The American School, 1642-2004 Spring, Joel c. 2005

Chapter 7; Multiculturalism and the Failure of the Common School Ideal

In chapter seven Spring talks about Asian Americans, Puerto Ricans, African Americans, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans, and their hardships with Race and Education, as well as U.S. citizenship.

Cultural Domination as a Central Theme in Educational History:

Asian Americans

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1942 all Japanese Americans were forced to evacuate their homes, businesses, jobs, and were separated from their families. They were forced to sell their land, businesses, and belongings (besides a suitcase full) never to have it returned from them again. The concentration camps were similar to those of the holocaust, as was the organization of the facilities. The Children attended Anglo-American schools at the camps and after their release in 1946, were put into segregated schools with blacks or Mexicans.

The "Cultural War" conflict is that the U.S. Government imposed this to ensure the safety of their nation by capturing 120,000 Japanese spies and impostors and cramming them into concentration camps. The white men of our country were to greatly benefit from this acquiring successful businesses, land, and power.

African Americans

African Americans suffered greatly educationally when there was no public schooling for them. The Naturalization Act of 1790 did not grant enslaved African Americans U.S. citizenship nor did it grant citizenship to native-born free blacks. This meant they couldn't vote, or attend public schooling. In 1866 the Civil Rights Act declared that all "persons born in the United States were U.S . citizens". This benefited the African American. However it still excluded immigrant Asian Americans, and still the Native Americans.

Even though African Americans experienced severe segregation in schools, and was harassed by the white population, they made one of the biggest achievements in literacy in the history of education. In 1863 7% of the black population was literate. Within ninety years, or by 1953, the literacy rate was ninety percent.

After the 1870s, funding decreased for an industrial style of education and standard education then became a threat to potential employers, especially the planters who employed these black children. The planters fought efforts to the increase of state financing of schools. They opposed compulsory education laws. The segregation of schools in the late 1800s later caused number of black children to be denied a public education.

Native Americans

The Naturalization Act of 1790 also excluded Native Americans from U.S. citizenship. The granting of U.S. citizenship to all Native American didn't occur until 1924. The concept of Manifest Destiny or "obvious destiny" of the U.S. came largely into play in regards to Native American education. Whites considered Natives to be culturally and morally inferior. Deculturalization of Native Americans included attempts to destroy their culture, language, and religions. Native Americans were only exposed to educational programs emphasizing patriotism and loyalty to the U.S. government.

Tactics that the U.S. government used to separate Indian children form their families, and to isolate them from their language and culture of their tribe was boarding schools. Between 1879 and 1905, twenty-five non-reservation boarding schools were opened throughout the country. Like black education and the South, the Indians were taught skills for agricultural work and manual labor. These boarding schools served as an aid in controlling the Native Americans.

Puerto Rican Americans

It is important to remember that Puerto Rican residents did not ask to become American citizens. Puerto Rico wanted to be free and independent. In 1863 the Puerto Rico Independence movement marched under a banner that stated ' Liberty or Death. Long Live Free Puerto Rico. At the conclusion of the Spanish-American War Puerto Rico became a U.S. colony in 1898.  There were a number of reasons why America was interested in the future of Puerto Rico. One was the interest in reducing Spanish influence in America, and two the U.S. government was interested in protecting American owned sugar and tobacco plantations.

Now that they had control of Puerto Rico's future, the U.S. government wanted to establish patriotism, and include American holidays such as 'Columbus Day' in the Puerto Rican school systems. Followed abolishing Spanish as the language in which education was taught in. The raising of the U.S. flag was used to signal the commencement of classes. Patriotic exercises were organized in the school, children were taught U.S. national songs such as "America" "Hail Columbia" and "The Star Spangled Banner".

Mexican Americans

 The struggle for equal rights for Mexican Americans took place in "The American School"   in the mid to late 1800's. Originally a fight for citizenship, the fight for equal rights developed into the issue that we see today. Anglo-Americans and Northern Europeans saw the Spanish culture as inferior since the beginning of the1800's, the same could be said for Native Americans, but this bitter hatred stemmed from the landing of Columbus. After the United States sends troops to the U.S.-Mexican boarder a war quickly erupts, and becomes as Ulysses S. Grant puts it, "the most unjust war ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation. p.169" Spring says "the Mexican-American war was, among many things, a race war. p.169"

After the war the Mexican officials ask that Mexicans in the territory seized "or purchased, depending on what history book you read" become American citizens. This wasn't immediately allowed for two main reasons, first Mexicans weren't white, second senators felt that Mexicans were not ready for "equal union ( p.170)"

 In schools there were laws passed that allowed English to be the language of instruction in classrooms, in an effort to eradicate the Spanish language from school. These laws took years to somewhat change, and encouraged Mexicans to not go to school. The main purpose of this section was concluded with this ideal; "education can be used as a method of social control (p.175)" One side of the issue was the farm owners who wanted Mexicans to be uneducated to keep wages low, another side many public officials believed that Mexicans should be "Americanized ( p.175)" This struggle continue today with work visas that only allows foreigners to work for four years and then have to leave and the attempt to "Americanize" continues with a massive popular culture that has spread across the world.

Schools as one Form of Ideological Management:

A perfect example of this theme is the Anglo classrooms having the Japanese students recite the Pledge of Allegiance and sing patriotic and Christian songs.

The Boarding Schools is a prime example of the attempts to use segregation as a means of culturally transforming the Natives Americans. Resistance among some tribal members caused the failure of this example of cultural imperialism.

Local Puerto Rican teachers were forced to learn to speak English, and achieve a certificate of the English language to be able to teach in their own country.

The Role of Racism in U.S. History and In the History of Public Schools:

Lynching and beating of Chinese and African American in America.

Native American reservations and boarding schools

Japanese internment camps 

Segregated schools

Denial of Citizenship

Economic Issues in Public School History:

Japanese Americans trying to find work after being released from internment camps.

Low wage jobs offered to racial minorities

Bad distribution of funding for segregated schools