Western lore promoted the west as a bounty of wealth for those who chose to take it for themselves. It was a promised land of freedom and equality. Yet the reality for many immigrant pioneers was far from that. Most came unprepared for life on the frontier, with skill sets more useful for the big cities of European then for the edges of civilization. Discrimination was rampant by the existing American settlers, who often refused to sell goods or services to the new homesteaders. Even here in Denver, there is a legacy of this past discrimination. Swedish Hospital was started by those Swedish immigrants who came to Colorado during the silver and gold rush era, and whom upon arriving were denied access even to basic medical care. The immigrant community was forced to rally together to provide a hospital in which they were welcome.
Cather’s novel, O’Pioneers still amazes me with the stories that immigrant families went through in the quest to become American. It seems as if these immigrants, much like Bergson family in the novel were expected to undergo a trial by fire in order to be seen as valued in the expanding definition of what constituted being American.
Do you think that those immigrants that braved the frontier and western expiations were respected more quickly then those that worked in town? Is there something inherently American to working and settling a parcel of land that created acceptance of those who chose that way of life? What significance does this play today with the acceptance of immigrants into modern American culture? Does the same or equivalent opportunity exist for newcomers today?
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I think that immigrants who braved the west are respected more today than they were back then. I think that there was a lot of prejudice that focused in on immigrants due to their foreign ways and unique way of life. Conquering the west was quite the challenge especially with the limited technology of the day. I personally am quite impressed with the amount of labor that was involved with settling a new land and that would have garnered at least a moderate amount of respect in my mind back then. I believe there is much to be said about being an American as it relates to backbreaking labor and domesticating the wild. In my opinion, America has always seemed to be fighting something be it other countries or itself. This created the hardy pioneers that are so iconic as Americans. Because immigrants today are coming into a land already settled, they do not have the opportunity, as did the pioneers, to create a hardy perception. Instead they face much of the discrimination as that faced today by many by being foreign. This sad fact that many people distrust each other simply due to their families’ heritages is repeated often enough throughout history and is rampant even today. I believe that conquering anything garners some sort of acceptance in today’s life and struggling against the economy can create a respect as well. Today, there is no where near the opportunity for immigrants as there was in olden days but there is still a chance to win respect through the conquering of savage foes or terrain.
I'm sure everyone has heard the melting pot reference when it comes to the great land of U.S. and A.. Well that is exactly what early America was, it took people from all walks of life to create the ingenuity that has defined this country.
As far as early pioneers go i think they may have been working to find their niche in the turbulent beginnings. Some people like, Ivar from the book, just prefer to be out in the country. Coming from Alaska I have come a cross many people that just prefer to be outsiders. Usually they just like to be left alone. I believe people in the towns of that era thought very little about people outside of town, but as far as out of towners go a few of them heard news from the cities and even fewer envied the people in those crime driven cities.
There may be something inherently American about being out in the land and living off of it, but more likely it's been American long before America. We are a culture that first clashed with American Native culture and since then we have adopted many customs from cultures around the world.
In these modern times, an immigrant is tossed around in American bureaucracy, before coming to rest without a job or house. Many immigrants choose not to go through the bureaucracy and end up being deported later. Our countries culture has drifted away from accepting anyone.
Today, farmers seem to have a different level of respect than the farmers of the early West who are currently respected for their expansion, efforts, and bravery. People appreciate farmer’s products today but don’t consider the work. The products are available for consumption and that is that.
America is the place of new beginnings and opportunity. The Western settlers took advantage of the opportunity provided to start a new farming life. Today, America is still a place of opportunity for immigrants and others. They can start a life for themselves, though not so much as farmers, but as business people or artisans. They can take advantage of an education system that might not be provided in their home country to further themselves here or in their home land.
I would agree that immigrants today are a bit more respected, but prejudice definitely still exists. Opportunity here is far less than it used to be...and it seems that people have to work harder to stay floating. Regardless of where immigrants placed themselves they had it rough. Though in those days the majority of the population was made up of immigrants.
As for the comment about farmers. I would also agree. Farming is steadily disappearing as a means of being financially stable. It is taken for granted, and no one really considers the fact that it is where our country began. Farming was the first step towards industrialization. Though it is still a respectable way to make a living, it was considered much more important in the days of the novel. For the family in the novel, farming was the most respectable way to make a living... as has already been said.
After reading the book “O Pioneers!” and those comments above this, I start to think if American Dream does not promise a better life or good opportunity at all. I try to image for those pioneers try to cross over thousands and thousands of miles to start their new lives. Does new life give them better opportunity or is it just another hopeless dream? I try to fit those old days and today’s immigration together and try to think if there are some same connections between both of them. There is something I personally think is interesting that is the faultiness of melting pot. As history or story goes, for those who have been coming to a unfamiliar place and try to make a better life, I think cooperating different communities and races is one of the best solutions to make life better out promise land. But it seems like none of any communities want to help each other out and they are kind like just do their own thing and being helpless out west, a place they use to call American Dream. The problem of lack of communication between different races and classes is always one of the hardest tasks for Americans. I guess the problem does not just come out recently but it can be tracing back far earlier when first pioneers came. It reminds me that my roommate ever tell me that how ignorance those illegal Mexican immigrants are and why should us, as American citizens, pay so much tax moneys to help them. First thing comes out my mind is that how fascinating things are. I start to wonder if he is a real business major student. I just don’t understand why he as a business major brought up this question. Dose he understand how economic system work? Does he ever appreciate those illegal immigrants who have done a lot of works under paid so he does not need to pay more money and tax to get what decent life he has now? There are just too much things people do not seek inside and take a look toward two different sides of view. The other story comes from one good friend of mine that she went to a party and saw a drunken dude she knew shouting at her, he said “Get the fuck out of my country, you dirty little Mexican”. Then she said, “I am the 6th. Generation of my family in America and you are only 3rd. So who is the primary choice to get the fuck out of this country?” I don’t know if American Dream will ever work out just fine, but as far as I see things happening, I have started wondering, “Can we make a good hot pot when we put too much different ingredients at same time?”
I didn’t know about the history of Swedish Hospital before, and that is both interesting and sad. While growing up in Boulder, discrimination and racism seemed so far away to me and it never made me too sad because it seemed absurd that it would still exist today. Since I realized that it does exist today and as much as ever, historical discrimination, like that of the hospital, has made much more of an impact on me. It no longer feels distant but instead it feels like we’ve been dealing with the same issues throughout our entire history. I think that the same opportunity for equality and upward social mobility can exist today, but barely, and it is one of the sadder and more frustrating things about our country: we were founded by people who put themselves and their families at risk for new ideals and today we are so harsh on those who want to immigrate here. America was once characterized by the ideals of the pioneers but that is no longer the case and the rest of the world has been realizing it too. It makes me furious to see or hear about the way we treat immigrants today. Having diversity is a beautiful and educational thing and should be appreciated rather than feared. I think that immigrants can still become Americans in a similar way to the Bergson family, but they aren’t surrounded by other people doing the same thing like the Bergsons. Instead they are surrounded by people who are already accepted as Americans, which I think must make the journey towards acceptance harder.
Here is Gian's comment:
The discrimination displayed by many of the early western settlers in very much transitive with the discrimination displayed today throughout the United States, especially when examining the modern lifestyles of Hispanic immigrants. The “trial by fire” that immigrants to the American frontier faced during the 19th century are very similar to the trials and obstacles standing in the way of modern immigrants in the United States. The idea of claiming a piece of land as one’s own and working that land to provide goods and services to the community was essential to the political and social structure needed to develop the western frontier. It does not seem fair for a non-resident citizen to simply move to an emerging community with out providing some useful resource to that society. Pioneers heavily depended on the efforts of their neighbors for survival. Whether is was a doctor providing medical attention to the town or a farmer providing crops to the community, all parts of the society relied on one another in order to maintain prosperity. Logically, if a group of immigrants settled in a community and did not engage themselves with the services of their existing neighbors, they would be shunned for not contributing the overall welfare of the town. Similarly, modern immigrants will be discriminated against if they simply freeload off the efforts of the existing community and do not try to assimilate to their new society.
I think that the notion that immigrants are still not “equally” as American as those of us who were born here still exists today. There are still prejudices against newcomers and foreigners, though they may not be as magnified and easy to find as those in the days of the pioneers in some regards. I was not aware of the story of the Swedish Hospital in Denver and I thought that that was an interesting piece of history so close to home. I think that the immigrants to our country today face a different set of issues than the settlers and pioneers did in their time. Today, the immigrants are coming into an established and well settled land and they do not have the chance to easily claim part of it as their own. Instead, they get thrown into the mix and have to try to survive. In some ways, it is essentially survival of the fittest. Only those who can adapt to the culture and society here and find a decent job have a good chance of making it. It is a sad reality that with as far as our country has come that we still have prejudices towards immigrants.
In the culture of America there has for quite some time been discrimination, regardless of country of origin. Many of these same people do not realize that they are in fact, in at least some small part, also immigrants. The longer these same people have been within the US, the more they believe it is theirs, and not someone else’s. Unless these “else’s” prove themselves in some way.
It does not seem uniquely “American” to settle land, nor does it seem typically “American” to accept newly arrived immigrants. This is not necessarily a “bad” trait, though does create situations in which conflict can easily arise, as shown through the book, and in current events. In today’s American culture, there is still a similarly aversive attitude towards immigrants, though it is possibly masked in politically correct statements and actions.
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