Appendix E
Ashley Wines
Eth/125
December 5, 2012
Dr. Cornelius

University of Phoenix Material

Appendix E

Part I

Define the following terms:

|Term |Definition |
|Racial formation |An analytical tool, developed by Michael Omi and Howard Winant, which is used to look at race as a |
| |socially constructed identity, where the content and importance of racial categories is determined |
| |by social, economic, and political forces. |
|Segregation |The enforced separation of different racial groups in a country, community, or establishment. |
|De jure segregation |Segregation that is imposed by law. |
|Pluralism |A form of society in which minority groups maintain their independent cultural traditions. |
|Assimilation |The state of being assimilated; people of different backgrounds come to see themselves as a part of|
| |a larger national family. |

Part II

Answer the following questions in 150 to 350 words each:

• Throughout most of U.S. history in most locations, what race has been the majority? What is the common ancestral background of most members of this group?

Throughout most of U.S history in most locations, the Caucasian race has been the majority race. The ancestral background of most members of this group consist of Non-Hispanic European descent. Some examples of these are Germans, the Irish, English, Italian, Polish, French, Scottish, Dutch, and Norwegian descent. According to our text, Racial and Ethnic Categories in the US in 2001, 199,851,240 people in America are of the Caucasian race (page 58). Most Americans in the United States today are of the Caucasian ethnicity today. This is a staggering statistic compared to the other racial categories provided by the U.S Census Bureau.

• What are some of the larger racial minorities in U.S. history? What have been the common ancestral backgrounds of each of these groups? When did each become a significant or notable minority group?

Some of the larger racial minorities in U.S history are the Hispanic, African, and Native-American races. According to the US Census Bureau, there are 48,419,324 Hispanics that make up about 15.8% of the population in America. There are 39,641,060 African-Americans and this makes up approximately 12.9% of the population. The Native-American population makes up about .8% totaling a number of 2,457,552. These statistics were provided by the US Census Bureau in 2010. Each of these became a significant group throughout American history. Native-Americans were the first people to live on North American soil, while later the Caucasians migrated from Europe, and then the Africans came from Africa.

• In what ways have laws been used to enforce discrimination? Provide examples. These laws were intended against which racial minorities?

According to Wikipedia.org, and common knowledge, one of the major laws that have been used to enforce