The literature on American immigration frequently distinguishes between the assimilation of the old groups, primarily from Northern and Western Europe, and the new groups, primarily from Southern and Eastern Europe. This article analyzes old-new differences in naturalization, one possible measure of assimilation. Data described here indicate a clear difference in 1900 between the new and old groups in their rates of assimilation, but little difference in eventual degrees of naturalization among persons who have been in the United States for some period of time. It is suggested that some of the remaining differences may be a result of the social structures of the origin countries.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BeijbomU.1971Swedes in Chicago: A Demographic and Social Study of the 1846–1880 Immigration.Stockholm: Laromeldelsforlaget.
2.
CarpenterN.1927Immigrants and Their Children, 1920. U.S. Census Monograph VII. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
3.
ColemanJ.S.1964Introduction to Mathematical Sociology.New York: The Free Press of Glencoe.
4.
DouglasP.H.1919“Is the New Immigration More Unskilled than the Old?”Publications of the American Statistical Association, 16:393–403. June.
5.
FischerS.S. and JacksonR.M.1976“Suburbs, Networks, and Attitudes”. In Changing Faces of the Suburbs. edited by SchwartzB.Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Pp. 279–307.
6.
GavitJ.P.1922Americans by Choice.New York: Harper and Brothers.
7.
GordonM.1964Assimilation in American Life: The Role of Race, Religion, and National Origins.Fairlawn, N.J.: Oxford University Press.
8.
GuestA.M.1978“The Suburbanization of Ethinc Groups”. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, San Francisco.
9.
HandlinO.1948Race and Nationality in American Life.Boston: Little, Brown.
10.
JonesM.A.1960American Immigration.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
11.
JenksJ.W. and LauckW.J.1926The Immigration Problem. Sixth Edition. New York: Funk and Wagnals.
12.
KeelyC.B.1972“Immigration: Considerations in Trends, Prospects, and Policy”. In Commission on Population Growth and the American Future. Research Reports. Demographic and Social Aspects of Population Growth.Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1:180–204.
13.
LiebersonS.1963Ethnic Pattern in American Cities.New York: The Free Press of Glencoe.
14.
MacCorquodaleD.W. and PullumT.W.1974“A Mathematical Model for Determining Effectiveness of Family Planning Clinics”, Studies in Family Planning, 5:232–238.
15.
ParkR.1914“Racial Assimilation in Secondary Groups; with Special Reference to the Negro”, American Journal of Sociology, 19:606–623.
16.
ReissA.J.1961Occupations and Social Status.New York: The Free Press of Glencoe.
17.
SchoolerC.1976“Serfdom's Legacy: An Ethnic Continuum”, American Journal of Sociology, 81:1265–1286. May.
18.
SpeareA.1974“Residential Satisfaction as an Intervening Variable in Residential Mobility”, Demography, 11:173–189. May.
19.
U.S. Bureau of the Census1901Population, Part 1. Census Reports. Vol. I. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.
20.
U.S. Bureau of the Census1902Population, Part 2. Census Reports. Vol. I. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.
