Diversity in the U.S. Chapter 4

paternalism

A society with a small elite class and a plantation-based economy will often develop a form of minority relations called paternalism

Gender Relations INdians 164

American Indian societies were generally patriarchal But in many tribes, women held positions of great responsibility and controlled wealth Gender relations affected differently for different tribes In some cases, the relative status and power of women rose (e.g., Navajo tribe) In others, women were affected adversely (e.g., Great Plains tribes)

Assimilation 160

Apologists argue that slavery operated as a "school for civilization" Slavery has been likened to a "perverted patriarchy" Brainwashed, emasculated, and dehumanized slaves, stripping them of their heritage and culture Despite abuses, African slaves coped and retained a sense of self firmly anchored in their traditions, kinship, and culture

Texas

By 1835, legal and illegal Anglo-American immigrants outnumbered Tejanos 6 to 1 Competition for land and labor led to the U.S. annexation of Texas in 1845 Full-scale war ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 With the Gadsden Purchase of 1853, the United States acquired the territory known as the Southwestern United States

Mexican Americans 167

By the early 1800s, four areas of Mexican settlement had developed in the area that would eventually become Texas, California, New Mexico, and Arizona  Sparsely settled Economy based on farming and herding Social and political life organized around family and the Catholic Church Dominated by an elite class of landowners

Colonized minority groups

Colonized minority groups: Forced into minority status by dominant group  Subjected to massive inequalities and attacks on their cultures Assigned to positions from which assimilation is extremely difficult and perhaps even forbidden  Identified by highly visible racial or physical characteristics

Gender Relations 161

Constraints were triple for female slaves: "Black in a white society, slave in a free society, women in a society ruled by men" Domestic and field chores Used for breeding, white male rape and abuse Sex-segregated work groups produced opportunity to develop same-sex bonds and relationships Used to resist the system, e.g., induced abortions

Comparing Minority Groups

Each of these three groups became involuntary players in the growth and development of the United States All three were overpowered and relegated to an inferior, subordinate status against their will, and were coercively acculturated in the context of paternalistic relations in an agrarian economy Meaningful integration was not a real possibility, and in Gordon's (1964) terms, we might characterize these situations as "acculturation without integration" or structural pluralism Blauner's concept of colonized minority groups seems far more descriptive

Origin of slavery in america 148

First Africans were probably indentured servants By 1660s first slave laws were enacted By the 1750s, slavery had been clearly defined in law and in custom

Blauner Hypothesis 153

Identifies two different initial relationships—colonization and immigration Minority groups created by colonization will experience more intense prejudice, racism, and discrimination than those created by immigration The disadvantaged status of colonized groups will persist longer and be more difficult to overcome than the disadvantaged status faced by groups created by immigration

American Indians 162

In 1607, anywhere from 1 million to 10 million Native Americans By 1890, the number had fallen to less than 250,000 due more to diseases and the destruction of food supplies, rather than to warfare The result of the contact situation for Native Americans very nearly approached genocide

American Indians, Noel Hypothesis 163

In 1763, the British Crown ruled that the various tribes were to be considered "sovereign nations with inalienable rights to their land" In other words, each tribe was to be treated as a nation-state, and had to be compensated for any loss of land

Arizona And New Mexico

Lower levels of postwar Anglo migration Only in New Mexico did Mexican Americans retain some political power and economic clout Even though the contact situation for Mexican Americans was highly variable by region, the ultimate result was minority group status

Blauner HYpothesis mexicans

Mexican Americans and the Blauner Hypothesis: Colonized minority group Mexican American culture and language suppressed Property rights were abrogated and their status lowered Subjected to coercive acculturation In close proximity to their homeland and maintained close ties with villages and families Mexican immigration since the mid-nineteenth-century war has kept the Spanish language and Mexican heritage alive

Noel HYpothesis Mexicans

Mexican Americans and the Noel Hypothesis: American southerners readily transferred their prejudiced views to Mexicans who were a mixed race of European, Indigenous, and African stock Anglo-Americans used their superior numbers and military power to acquire control Of the political and economic structures Expropriate the resources of the Mexican American community - both land and labor

Immigrant minority groups

Mostly voluntary participants in the host society and have some control over their position  Do not occupy such markedly inferior positions and retain enough internal organization to pursue self-interests Commonly experience easier movement to equality as groups are racially similar

Enclave and middle man minorities

Originate as immigrant groups who bring some resources with them to carve out economic niches  Yet racially distinguishable, so certain kinds of opportunities may be closed Occupy an intermediate status between the more assimilated white ethnic groups and the colonized racial minorities

CH 3 outline

Outline I. Chapter Overview II. Prejudice and Discrimination A. Merton's Four Relationships Between Prejudice and Discrimination in Individuals B. The Affective Dimension 1. Prejudice is partly a set of feelings or emotions that people attach to groups, including their own. 2. Scapegoat Hypothesis - links prejudice to frustration or aggression, suggesting people "take it out" on less powerful substitute targets such as minority groups. 3. Theory of the Authoritarian Personality - links prejudice to early childhood experiences and personality structure, suggesting stern, highly punitive styles of parenting produce prejudice. C. The Cognitive Dimension: Stereotypes 1. Stereotypes are generalizations about groups of people that are exaggerated, overly simplistic, and resistant to disproof. 2. Selective perception is the tendency to see only what one expects to see, which strengthens stereotypes. 3. The Content of American Stereotypes - when asked to characterize entire groups of people, even highly educated college students do so. D. Cognitive and Affective Dimensions of Stereotypes 1. Two general stereotypes of minority groups: extreme inferiority (to rationalize extreme inequality); relative success viewed in negative terms (in situations of less extreme differences). E. Intersections of Race, Gender, and Class 1. Affective and cognitive dimensions of prejudice vary by race, gender, and class. Stereotypes and feelings attached to black males, for example, differ from those attached to black females. III. Sociological Causes of Prejudice A. The Role of Group Competition 1. The one common factor that seems to account for the origin of all prejudices is competition between groups. 2. Robber's Cave - Sherif's 1950s experiment at a summer camp for 11-12-year-old boys. He divided the boys into 2 groups and set up activities on a competitive basis. Prejudice grew intense and declined when the groups had to work cooperatively. This experiment illustrates that competition over resources and status and the desire to defend against perceived threats from other groups are primary motivations for the construction of prejudice and structures of inequality benefiting the dominant group. 3. Theoretical Perspectives on Group Competition and Prejudice: Power/Conflict Models a) Marxist Analysis - elites who control the means of production in a society also control the ideas and intellectual activity of the society. Elites who subordinate a minority group will develop and institutionalize ideologies to justify the arrangement. b) Split Labor Market Theory - the labor market is split into higher priced labor and cheaper labor. Higher priced labor attempts to exclude cheaper labor through prejudice and is the beneficiary of prejudice, not capitalists. c) Group Interests - Herbert Blumer's theory is that prejudice develops due to groups feeling threatened by those below them. Historically it was seen overtly during the Civil Rights movement, but in modern times is far more subtle. d) Summary and Limitations -Marxism, Split Labor Market theory, and Group Interests conclude that prejudice emerges in a struggle to control or expand a group's share of scarce resources and prejudice persists because some group gains from it. But no theory can account for prejudice in all its forms. Culture, socialization, family structure, and personality development also play a role in the origins of prejudice. IV. The Persistence of Prejudice A. The Vicious Cycle - Myrdal suggests prejudice is reinforced by everyday observation of the inferior status of the minority group, which motivates further discrimination, which reinforces inferior status and validates prejudice. B. Prejudice in Children 1. Socialization - research suggests people are born without bias and have to be taught whom to like and dislike. By age 3 or younger, children recognize the significance and permanence of racial groups and can accurately classify people. Children learn prejudice even when it is not overtly or directly taught. 2. Intellectual capabilities - children are actively engaged in their learning and their levels of prejudice reflect their changing intellectual capabilities. Children as young as 5 or 6 months can make distinctions between categories or people, which suggests it is not just due to socialization. Distinctions may help children organize and understand the world and this need for primitive categorization may decline with increased intellectual capability. Levels of Prejudice in children may reflect an interaction between mental capacities and environment, rather than simple socialization. C. Social Distance Scales: The Cultural Dimensions of Prejudice 1. Social Distance - the degree of intimacy a person is willing to accept in his or her relations with members of other groups. Bogardus developed seven degrees of social distance, used as a scale. 2. Supports the view that prejudice is cultural, but this research has limitations. D. Situational Influences 1. Distinction between thought (prejudice) and action (discrimination). The situation shapes the relationship between prejudice and discrimination. E. Summary and Limitations 1. Prejudice persists in part because it becomes part of the culture and is passed to younger generations. 2. But cultural causes alone are insufficient - not all members of a society have similar levels of prejudice or socialization experiences; socialization is not a passive process; we also learn egalitarian norms and values; attitudes about other groups are multiple and flexible, changing with time and place. V. Recent Trends: Traditional Prejudice and Modern Racism A. Traditional Prejudice: Changing Attitudes? 1. The decline of traditional prejudice has been explained through a few specific causes a. The Role of Education - education levels have increased, but this could be due to correlation, how the questions are asked, or learning to hide true feelings. b. The Contact Hypothesis i. equal status contact hypothesis - according to Pettigrew (1998), inter-group contact will tend to reduce prejudice when four conditions are filled: the groups must have (a) equal status and (b) common goals and must (c) interact intensively in noncompetitive, cooperative tasks and (d) have the active endorsement of authority figures. ii. The Robbers Cave experiment supports but cannot prove the equal status contact hypothesis. More recent studies have generally supported contact hypothesis. iii. Comparative Focus: the Contact Hypothesis and European Prejudice - research in Europe supports contact hypothesis. iv. Recent Trends in Intergroup Contact - the jigsaw method v. Limitations of the Contact Hypothesis - reduction in prejudice is often situation specific (not generalized to other situations) B. Modern Racism: The New Face of Prejudice? - the idea that prejudice in the US is not declining but is just changing forms to a more subtle, complex, and indirect way of expressing negative feelings toward minority groups and opposition to change in dominant-minority relations. Attitudes associated with modern racism are consistent with the traditional assimilation model and human capital theory. It blames the victim, deflects attention from oppression and discrimination, stereotypes minority groups and encourages negative attitudes without the traditional image of innate inferiority. VI. Has Sexism Modernized? A. Researchers have found substantial similarities between modern racism and sexism. Gender inequality remains pervasive and is perpetuated in part by attitudes of modern sexism that allow people to express opposition to the changing role of women without appearing to be blatantly or overtly sexist. VII. Hate Crimes A. Hate crimes contradict the idea that prejudice is declining or becoming subtler. B. It is difficult to establish trends in incidents of hate crimes due to reporting and recording differences. C. Most reported hate crimes were racially motivated, with blacks as the target group. D. Potential causes of hate crimes: perceived threats, frustration, fear, anger, scapegoating, structural changes in the economy VIII. The Sociology of Prejudice A. Prejudice has its origins in competition between groups; is more a result of competition than a cause is created at a point in history to mobilize feelings and energy for competition and rationalize inequality; is absorbed into the cultural heritage and passed on to later generations, where it helps shape perceptions and reinforce inferiority. B. Prejudice caused by scapegoating or authoritarian personality structures will not be affected by changes in the social environment, education, or intergroup contact. C. Culture-based or traditional prejudice can be just as vicious and extreme as personality-based prejudice. D. Inter-group conflict produces vicious prejudice and discrimination, but the problems are inequality and scarce resources, not prejudice. E. Reducing prejudice will not necessarily change the situation of minority groups. Inequality and institutional discrimination are the main problems. F. Individual prejudice and discrimination are not the same as racism and institutional discrimination. IX. Current Debates: A Post-Racial America?

Chapter 4 Overview

Outline I. Chapter Overview II. The Origins of Slavery in America A. This chapter develops a theoretical model of the process that leads to the creation of a minority group. 1. The nature of dominant-minority group relations at any point in time is largely a function of the characteristics of the society as a whole. As Lenski notes, the subsistence technology of a society acts as a foundation, shaping and affecting every other aspect of the social structure, including minority group relations. 2. The contact situation - the conditions under which groups first come together - is the single most significant factor in the creation of minority group status. B. The Labor Supply Problem 1. Agriculture was labor intensive and depended almost entirely on human effort. The plantation system, based on cultivating and exporting crops, developed as colonial society grew, but profit margins were small. 2. As the plantation system developed, the supply of indentured servants from the British Isles dwindled. Attempts to use American Indians failed--either due to their dwindling numbers or their ability to resist enslavement. 3. The slave trade from Africa to Spanish and Portuguese colonies of South America was able to expand to fill the needs of the British colonies. C. The Contact Situation 1. The conditions under which groups first come into contact determine the fate of the minority group and shape intergroup relations for many years to come. 2. The Noel Hypothesis - if two or more groups come together in a contact situation characterized by ethnocentrism, competition, and a differential in power, then some form of racial or ethnic stratification will result. a. Ethnocentrism - the tendency to judge other groups, societies, or lifestyles by the standards of one's own culture. b. Competition - struggle for a scarce commodity. c. Differential power - unequal ability to achieve goals in the face of opposition, which depends on size, degree of organization, and resources. 3. The Blauner Hypothesis identifies two different initial relationships--colonization and immigration--and hypothesizes that minority groups created by colonization will experience more intense prejudice, racism, and discrimination, and experience this disadvantage longer, than those created by immigration. 4. The Creation of Slavery in the United States The Noel hypothesis helps explain why colonists enslaved black Africans instead of white indentured servants of American Indians. a. All three groups were the objects of ethnocentric feelings on the part of the elite groups that dominated colonial society. b. Competition existed between colonists and all three groups. c. American Indian tribes were well-organized and able to resist colonists attacks. White indentured servants were preferred over black indentured servants and this gave them bargaining power. Africans, however, had become indentured by force and coercion and had no bargaining power. This differential in power between Africans and colonists explains why they were enslaved instead of the other groups. D. Paternalistic Relations 1. Key features of paternalism include: vast power differentials and inequalities between dominant and minority groups, elaborate and repressive systems of control over the minority group, castelike barriers between groups, elaborate and highly stylized codes of behavior and communication between groups, and low rates of overt conflict. 2. Life as a slave. E. The Dimensions of Minority Group Status 1. Power, inequality, and institutional discrimination - the key concepts for understanding the creation of slavery. 2. Prejudice and racism - individual prejudice and ideological racism are not as important as causes for the creation of minority group status, but are more the results of systems of racial inequality. 3. Assimilation - debates about the impact of slavery continue today, but it is clear that African Americans were extensively and coercively acculturated. African Americans were a colonized group with little choice but to adjust to the conditions established by the traditional elite. Black slaves developed new cultural forms and social relationships within the confines that affected them. 4. Gender relations - stratified both whites and blacks and members of various classes by gender. White women were subordinate to white men. African American women were at the bottom of the hierarchy based on their minority status as slaves and as women. The system of gender relations affected women slaves differently from men slaves. Women slaves were raped and otherwise abused by white men in the dominant group. III. The Creation of Minority Status For American Indians and Mexican Americans A. American Indians 1. There were--and are--hundreds of different tribes or nations, each with its own language, culture, territory, and history. 2. Many American Indian tribes no longer exist or are vastly diminished in size. It is estimated that American Indian populations have declined by 75% or more since the start of the 300-year long "contact situation." 3. American Indians and the Noel and Blauner Hypotheses a. Competition was over land, not labor, so as US society grew stronger it pushed American Indians to near extinction. Each tribe was considered a sovereign nation and had to be compensated for land, but treaties and policies were often ignored. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 forced all Eastern tribes to move west of the Mississippi and reservations were usually on undesirable or worthless land. b. They were a colonized minority group who faced high levels of prejudice, racism, and discrimination. They were controlled by paternalistic systems (i.e., the reservations) and in many ways were coercively acculturated. According to Blauner, the negative consequences of their colonized status will persist long after the contact situation has ended. 4. Gender relations among American Indian societies varied. a. Some American Indian societies were highly stratified while others stressed equality and the sharing of resources. b. It was not unusual for women in many tribes to play key roles in religion, politics, warfare, and the economy. Some became respected warriors and chiefs. c. The contact situation affected gender relations differently. In some cases, the relative status and power of women rose while in some cases women were adversely affected. B. Comparative Focus: Hawaii 1. Interesting contrast with American Indians - contact was not immediately followed by conquest and colonization and Hawaiian society was large, highly developed, and had military strength to protect itself. Thus, 2 of the 3 conditions in the Noel hypothesis were not present in early European-Hawaiian contact. 2. Today, Native Hawaiians retain minority group status, but they compare favorably with American Indians and black Americans in terms of education, income, and poverty, which is consistent with the Noel and Blauner hypotheses. C. Mexican Americans 1. Texas a. Some of the first effects of U.S. expansion to the West were felt in Texas in the early 1800s. Anglo-Americans began to immigrate to Texas in large numbers, tempted by its farmland. b. When the U.S. annexed Texas in the 1840s, war broke out and Mexico was defeated. It ceded much of the Southwest to the U.S. c. Without moving, the Mexican population of this region became a conquered people and a minority group. 2. California a. The Gold Rush of 1849 spurred a massive population movement from the East. Laws encouraged Anglos to settle on land traditionally held by Californios, or the native Mexicans in the state. b. Laws passed in the 1850s made it increasingly difficult for Californios to retain their property and power as Anglo-Americans became the dominant group as well as the majority of the population. 3. Arizona and New Mexico a. The Anglo immigration into Arizona and New Mexico was less voluminous than that into Texas and California. b. In Arizona, most of the Mexican population were immigrants seeing work on farm, ranches, and in mines and railroads. c. In New Mexico, Mexican Americans retained some political power and economic clout, mostly because of the relatively large size of the group and their ability to mobilize for political action. d. The contact situation for Mexican Americans was highly variable by region. 4. Mexican Americans and the Noel and Blauner Hypotheses. a. The causal model we have applied to slavery and the domination of American Indians also helps us explain why and how Mexican Americans became a minority group. b. Ethnocentrism, competition for land, and a power differential between groups existed, although these factors differed in different locations. For example, in Texas and California the subordination of the Mexican American population followed quickly after a rapid influx of Anglos and the military defeat of Mexico. D. Gender Relations 1. Prior to the arrival of Anglo-Americans, Mexican society in the Southwest was patriarchal and maintained a clear gender-based division of labor. 2. Poverty and economic insecurity placed the family structures under strain. The economics of conquest led to increased matriarchy and more working mothers. 3. For Mexican American women, the consequences of contact were variable, but like black female slaves, they became the most vulnerable part of the social system. IV. Comparing Minority Groups A. American Indians and black slaves were the victims of the explosive growth of European power in the Western Hemisphere that began with Columbus's voyage in 1492. B. Europeans needed labor to fuel plantations and slaves were the most logical, cost-effective means to solving the labor supply problems. C. European immigrants desired land belonging to American Indians. Once their land was expropriated, American Indians were not seen as much of a concern. American Indians were seen as an unsuitable source of labor. D. Mexican communities in the Southwest were a series of outpost settlements, remote and difficult to defend. Mexican citizens in this area were conquered through war and other types of aggression and became an exploited minority group. E. Each of these groups became involuntary players in the growth and development of European and, later, American economic and political power. All three were overpowered and relegated to an inferior and subordinate status. F. All three groups were acculturated within the context of paternalistic relations in an agrarian economy. Assimilation has little relevance in these situations and structural integration was not a real possibility; rather these situations might be viewed as acculturation without integration. V. Comparative Focus: Mexico, Canada, and the United States A. The Spanish 1. The first European nation to invade the Western Hemisphere, they conquered much of Central and South America. 2. They tended to absorb rather than destroy the social systems and cultures of those they conquered. For example, the tax system and racial classification system, with the idea of white, mestizo (mixed European-Indian), and mulatto (mixed European-African). B. The French 1. They colonized Canada about the same time the English colonized America. 2. They developed lucrative trade in trapping and fur trade, allying themselves with some American Indian tribes. 3. There was significant intermarriage between French and Native Americans, resulting in the Métis mixed-race group. C. The English 1. They encountered smaller, less developed tribes than the Aztecs and the competition was for land because the economy of the English colonies was agriculture. 2. Therefore, the English tended to confront and exclude American Indians, rather than have to adapt their societies to fit those of the American Indians like the Spanish and French. D. Key differences in the contact situation 1. Slavery evolved differently in the various colonies depending on the contact situation. 2. The relative level of modernization of the colonizer also helps explain the divergent development of group relations. Spain and France were more traditional and feudalistic, so these colonists were limited by these ancient customs. The English were freer to design their social structure to suit their own needs (e.g., slavery). 3. The racial and class characteristics differed in the three contact situations. VI. Current Debates: How Did Slavery Affect the Origins of African American Culture? A. Slavery created African American culture. B. African American culture was created by an interplay of elements from Africa and America. C. The experiences of female slaves have been under-researched and under-reported.

Gender relations Mexicans

Prior to contact, patriarchal society with gender-based division of labor Consequences of contact variable for Mexican American women, but ultimately resulted in a loss of status Migrant work required men's absence from home Economic insecurity strained family structures Women became especially vulnerable

Cali

The California Gold Rush of 1849 spurred a massive population movement from the East  The rapid growth of an Anglo majority after statehood in 1850 doomed efforts to create a bilingual, multiethnic state Like in Texas, Anglo-Americans used violence, biased laws, discrimination, and other means to exploit and repress Mexicans in California

Noel Hypothesis

The Noel Hypothesis  If two or more groups come together in a contact situation characterized by ethnocentrism, competition, and a differential in power, then some form of racial or ethnic stratification will result (Noel, 1968, p. 163) If the contact situation has all three characteristics, some dominant-minority group structure will be created

Labor Supply problem 151

The labor supply problem Agricultural work at this time was labor intensive The plantation system developed Based on cultivating and exporting crops such as sugar, tobacco, and rice On large tracts of land  Using a large, cheap labor force Dwindling supply of white indentured servants Attempts to enslave Native Americans failed Slaves imported from Africa became the most logical, cost-effective way to solve labor needs The colonists created slavery to cultivate their lands and generate profits, status, and success

Key features of Paternalism

Vast power differentials and huge inequalities between dominant and minority groups Elaborate and repressive systems of control over the minority group Caste-like barriers between groups Elaborate and highly stylized codes of behavior and communication between groups Low rates of overt conflict

Differential in power

allows the dominant group to succeed in establishing a superior position 1. size of group 2. resources 3.raw numbers, disipline, degree of organization

caste system

closed stratification system no mobility between social positions

the contact situation

conditions under which groups first come together most significant factor in creation of minority group status long lasting consequences for: racial/ethnic stratification levels of racism and prejudice assimilation and pluralism every other aspect of dom-minority relationship

indentured servants

contract laborers who are obligated to serve a master for a number of years

plantation system

cultivating and exporting crops on large tracts of land with cheap labor force

subsistence technology

means by which the society satisifies basic needs such as food and shelter shapes and effects societal structure

abolitionism

movement to abolish slavery

chattel

slaves personal property

competition

struggle over a scare commodity

ethnocentrism

the tendency to judge other groups, societies, or lifestyles by the standards of one's own culture