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Essay / African American resistance to naturalization...
In 1790, there was a naturalization law in the United States that called into question who could receive the term citizenship. The naturalization law stipulated that only free whites were eligible for citizenship. After the Naturalization Act, there were movements, daily actions and protests by people of color and white women. Politically, socially and economically, white men have dominated the United States for many years. So, for so many years, people of color and women will fight for their political, social, and economic rights in the United States. These actions were carried out differently with each racial group, as they have a different hierarchical status. As “Benedict Anderson saw the Nation as “imagined communities” – in the sense that they are systems of cultural representation through which people come to imagine a shared experience of identification with a broader community. » (McClintock, 353) The passage spoke of cultural imperialism. The idea of the structure of society was taught to people through their culture, including religion, missionaries, and education. As a result, many people of color and women fought for the concept of citizenship in the United States. Each racial or gender group has a different strategy for obtaining their rights. Some of these racial or gender groups would racialize other groups in order to receive their own hierarchical rights. In the 1820s, Mexicans in California were not racialized in the same way as Japanese, Chinese, or Indians by European Americans. It was because Mexicans were colonized by Spain for many years that they adapted to a culture similar to that of European culture. Therefore, the difference between Mexicans and European Americans is less extreme middle of paper...... The Indians ended up in a massacre. Their cultural process ended up allowing the social construction of Indians at the lowest rank in the social hierarchy. In conclusion, there are different ways that racialized and gendered groups can create resistance and achieve equal rights. Politically, economically and socially, the white man occupied the highest rank in the hierarchy in this imaginary community. Thus, the rest of the population was treated unequally. Some responded by racializing others, such as California Mexicans toward California Indians and white women toward women of color. Others created resistance by actively defending and negotiating their rights, such as African Americans, women of color, and American Indians. Whichever way they decided, they would create resistance in order to gain the sense of nationality and citizenship they deserved..