I do not care if people who immigrate choose to speak their own language in their home or among their other friends of similar backgrounds. I don't care if they continue to observe their customs. I don't care about any of that. That's perfectly fine. It's only when they choose to impose those things upon us as things we have to accommodate that I have a problem.
The fact of the matter is that you're simply incorrect when you say that we always accommodated immigrants the exact same way we cater to them now. they would often have their own neighborhoods where they would live among their own ethnic groups so that they could assist each other. an immigrant used to have to be sponsored by someone to even come over here and the sponsor was responsible for that immigrant.
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Americanization through legislation
The dominant response to the new diversity was to try to streamline it to promote assimilation into a view that defined American identity as English-speaking, Protestant, and Anglo-Saxon. The Americanization movement that emerged during these years focused assimilating the new immigrants into American society (Handlin, 1982; Hartmann, 1967; Higham, 1998; Hill, 1919). Between 1917 and 1922, more than 30 states passed Americanization laws, requiring those unable to speak or read English to attend public evening schools (Pavlenko, 2005).
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Language legislation
Language became a central issue in the immigration debate, especially as World War I approached. The 1906 Nationality Act made the ability to speak English a requirement for naturalization, and the 1917 Immigration Act excluded aliens who were illiterate (in any language) from entering. In this climate, the use of languages other than English in school was un-American and undesirable. Speaking English became a condition for being a good (real) American. Several states passed legislation that prohibited the teaching of foreign languages to young children and 37 states passed laws making English the official language of the state during this period.
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Schooling for Immigrants
Educational policies directed at immigrant children during the early 1900s were primarily ones of neglect:
Students were submersed in English-only classrooms without any accommodations.
Newcomers were often placed in 1st grade classrooms regardless of their age, causing many early dropouts.
Intelligence testing in English led to the disproportionate placement of immigrant children in special education classes.
In some instances, minimal accommodations were made through separate classes. Educators in New York and other major cities began to recognize that special classes were needed to help students who did not speak English. William Maxwell from the New York Board of Education argued in 1912, "It is absurd to place the boy or girl, 10 or 12 years of age, just landed from Italy, who cannot read a word in his own language or speak a word of English, in the same classroom with American boys and girls five or six years old" (quoted in Berrol, 1995, p. 49).
"Steamer" classes
New York established "C" or steamer classes for students older than 8 years who had recently arrived. Also referred to as "vestibule" classes, steamer classes, which lasted for 6 months to 1 year, segregated students from native peers and focused solely on teaching oral English skills (Berrol, 1995; Brumberg, 1986). Students were punished for using their native language. Similar classes were implemented for immigrant children in Boston and Chicago.
