It can be difficult to craft policies that mitigate displacement without suppressing immigration. Not all immigrants are colonizers, or at least not all are gentry.
After the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, New York's Chinatown expanded into what was traditionally Little Italy. That might be more "white flight" than colonization,…
It can be difficult to craft policies that mitigate displacement without suppressing immigration. Not all immigrants are colonizers, or at least not all are gentry.
After the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, New York's Chinatown expanded into what was traditionally Little Italy. That might be more "white flight" than colonization, but an NPS article says that rents in Chinatown became some of the highest in the city.
I'm with you. Many, as you suggest, were not of privilege and were fleeing hardship and subordination. This was all amidst race debates centered on 'blood' lines and what constituted 'white'. Those of Asian and Southern European decent, including Italians, were of primary concern to those wishing for a 'pure' United States.
New York was no exception. The two-time governor of New York during these times, Horatio Seymour, once gave a speech at an anti-Chinese rally in New York City where he said, "Europeans do not overthrow our customs, religion, or civilization. They do not bring here any strange blood.”
I suspect there were many who wanted neither Italians nor Chinese settling in those neighborhoods!
I agree with you that not all immigrants seek domination or even colonization. We have long been a mobile species. I suppose it comes down to intent. There were many encroaching settlers who admire, respect, and eagerly live alongside Indigenous occupants of the land intent on living a peaceful, coexistent life. I find the story of Joseph Brant particularly interesting in this regard.
I include him in a larger story of the role cartography played in carving up new territories leading up to the 1800s. This offers examples of powerful colonizers, land barons, and politicians intent on domination, displacement, and eradication.
It can be difficult to craft policies that mitigate displacement without suppressing immigration. Not all immigrants are colonizers, or at least not all are gentry.
After the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, New York's Chinatown expanded into what was traditionally Little Italy. That might be more "white flight" than colonization, but an NPS article says that rents in Chinatown became some of the highest in the city.
https://www.nps.gov/places/new-york-chinatown-and-little-italy-historic-district.htm
Thanks for the comment, Mike. And the link!
I'm with you. Many, as you suggest, were not of privilege and were fleeing hardship and subordination. This was all amidst race debates centered on 'blood' lines and what constituted 'white'. Those of Asian and Southern European decent, including Italians, were of primary concern to those wishing for a 'pure' United States.
New York was no exception. The two-time governor of New York during these times, Horatio Seymour, once gave a speech at an anti-Chinese rally in New York City where he said, "Europeans do not overthrow our customs, religion, or civilization. They do not bring here any strange blood.”
I suspect there were many who wanted neither Italians nor Chinese settling in those neighborhoods!
I agree with you that not all immigrants seek domination or even colonization. We have long been a mobile species. I suppose it comes down to intent. There were many encroaching settlers who admire, respect, and eagerly live alongside Indigenous occupants of the land intent on living a peaceful, coexistent life. I find the story of Joseph Brant particularly interesting in this regard.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Brant
I include him in a larger story of the role cartography played in carving up new territories leading up to the 1800s. This offers examples of powerful colonizers, land barons, and politicians intent on domination, displacement, and eradication.
https://interplace.io/p/guns-god-and-gold#details