AMERIOANIZATION 36 AMERICANIZATION
previously indifferent American citizen to realize such related problems as housing and sanitation,
that while enjoying all the privileges of American community recreation, public health, prevention of
citizenship he had not been shouldering his full the exploitation of the immigrant, protection of his
share of its duties and responsibilities, and that he savings, and the education of our native-born
and his Government had done little to bring about people to a sympathetic and tolerant understanding
the assimilation of 13,000,000 or more imnaturalized of the problems of the foreign-born. The racial
immigrants who were included in our war-time phase of Americanization work took into considera-
population. tion co-operation with racial organizations, with
The seriousness of the problem was first impressed the foreign-language press, and with the f oreign-
upon the military authorities of the country as a re- bom generally. The informational service dealt
suit of psychological tests conducted in various can- with publications and bulletins explaining technical
tonments by the War Department. One significant methods of Americanization, organization of speak-
result may be quoted: Of 1,566,011 men examined, ers* bureaus, and dissemination to the press of
25.3 per cent were unable to "read and understand general propaganda in reference to the needs, the
newspapers and write letters home" (Memoirs aims and purposes, and the methods of canying on
of the National Academy of Sciences, XV). Thirty- tlje work.
one per cent of this number were native-bom Amer- The Americanization work of the reconstruction icans. The presence of 2,953,011 foreign-bom whites period expressed itself in two distinctly different over ten years of age (census of 1910) who were schools. One reflected the negative attitude, which unable to speak the English language was regarded assumed that the immigrant constituted the sole as a potential handicap to the winning of the war problem of citizenship development. This group and a menace to our national unity, security and advocated a compulsory Americanization process progress. The publication at that time of nearly for all aliens; disregarded the history of the demo- 1500 foreign-language newspapers (there were 1244 cratic strivings of immigrant peoples and their such papers listed by the Census Bureau in 1920) nationalistic language, customs and traditions; tried, was regarded as an influence which, to a certain through drastic police power, restrictive legisla- extent, served to keep in ignorance of the English tion and irritating espionage, even by imprisonment, language, American institutions and American laws, to inculcate Americanism by implanting a fear of literally millions of unassimilated immigrants, living America rather than by cultivating an understand- in the United States and profiting financially ing of and a belief in America and its democratic through employment in American industries. This institutions.
ignorance on the part of a great number of foreign- Under the pretence of attacking Bolshevism, there
bom, who were employed in what the Government developed in some localities organizations which
designated as essential war industries, made them made sinister attempts to control programs of
the eai^ prey of agitators who opposed the Govern- Americanization for the purpose of promoting
ment's war policy, with the result that many dis- special interests and thwarting efforts toward social
turbances were fomented among foreign-bom war- justice. The terms "Americanism" and "Ameri-
workers to the disadvantage of America's war canization" were in several instances found to be
program. mere cloaks for un-American undertakings. Most
Tnese and other circumstances impelled the Fed- of these {)seudo-Americanization schemes oyer-
eral Government, the various states, and communi- reached their mark and were exposed in due time,
ties to formulate programs of Americanization with These activities created in many quarters, espe-
the intention of correcting the unfavorable condi- cially in the minds of the immigrant, distrust for
tions. A great variety of agencies immediately took the very idea of Americanization,
up the work and co-operated with the Federal Gov- The other school brought to the work of Amer-
emment and other official agencies in canying on icanization a saner, more ssrmpathetic and more
the movement. These co-operating groups included constructive point of view. The proponents of
well known semi-public organizations, chambers of this school realized that neither the indifferent
commerce, church societies, labor unions, industrial native-bom citizen nor the unnaturalized immigrant
corporations, councils of defense, philanthropic soci- could be forced into a mould of good citizenship,
eties, lodges and fratemal orgamzations, racial or- They held that democracy is a co-operative under-
ganizations, and a great variety of small groups taking and that u{)on the measure of co-opera-
scattercd throughout the country. The report of tion given by the individual citizen depends the
the Commissioner of Naturalization for 1921 lists failure or success of our American political in-
3526 communities as co-operating with the Naturali- stitutions. This school advocated that good citizen-
zation Bureau in the work of citizenship training, ship should be promoted among native-bom and
As a result, Americanization work became one of immigrant alike, for the purpose of fixing an ideal
the most widespread educational movements ever of social justice and civic responsibility toward
launched in the United States. which all might strive in practical fashion. It
The Americanization Bureau of the United States realized that the foreign-bom alone should not
Department of Education divided the work of be shouldered with the entire responsibility of
Americanization into four phases: educational, America's deficiency in tme citizenship and it held
social, racial, and informational. The educational that the foreign-born, simply because they were
phase took cognizance of the problem of illiteracy, foreign-bom, were not responsible for all radical
the non-English-speaking groups, and the training and Bolshevistic movements. It stated that the
of Americanization teachers. The function of the native-bom must share the responsibiUty for both
United States Bureau of Education in this connec- these unfortunate conditions. It believed that the
tion dealt with the working out of methods of ideals of fair play and the square deal, freedom
instruction, the preparation of text-books, the or- of expression, freedom of religious worship, appre-
ganization of scnools and classes, the encouraging ciation of the duties and responsibilities of citizen-
of the states and communities to activity in Amer- ship and co-operation in democracy's work should
icanization work and the bringing about of a co- be held before the American people and be made
ordination of the educational facilities of the the goal of their strivings as individuals and as
Bureau of Education and of the educational agencies citizens. This school looked upon the teaching
of the various States. The social phase dealt with of English as an instmment by which the ideals
