Immigrants

Throughout the course of history many groups of immigrants came to the United States in hopes of prosperity and better living conditions. Upon their immigration, they have tried to keep the identity as well as adapt to the American culture.   And because of the diverse groups of people making up this “melting pot,” there has been a huge impact on the American identity and how America has been changing.
Immigrant groups such as the Chinese, Irish, and Jews all left their countries because of push factors such as government oppression, wars and also bad living conditions. Similarly, the Hmong people started to emigrate from Laos in hopes of better living and also because of the wars back in their country. Many of them settled in Wausau, Wisconsin
and had a great impact on the American society there.   The first generation of Hmong were used to a very traditional family structure in which the men would have a job to support the family and the women would do household chores such as take care of the children and cook food. Upon moving to America most Hmong families were poor so it was normal to see many Hmong women with jobs. Also men would take part in household chores including cooking and cleaning. As Koltyk states, “ In the summertime many women work in the cucumber or ginseng fields (Koltyk).” This left unemployed men at home to look after kids and do household tasks. In this way, the Hmong assimilated to American society by having both the men and women support the family. Also just like the Jews and Japanese who lived in landmanshafts and mine camps together in the same region, the Hmong people all moved towards the same region in America, specifically Wausau (Takaki). They stuck together after moving which led to many Hmong businesses and enterprises in Wisconsin. Many Hmong also converted to Christianity to assimilate into the American culture. Churches held Cultural Setups where people could come and learn about American society more. Church and religious...