• 75% of the population is of European origin
• 60% are of Mexican origin
  
• 12% are Afro-American
• 4% are Asian-American
• only 1% are native Americans

Language: English is the first language; Spanish is the second.

Native Americans

The original inhabitants of America were the Indians [E1] [E2]. Today they are less than 2 million. Most of them live in reserves [E1] [E2] in the west of the country; very few have become fully integrated.

The first immigrants

Since its discovery, the U.S. have hosted British on a large scale, who came for profit and also for religious freedom. The first successful English colony was made of Puritans, who settled in a place they called Jamestown, Virginia.

These early immigrants were soon joined by people of other nationalities throughout the 1600s and 1700s: German farmers settled in Pennsylvania, Swedes founded the colony of Delaware and the Dutch settled in New York. Immigrants also came from France, Spain and Switzerland.

When they settled, many tried to preserve the traditions, religion and language of their particular culture. However American society was predominantly English – white Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) [E1] [F1] [I1] and their culture had the overriding influence. So those immigrants who did not want to feel separate from the dominant WASP culture learned English and adopted English customs.

Second Immigration

During the 1840 and 1860, the United States received the greatest influx of immigrants ever: 10 million people came to America: thousands of Chinese emigrated to California and worked on the railroad. But the overwhelming majority of immigrants came from northern or western Europe to escape poor harvests, famines or political unrest: Irish people, Germans and southern European began to arrive in the late 1800s: among them there were Latin, Slavic, Jewish, Italians, Poles, Hungarians, Russians, Greeks,…

The result was the formation of ethnic neighbourhoods in big cities, where the immigrants went to live in.

Process of assimilation

After an early resentment towards immigrants – many Americans treated them with prejudice and hostility, claiming racial superiority of the Nordic people of the old immigration – , they finally manage to assimilate them into the American society. First generations typically faced obstacles to assimilation on both sides: society’s discrimination and their own reluctance to give up their language and culture.

By the succeeding generations, these families were able to identify themselves as Americans, spoke English and practised fewer ethnic traditions. By the fourth and fifth generation, intermarriage between ethnic groups usually worked.

Recent Immigration

The majority of the newest immigrants come from Mexico, Latin America or Asia. American continue to debate the issue of immigration [E1] [E2] [ES1] [ES2] [I1]. Some groups in favour of tightening immigration restrictions argue that overpopulation is a threat. On the other hand, many Americans emphasize the cultural wealth and diversity which immigrants have been bringing to the nation since its conception.

Identity crisis

Americans are aware that the national ethnic, religious identity wasp has disappeared. The well-known picture of America as a melting pot [E1] [E2] [ES1] [F1] of people, where all groups come together, creating a new distinct American type is not an adequate metaphor. A more accurate picture of American society today, one that conveys a variety of cultures, each preserving its own distinctiveness, is a vegetable soup.

! How to become an American citizen [E1][ES1]