America. Understanding the Revolution as civil easily incorporates the wider world of division and violence that is often omitted: the movements of Regulators from North and South Carolina, Paxton boys\' march, New York and Maine land riots, movements of separatist in Franklin and Vermont as well as the rural revolts which took place in the west until the Rebels of Whiskey\'s conquest in 1794. The fall of imperial sovereignty left a different group of ex-colonists in charge of creating new kinds of authority. This was done in piecemeal and overlapping ways, leading to strain in the course that would go on for centuries and decades. New authorities earned the anxious Americans\' allegiance by protecting property and people. They pledged to crush the Indian people and spare new land for the whites. On the southern side, they struggled to bring back the slave rule and fix the consequences of their own \"revolt within a revolt.\" The Revolution involved contesting authority and dissolving sovereignty, search for safety and lawless violence (Cutterham, 2014).

Teaching of the Civil War

Civil War has significance in American history therefore certain methods of teaching are essential. Such methods include;

Discussions in small groups -- students give brief narrations in their groups by asking questions like what knowledge they have about the Civil war, the events as well as those involved. This way, their creative, analytical and practical thinking will be inculcated.

Class Lectures -- class sessions with the teacher and students encourage conversation especially when the topic is new. However, the teacher should refrain from monotony in the lectures, and long talks. They should use presentations and give useful illustrations.

Role Playing -- students acting out the characters, portraying their personalities, backgrounds and motivations is meant to act as an intermediary between the classroom and the outside world. In addition, the students have a chance to conduct reviews on their books and information sources regarding the war.

California

California was declared the 31st union state in 1850, September 9. By the first half of the 1960s it had grown into the highest populated state in the U.S. It is believed that the term \'California\' comes from an ancient Spanish novel from the early 1500s, entitled, Las sergas de Esplandian which means \"Esplandian\'s Adventures.\" This described a heavenly island filled with gold as well as precious stones known as California. The 1700s and 1800s Spanish immigrants\' influence can be seen in the place-names and architectures in California (Mcnamee & Morgan, 2016).

According to Mcnamee and Morgan (2016) the flexibility of California\'s political, social and economic life greatly influenced by the increase in foreign immigrants has for hundreds of years made the state a laboratory meant for experimentation on new ways of living. The population of California, mainly concentrated at the coastal region, is known to be the most urbanized part of the U.S. Over 75% of the population in the state lives in the metropolitan areas of San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles. Much of California\'s land is occupied by industries and is still the leading producer in the agricultural sector. Almost half of the land in California is owned by the federal government.

NYC and America in the mid-20th century

The final half of the 1900s, after the Second World War in 1945, brought the United States into a new age, which led to a sharp population growth, a thriving economy, and better living standards. During the mid-1900s, many changes in technology challenged U.S. cities. Reducing cost of transport lowered the benefits of waterway access. The introduction of an air conditioner enabled citizens to move south and west. The truck and the automobile enabled people to disperse to outlying areas from city centers. Virtually all the big cities in America declined, sometimes abruptly, over the last half century as a result of tha, apart from Los Angeles and New York (Glaeser, 2005).

Glaeser (2005) states that New York City grew within the subsequent ninety years with the city\'s population growing to 7.9 million from 813,000. In 1940, New York City reached its highest point in comparison with the population of the U.S., when 5.6% of the whole country\'s population resided there. After the American Civil War, there was growth in immigration with about 12 million immigrants.

Glaeser (2005) explains that the cause of the large population of immigrants in New York, as well as those who settled (at least for some time), is understandable for four reasons. First, the costs of internal transportation in the U.S. were still very high, which made it cheaper to settle in NYC. This issue affected foreigners from such poorer countries as Hungary, Austria, Russia and Italy who were often financially drained from traveling across the Atlantic and were not willing to spend more money traveling. Second, the economy of NYC may have been constant over the years, but there was still potential for it to rise following the increase in new labor. With the increasing population, there was an increase in the demand for clothing; this industry was more dependent on the immigrants\' skills than those needed in more developed industries.

Third, enhancements in the technology in transportation within the city increasingly made advancements from the boroughs possible. The city introduced its streetcars and omnibus routes, the subway; the bus and soon after the automobile. New immigrants could now occupy the external boroughs and use public transport to travel into New York. Finally, and most importantly, New York itself got substantial immigrant-specific political and social infrastructure. The communities allowed for new immigrants to come in while still speaking their language. Moreover, suppliers gave out items similar to those which the immigrants used to consume while in their countries of origin. During this time, immigrants created the base for voting for the Hall of Tammany. For this reason, city services were modified to meet the needs of immigrants. This shows that judges quickly approved naturalization. It also meant that the machine of the city was ready to give emergency supplies and patronage to the new arrivals. Synagogues and churches were set up to accommodate the increasing population of immigrants. Certainly, New York City had been a place for immigrants long before the American Civil War (Glaeser, 2005).