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Reflective Essay

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History

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San Jose State University

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zvpunrynerara984

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REFLECTIVE ESSAY FOR US HISTORY 1

Reflective essay for US History

Student's Name

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HISTORY OF THE DIVERSE GROUPS IN THE US 2

Before watching the documentaries, I thought that minority groups have been enjoying

equal treatment under the law for centuries. However, I was distressed to discover that minority

groups have been subject to repression during the past two decades. During this period, most of

these groups faced discrimination as they strive to fight for their rights and to demand equal

treatment under the law. What stands out from the documentaries is that for years, the US has

struggled with social, economic, and political injustices, and its history is dented based on how it

treated minority groups and foreigners who immigrated to the US. For instance, in the

"American experience: the Chinese exclusion act," the narrator explains how the law was

enacted to maintain white racial purity by banning the immigration of the Chinese into the

country (PBS, 2018).). The Chinese, like the African Americans, were not allowed to testify in

courts, and those found to be illegally in the US were subjected to hard labor or deportation and

only given bail if vouched by a credible white witness. I was shocked to find out that this shows

the level of racism that prevailed in the country and persisted for over 60 years.

I feel that the majority of the documentaries were not well balanced while unveiling the

challenges faced by minority groups, and the strategies and institutions they used to protect their

identities and to fight for their rights. Some of the documentaries like "we shall remain: after the

mayflower" describes the challenges that the minority groups faced but fails to adequately

describes the strategies used to attain equality and protect their identity (Goldsmith et al., 2009).

I think the main strength of this documentary is that it helped me build bridges of empathy by

showing how the Cherokee nation tried to gain respect from the US government by adopting

western-style religion, government, and religion (Goldsmith et al., 2009). However, its primary

weakness is that, little information is provided on the strategies and institutions used by these

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REFLECTIVE ESSAY FOR US HISTORY 1 Reflective essay for US History Student's Name Institution Affiliation Class Due Date HISTORY OF THE DIVERSE GROUPS IN THE US 2 Before watching the documentaries, I thought that minority groups have been enjoying equal treatment under the law for centuries. However, I was distressed to discover that minority groups have been subject to repression during the past two decades. During this period, most of these groups faced discrimination as they strive to fight for their rights and to demand equal treatment under the law. What stands out from the documentaries is that for years, the US has struggled with social, economic, and political injustices, and its history is dented based on how it treated minority groups and foreigners who immigrated to the US. For instance, in the "American experience: the Chinese exclusion act," the narrator explains how the law was enacted to maintain white racial purity by banning the immigration of the Chinese into the country (PBS, 2018).). The Chinese, like the African Americans, were not allowed to testify in courts, and those found to be illegally in the US were subjected to hard labor or deportation and only given bail if vouched by a credible white witness. I was shocked to find out that this shows the level of racism that prevailed in the country and persisted for over 60 years. I feel that the majority of the documentaries were not well balanced while unveiling the challenges faced by minority groups, ...
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Tags: African Americans minority groups Hispanic Culture equal treatment under the law political injustices