People in Society

1
People in Society

• Chapter 6

2
Different Cultures Often View Events From
Different Perspectives

• The Partition of India and Pakistan 1947
• In 1947, Britain gave India its independence
• Indias population is primarily made up two
  religious groupsHindus (majority) and Muslims
  (minority)
• To avoid conflict, a new nation was formed
  Pakistan - to be home to Indias Muslim minority
• However, as people migrated to their new country,
  thousands were killed in conflict
• The Creation of Israel 1948
• In 1948, Britain gave up control of Palestine in
  the Middle East
• The United Nations voted to create a the state of
  Israel for the Jewish people
• Much of the decision was based on the death of
  millions from the Holocaust
• Although Jews saw Israel as their homeland, Arabs
  already living in the area saw the Jewish people
  as intruders
• Since 1948, Israelis (Jewish) and Palestinians
  (Arabs) have been in conflict
• The United States has supported Israel since its
  creation

3
Different Cultures Often View Events From
Different Perspectives

• The Reunification of Germany 1990
• During the Cold War, Germany was divided into two
  countries West Germany (democratic) and East
  Germany (communist)
• When the Cold War ended, Germany was reunited
  under one government, however, problems began to
  surface
• The End of Apartheid 1990s
• Boers (settlers from Holland) and the British
  occupied South Africa since colonialism
• The believed that native peoples were socially
  inferior (lesser than themselves)
• After the British left, a system of apartheid
  segregation was set up to separate different
  races
• Although natives made up the majority of the
  population they were discriminated against
• After decades of protests, riots and pressure
  from the world, apartheid was abandoned and the
  black majority is in power
• American Political Action Groups
• NAACP The National Association for the
  Advancement of Colored People formed in 1909 to
  achieve more rights, equality and opportunities
  for African Americans
• NOW The National Organization for Women
  formed in 1966 to fight gender discrimination
• AIM The American Indian Movement formed in
  the 1960s to publicize the plight of Native
  Americans
• United Farm Workers led by Cesar Chavez, the
  UFM gave migrant workers, most from Mexico secure
  jobs and union contracts

4
Contrasts Between Different Cultures Has Often
Led To Oppression

• The Spanish Conquistadores in Latin American
• When the Spanish arrived in North America, they
  used native peoples to look for gold under
  appalling conditions
• This violation of human rights would be practiced
  throughout the world
• The Armenian Massacre 1915-1916
• The Armenians were a Christian minority in the
  Turkish Ottoman Empire during WWI
• Christian Armenians were marched by their Muslim
  rulers into the desert where one and a half
  million Armenians died
• Such an of extermination of an entire race,
  group, or culture is known as genocide
• The Holocaust 1930s 1945
• Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler blamed the Jewish
  people for many of the problems Germany faced
  during and after WWI
• His plan, the Final Solution, was to murder
  Europes entire Jewish population
• At first, Jews were forced to wear yellow stars
  sewn on their cloths followed by their removal
  of personal property and forced to live in
  ghettos with armed guards and barbwire
• During WWII, Jews were sent by railroad cars to
  death camps where they were systematically killed
  by poisonous gas

5

• Ethnic Cleansing in the Balkans 1990s
• The Balkans is an areas located in Southern
  Europe
• When Communism collapsed in Yugoslavia, different
  ethnicities fought for control
• Christian Serbs began ethnic cleansing of
  Muslims in the regions of Bosnia and Kosovo
• NATO forces intervened to stop this occurrence
• Tutsi Genocide 1994
• Rwanda and Burundi are two countries located in
  Central Africa
• In 1994, the Hutu (majority) began to massacre
  the Tutsi (minority) whom the Hutu deemed as
  cockroaches
• The United Nations intervened but not before
  nearly one million Tutsi perished
• Massacre of the Kurds 1980s
• Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein crushed an uprising
  of the Kurdish people who lived in Northern Iraq
  demanding their independence
• Hussein order mustard, nerve and cyanide poison
  gas to be released in their villages
• Twenty five thousand innocent people were killed

6

• Jim Crow Laws Legalized Discrimination
• After the Civil War (1861 1865) ended in the
  United States Southern states passed laws to
  oppress free slaves legally known as Jim Crows
  laws
• African Americans were treated as second class
  citizens and were prevented from using white
  facilities in public (e.g. bathrooms,
  restaurants, water fountains)
• African American children were not allowed to
  attend the same schools as white children
• Jim Crow laws were upheld in the Supreme Court
  case Plessey vs. Ferguson (1896)
• Jim Crow laws began to be over turned in the
  Supreme Court case of Brown vs. the Board of
  Education (1954)

7
How Advances in Communication and Transportation
Affect the World

• Cultural Diffusion the spread of ideas,
  products, technologies and practices spread from
  one culture to the next
• Advances in communication and transportation have
  made the world a global village (e.g. the
  Internet, television, jet planes, telephone,
  etc.)
• Globalization a single world economy and
  culture (e.g. the Olympics games, buying products
  from around the world)
• Cooperation and Conflict cooperation is needed,
  not just economically but politically (e.g. Sept.
  11, 2001 Muslim fundamentalists from the Middle
  East attacked the Pentagon and World Trade Center
  in the United States)
• The Environment As nations grow, industries
  pollute the worlds air quality and water
  resources in many third world nations
• Popular Culture American movies, television and
  music have become a global phenomenon as English
  has become the worlds universal second language
• Political Systems Political systems are
  spreading throughout the world such as democracy
  and Islamic Fundamentalism
• Religion As transportation and communication
  improved, religion has also spread

8
The Effects of Immigration of American Society
Housing Patterns Many immigrants coming into
the United States lived in neighborhoods with
other people from their homeland with similar
languages and cultural practices. These ethnic
neighborhoods made it more difficult to become
Americanized Language many new words entered
into American English from immigrants Educational
System American schools greatly assisted
immigrant children with customs, language, and
practices. The reverse also occurred Political
Affiliations In the late 19th century (1800s),
many immigrants were given jobs, housing and
loans from political bosses who ran the cities.
At first, most immigrants supported the
Democratic party but today both parties contain
diverse immigrants groups Religion Immigrants
brought different religions such as Catholicism
and Judaism. Today, there are Americans of every
religious denomination Labor Practices Most
immigrants worked at unskilled jobs for long
hours and low wages. However, they brought new
methods and techniques which helped improve labor