In this lesson we will learn about the implications of the Cold War, and effects of the Vietnam War on Vietnamese, Cambodian, Hmong, Iu-Mien, and Laotian populations into the 1970s and 1980s. Beyond learning about the war, the fall of Saigon, the era of the Khmer Rouge, and other significant events of this period, students can also delve into the experiences of Southeast Asian immigrants, the ethnic enclaves they created in California (Sacramento, Long Beach, and Fresno are just a few cities with vibrant Southeast Asian refugee communities), their contributions, and ongoing struggles.
Learning Targets:
1. We will learn the Causes and Consequences of the Cold war including Proxy Wars that led to refugees.
2. We will learn how immigration laws changed in response to the Cold War.
3. We will learn about ethnic enclaves created by refugees and contributions to this society.
1. We will learn the Causes and Consequences of the Cold war including Proxy Wars that led to refugees.
2. We will learn how immigration laws changed in response to the Cold War.
3. We will learn about ethnic enclaves created by refugees and contributions to this society.
The Cold War
A state of political hostility that existed between the Soviet bloc countries and the US-led Western powers from 1945 to 1990 characterized by threats, propaganda, proxy wars and other measures short of open warfare.
Changes in Immigration
Between 1947 and 1991, U.S. immigration policy was shaped by the larger Cold War. In many case special allowances were made for migrants coming from Communist countries. In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower used his so-called parole powers to admit 30,000 refugees from the failed anti-Communist Hungarian Revolution.
After Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba in 1959, many Cubans came to the U.S. as political refugees. The 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act allowed permanent resident status to Cubans who arrived in the U.S. after 1959. Between 1959 and 1990 around a million Cubans emigrated to the U.S. Many became U.S. citizens, eventually forming a politically powerful voting bloc in Florida.
The Trade Act of 1974 included an amendment requiring non-market economies who requested “favored nation” trade status with the U.S. to allow for free emigration. The amendment was a response to calls to assist Jewish refugees from the Soviet Union. Under its provisions, more than 500,000 people, including Soviet Jews, Christians and Catholics, were able to emigrate to the U.S.
In 1975 Gerald Ford enacted the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, which provided assistance for 130,000 Southeast Asian refugees displaced in the aftermath of the Vietnam War.
During the Reagan Administration, U.S. support for anti-Communist efforts in Central America included immigration policies that allowed for a flow of refugees from countries including Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua.
In 1990 President George H.W. Bush signed a sweeping immigration act including a provision that granted Temporary Protected Status for Salvadorans fleeing their nation’s civil war, which pitted leftist and Communist guerrillas against the country’s right-wing government.
Even though the Cold War more or less ended in 1991, many U.S. immigration policies — such as those granting special provisions for Cubans — remain in effect today
After Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba in 1959, many Cubans came to the U.S. as political refugees. The 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act allowed permanent resident status to Cubans who arrived in the U.S. after 1959. Between 1959 and 1990 around a million Cubans emigrated to the U.S. Many became U.S. citizens, eventually forming a politically powerful voting bloc in Florida.
The Trade Act of 1974 included an amendment requiring non-market economies who requested “favored nation” trade status with the U.S. to allow for free emigration. The amendment was a response to calls to assist Jewish refugees from the Soviet Union. Under its provisions, more than 500,000 people, including Soviet Jews, Christians and Catholics, were able to emigrate to the U.S.
In 1975 Gerald Ford enacted the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, which provided assistance for 130,000 Southeast Asian refugees displaced in the aftermath of the Vietnam War.
During the Reagan Administration, U.S. support for anti-Communist efforts in Central America included immigration policies that allowed for a flow of refugees from countries including Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua.
In 1990 President George H.W. Bush signed a sweeping immigration act including a provision that granted Temporary Protected Status for Salvadorans fleeing their nation’s civil war, which pitted leftist and Communist guerrillas against the country’s right-wing government.
Even though the Cold War more or less ended in 1991, many U.S. immigration policies — such as those granting special provisions for Cubans — remain in effect today
Refugees & Ethnic Enclaves
Refugees: a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster
Indochina Refugees
Toward the end of the Vietnam War and the capture of Saigon on April 30, 1975, 130,000 people who supported the fallen South Vietnamese government were airlifted out of the country by the United States government to bases in the Philippines. A second wave began fleeing Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in 1978 and lasted into the mid-1980s. Over the next two decades, millions would seek refuge abroad. Of those, over a million Southeast Asian refugees have resettled in the U.S. since 1975.
Follow this link for a good website on the Laos community in California
Follow this link for a good site on the Vietnamese Community in California
Follow this link for a good site on the Hmong in California
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Latin American Refugees
Cubans - Fidel Castro called them gusanos ("worms"), escoria ("trash"), and more recently, "the Miami Mafia." Of all the aspects of the Cuban Revolution, none has had a greater impact on America than the immigration of over one million Cubans to the United States. Settling mostly in Miami, but also elsewhere, Cuban Americans have created a wealthy, successful, politically influential immigrant society. As wave upon wave of immigrants rebuilt their lives after the traumatic experience of the revolution, they recreated and reinterpreted Cuban culture in a new homeland, blazing a path that led to the transformation of Miami into a Latin American city. Along with other Latinos — immigrants and U.S. born — they have brought a Latin flavor to American shores."Calle Ocho," Little Havana, the epicenter of the Cuban exile community in Florida.
Cubans - Fidel Castro called them gusanos ("worms"), escoria ("trash"), and more recently, "the Miami Mafia." Of all the aspects of the Cuban Revolution, none has had a greater impact on America than the immigration of over one million Cubans to the United States. Settling mostly in Miami, but also elsewhere, Cuban Americans have created a wealthy, successful, politically influential immigrant society. As wave upon wave of immigrants rebuilt their lives after the traumatic experience of the revolution, they recreated and reinterpreted Cuban culture in a new homeland, blazing a path that led to the transformation of Miami into a Latin American city. Along with other Latinos — immigrants and U.S. born — they have brought a Latin flavor to American shores."Calle Ocho," Little Havana, the epicenter of the Cuban exile community in Florida.
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Central American Refugees-
Hondurans, Salvadorians, Guatemalans
Good place to learn about Guatemalan enclaves
Good Place to learn about Salvadorian enclaves
Hondurans, Salvadorians, Guatemalans
Good place to learn about Guatemalan enclaves
Good Place to learn about Salvadorian enclaves
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