Are there different ethnic groups in the United States?

When studying ethnic issues, the two concepts of "nation" and "ethnic group" are often confused with each other. These two words have certain similarities, but their connotations are very different. The academic community has had long-term discussions on the definition and use of these two concepts, but has never reached a conclusion that is generally accepted by all parties. It should be noted that the discussion on the concepts and definitions of "nation" and "ethnicity" and their application in practice is by no means a simple academic dispute. Theory can never be completely divorced from reality and will inevitably It has penetrated into practical work in various ways. In fact, behind this academic dispute involves complex social interest groups and the construction basis of relevant ethnic theoretical systems. It can even be said that to a certain extent, it will also involve the long-term impact of our country. Reflection and adjustment on the ethnic policies and political systems implemented since then. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a certain review and summary of these two concepts and related debates.

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In Chinese, the concept of "nation" has very rich connotations and often contains multiple meanings: (1) The broad concept of nation has quite a lot of meanings. It refers to the "one body of mankind" and is close to the "people" in English; (2) a nation that is closely connected with the concept of a country. The word "nation" can accurately express this meaning, such as the Chinese nation, the American nation, etc. , equivalent to "nation" in English; (3) Nation in a narrow sense, that is, a nation as a component of the nation, such as China's 56 ethnic groups. Some scholars advocate using the concept of "ethnic group" to express it; (4) Small Ethnic or underdeveloped people, "tribe" may be more accurate.

The following is a brief introduction to the ethnic groups that are part of the American nation (American nation) based on the chronological order of immigrants arriving in the United States:

Native Americans:

About 20,000 years ago, some hunting tribes from Asia chased herds of animals and crossed the intercontinental land bridge of today’s Bering Strait to the American continent. Became the earliest American immigrants in history. As time went by, by the time the Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus "discovered" the New World in 1492, the indigenous population living in the present-day United States was approximately 1.5 million. Columbus mistakenly thought that San Salvador in the Bahamas (the Bahamas) he arrived at was the legendary East Indies (the Indies), so he called the local Native Americans "Indians".

There are currently 562 Indian tribes (tribal nations) in the United States, scattered in the 48 contiguous states and Alaska. The total area of ??Indian reservations is approximately 22.4 million hectares. The 12 largest Indian tribes are: Cherokee with 369,035 people, Navajo with 225,298 people, Sioux with 107,321 people, and Chippewa with 105,988 people. , Choctaw 86,231, Pueblo 55,330, Apache 53,330, Iroquois 52,557, Lampe ( Lumbee 50,888, Creek 45,872, Blackfoot 37,992, and Chickasaw 21,522.

European immigrants:

The British were the dominant ethnic group among the early colonists in the United States, and English became the mainstream language in the United States. However, the British were soon followed by other Europeans, including the Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, Germans and Swedes. Thomas Paine, a famous spokesperson of the American Revolution, himself an Englishman, clearly pointed out in 1776: "Europe, and not England, is the parent country of the United States." of America.) However, until 1780, British or Irish descendants still accounted for three-quarters of Americans.

Between 1840 and 1860, the United States ushered in the first major wave of immigration. At that time, due to agricultural failure, population growth and political turmoil, hunger was widespread throughout Europe, and about 5 million people left their homes every year. More than 750,000 people starved to death in Ireland due to potato disease. Many survivors emigrated overseas. In 1847 alone, 118,120 Irish immigrated to the United States. Today, there are approximately 39 million Americans of Irish descent.

The failure of the German Confederation\'s Revolution in 1848-49 caused many Germans to immigrate overseas. During the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865, the federal government also encouraged Europeans to immigrate to the United States, especially German immigrants, in order to recruit more troops. In return for military service, the federal government awarded immigrants free land. By 1865, approximately one-fifth of Union soldiers were wartime immigrants. Today, 22% of Americans have German ancestry.

Between 1820 and 1870, approximately 200,000 European Jews from Germany and other places entered the United States. Most of these Jewish immigrants were small traders engaged in the retail industry and were scattered throughout the United States. More Jewish immigrants began to immigrate to the United States around 1880. During that period of about 12 years, they suffered brutal persecution in Eastern European countries. Over the next 45 years, 2 million Jews immigrated to the United States. These Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe and Austria were poor and did not understand English. Most of them lived in big cities such as New York and Chicago, where they worked in factories or engaged in handicrafts and ran small shops. Today, there are more than 5 million Jewish Americans, more than half of whom live in New York State, California and Florida. The vast majority of Jews live in urban and suburban areas, are mainly middle class, have higher education and income levels, and have an important influence in the political, economic and cultural fields of the United States.

Unwilling Immigrants:

In the flood of immigrants pouring into North America, there is a group of people who are forced to come. That is the 500,000 Africans who were sold to the United States as slaves between 1619 and 1808. In 1808, the United States issued a law prohibiting the importation of slaves. However, because of the need for labor, especially in the agricultural areas of the South, farmers continued to own slaves and their children. Today, African Americans constitute 12.9% of the total population of the United States, with a total population of 34,658,190 (US Census Bureau data as of December 7, 2001).

Hispanics:

About 4 million Spanish-speaking Latin American immigrants poured into the United States in the 1950s. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau on March 8, 2000, the Latino population living in the United States today is 27,174,300. About half of Hispanics are from Mexico, and the other half are from Puerto Rico, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic and Colombia. 36% of Hispanics live in California. Other states with large Hispanic populations include Texas, New York, Illinois and Florida.

After Castro's victory in the Cuban revolution, thousands of Cubans fled to Florida. The number of Cuban-Americans living in Miami is so large that the city's largest newspaper, the Miami Herald, publishes a Spanish-language edition in addition to its English edition.

Asian Americans:

The Chinese are the earliest Asian immigrants to the United States. As early as 1785, when the United States was founded, three Chinese sailors, Ah Xing, Ah Chuan, and Ah Chun, came to the United States on the sailing ship "The Goddess of Wisdom." However, until the mid-19th century, Chinese people had rarely heard of the United States and had no interest in immigrating, because China's relatively stable social order and natural economy allowed the people to live and work in peace and contentment despite poverty. However, the Opium War and the invasion of Western powers since 1840 made the Qing government, which was beleaguered internally and externally, intensify its oppression of the people and triggered the Taiping Rebellion. The people were in dire straits and had no other options. After the news of the discovery of gold mines in California in 1848 spread to China's Fujian, Guangdong and other coastal areas, more Chinese began to embark on the road of survival across the Pacific Ocean and to live in foreign lands. In 1849, 791 Chinese entered San Francisco, which increased to 4,025 in 1850. By 1873, the number of Chinese immigrating to the United States had reached about 150,000.

After the Chinese, Asian immigrants from Japan, India, Pakistan, Philippines, North Korea and other places also followed one after another and began the thorny road of immigrating to the United States.

According to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau on December 7, 2001, the current Asian population in the United States is 10,242,998, accounting for 4.2% of the total U.S. population. Most Asians are new immigrants who have immigrated to the United States in recent decades. However, because of their fine traditions of diligence, thrift, hard work, and emphasis on education, Asian Americans have become one of the most successful ethnic minorities in the United States, with high income and education. The degree is relatively high.