World » Americas
Author`s name Dmitry Sudakov

United States on the verge of racial revolution

United States on the verge of racial revolution. 44766.jpegThe appearance of the average resident of the United States in the near future may change dramatically. For the first time in history the majority of American children are non-white. If this tendency continues, the image of a typical American as a blond Anglo-Sax could be considered an anachronism.

Currently the United States is summarizing the results of the census which took place last year. Its preliminary results clearly do not look optimistic for the white (who are still a majority). The predominance of non-white children means that in twenty to thirty years, shaping and defining of the policy and the economy will be the task of people who are not the successors of the Anglo-Saxon colonists that conquered America in previous centuries.

The reasons for the future dominance of non-whites are explained by Kenneth Johnson, a professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire. He pointed out that Latin American women give birth to more children than white women do. And if so, not only the percentage of white population will gradually decline, but also the percentage of English-speaking population. The Spanish language will gradually begin to push out English.

It is worth noting that the nature of the change in the racial composition of the U.S. and Europe is different. Although in both places whites are still the majority, this majority was formed differently. In the Old World the white are the indigenous population, while people from Muslim countries and blacks are immigrants. In America, all groups are immigrants - white, blacks Hispanics, and Asians. Indigenous peoples (Indians, Eskimos and Aleuts of Alaska) account for approximately one percent of the population.

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The history of Europe is much longer than the history of the United States. However, the Old World today faces such a clear change in the racial composition of its population for the first time. This is not true for North America. The United States to some extent today is going through an already familiar situation.

It is believed that by the time Europeans arrived in to the territory of the modern United States in the late 15-16th centuries, it was inhibited by nearly 11 million Indians. Accordingly, in the next hundred years, the number of the white rose, while the number of the Indians was reduced. In 1619 there was a further twist: the first African slaves were imported in the colony of Virginia. Then, the process of delivery of slaves was streamlined. As a result, the racial composition of the population has changed dramatically.

According to the 2000 census, blacks accounted for 12.1 percent of the population. But this is not the limit. For example, in 1790, when the independent United States was only 14 years old, blacks accounted for 19.3 percent of the population, and in the southern states they constituted the majority. A year before the outbreak of the Civil War (in 1860), they accounted for 14.1 per cent of the population. In absolute terms the number of black population grew, but in the relative terms it was dropping until 1930 (then they accounted for 9.7 percent).

The reason for the temporary reduction in the share of blacks in the U.S. population was a large-scale immigration from Europe in the second half of the 19th - first half of the twentieth century. Thanks to them, the share of whites in some years reached 80 percent of the population. Incidentally, the ethnic composition of immigrants from Europe also changed. English, French, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish colonies were formed in the United States. There were Russian forts and, accordingly, Russian settlers, on the Pacific coast.

By the time the declaration of independence was signed in 1776, the Anglo-Saxon element prevailed in the country. However, in the middle of the 19th century mostly Irish and Germans came to the US, to a lesser extent - the Dutch and Scandinavians. By the early twentieth century the immigration has changed again: it was dominated by immigrants from southern Italy, the Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires. A considerable percentage of the newcomers were Jews affected by the rights in their homeland.

In the first half of the twentieth century the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, and Filipinos flocked to the US. In the second half of last century there was a massive influx of Latin Americans - Mexicans, Cubans, and the inhabitants of South American countries. Particularly there were many immigrants from Mexico, because all they had to do is cross the border. As a result, in the southern and western United States and in New York Spanish speech sometimes prevails over English.

Incidentally, the situation with Hispanics is not that simple. Modern California, Texas and a number of states in the southwestern United States were once Mexican territory. Therefore, considering the Mexicans newcomers is not entirely correct. The Island of Puerto Rico belongs to the U.S., and its residents have U.S. passports (although they do not have the right to elect congressmen and senators).

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The racial pattern of 2000 looked like this: whites accounted for 69.1 percent of the population, blacks - 12.1, Hispanic - 12.5, Asians - 3.6. The remaining population was the Indians, the inhabitants of Oceania, or people of mixed origin like Obama. Today it is obvious that within 11 years, the proportion of whites has declined, while that of black and Hispanic has increased.

It is noteworthy that a change in the racial composition is slowly but steadily changing the racial composition of those in power. Before 1960, it was impossible to imagine a president of Irish descent. Yet, John Kennedy broke the stereotype. For a long time the Italians, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians were not allowed into power. Today, some of them are ministers, senators, and congressmen. Obama is half black, half Irish. For the Americans of the 1950's such head of state seemed impossible.

However, in political terms the United States remained faithful to the Anglo-Saxon political tradition for 225 years. In the twentieth century, in most cases the country gradually began to play the role formerly played by the British Empire. This should not be surprising as originally the Anglo-Saxon element prevailed, and various layers were so different that they could not dislodge it. Politicians of other origins had to adapt.

However, America has never experienced a complete dominance of non-white children over white ones. When the percentage of Anglo-Saxons becomes extremely low, and the number of blacks and Hispanics surpasses them, this cannot but affect the U.S. policy. These people have different priorities. They will be much closer to Mexico than England. And here is where American foreign policy can expect major changes.

Vadim Trukhachev

Read the original in Russian