To what extent do ethnic minorities achieve the American Dream?

“Pass” and better answers should feature developed, exemplified knowledge and understanding of: 1. The achievement of the American Dream by ethnic minorities. 2. The non-achievement of the American Dream by ethnic minorities. And 3. Balanced comment on/analysis of the extent to which ethnic minorities achieve the American Dream.

COMPLETE FOR FRIDAY 26TH

The American DreamThe American Dream as having the freedom that allows all citizens to achieve their goals in life through hard work; for many it is the opportunity to have financial security, a home, successful career and the ability to send their children to the best schools possible

Achievements

• Across all areas there are increasing examples of successful ethnic minorities who are breaking barriers and achieving the ‘American dream.’

Affirmative Action• Affirmative Action policies have been part of

American politics for over 50 years.

• In 1961 President John F Kennedy signed Executive Order 10925 ordering that federally funded projects ‘take affirmative action to ensure that applicant are employed and employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color or national origin.’

• Affirmative Action policies have been used in employment laws, education laws and many other areas of life in America and led to improvements for ethnic groups.

Achievements

PoliticsAchievements

Justice:Sonia Sotomayor

Achievements

PoliticsCondoleeza Rice

Achievements

PoliticsMarco Rubio

Achievements

BusinessUrsula Burns – CEO Xerox

Achievements

Political Participation• Ethnic minority groups are becoming more

influential during elections.

• The growth in the hispanic population and increased African American turnout figures show that these groups are more likely to be influential in deciding leaders of the future.

Achievements

Success of the Asian American Immigrant workforce.• Half of Asians have a college degree, compared

with 30% for all Americans, and their median annual household income is $66,000, versus $49,000 for Americans as a whole.

• Asians are also more likely to be married, and their children are more likely to be raised in a two-parent home.

• A Pew study found Asians are three times as likely as immigrants from other parts of the world to get U.S. permanent residency on the basis of employment rather than family ties.

Achievements

Non-achievement• Despite evidence in the 1990s of a growing

African – American middle-class, ethnic groups are still trailing behind whites in a variety of different social and economic indicators.

• Social – Housing, Crime and Justice, Education

• Economic – Unemployment, Poverty

Homelessness – Skid Row?

CrimeAfrican Americans are more likely to be in prison than white males. A young african american has a 1 in 3 chance of spending some time in prison.

Education

Hispanics and African-Americans less likely to graduate from college.

To what extent do ethnic minorities influence the outcome of elections in the USA?

1. Ethnic Minority participation in elections. 2. The importance of the ethnic minority

vote to the outcome. 3. The importance of ethnic minority issues

to the outcome.

COMPLETE FOR MONDAY 29TH APRIL

1 - Participation• Growing participation amongst Blacks, and while

Hispanic participation remains low there is a growing population of Hispanics which makes their vote larger.

• Use your handout sheets to add evidence and analysis to this!

2 - Participation of ethnic minorities in Swing States

Swing states with a large ethnic minority population have become more important in recent elections.

22.5% of the Florida population are Hispanic, and as it is a swing state this group have become increasingly important in influencing the final election result. Whilst 71% of Hispanics voted Democrat in 2012, there is a large group of Cuban exiles in Florida who are more likely to vote Republican.

2 - Participation - Gerrymandering

Gerrymandering can reduce the influence of ethnic minority groups.For example Republican politicians have influenced the district boundaries in Illinois to create the 4th District where 70% of the population are hispanic.

90% of House of Representative seats are won by the ‘incumbent’ suggests that the vote in general is not effective.

3 - Ethnic Minority Issues

Immigration and Healthcare have become key political issues within America in recent years.

The Hispanic vote for the Democrats increased in 2008 and again in 2012, possibly because the Republican Immigration policy is largely unpopular amongst Hispanics.

3 – Other issues?

White Americans still remain the largest voting group in America and so are the largest influence on the result.

The economy and unemployment have been important issues for all groups in America in recent elections and opinion polls suggest that the Democrats gained support amongst those in low-income groups.