From on the reading and film, the criteria for citizenship appear to be “white”. Only if you are “white” then you are allowed to be a citizen and belong to the U.S. and that is why Ozawa sought to use skin color as his argument against the court stated that his skin are white however it rule out base on scientific diversion of race, because Ozawa is Japanese and Japanese is not caucasian therefore not white. And three month later, Thind who is an Asian-Indian and authority stated that Asian-indian is caucasian however they are not white based on “common knowledge of unscientific men”. Therefore, only those who are considered as white are able to be citizens. In the reading, “European immigrants group regardless of national origin had the right of naturalization” because European is more white than other skin color therefore has a right for citizenship.
The social definition of citizenship is the right to share in social norms and heritage. To be able to learn and understand America and its history. In my opinion, The people who are considered to be a part of America are those who are in need of opportunities to succeed and do well in life. America is a country of freedom and I feel that if you are trying your very best to do well and succeed, you are a part of America. To belong here is to go along with social norms and function within America’s society. To learn and understand America’s heritage. The definition of a citizen should be based on how hard you work and should not be defined based on a person’s race.
Hi Vannyka,
It is even more shocking that in the 21st century, we base immigration on skin color. So many contributions have been made.
I like the way you describe citizenship. America is a place of freedom and opportunity so anybody who supports those ideas can be a citizen. Similarly about functioning as a part of American society makes you a citizen.