How American are American Samoans? :: History Samoans Samoan Essays

How American be American Samoans? Since the 19th century, historians drop defined three major waves of American immigration qualityicularly from countries in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. In the case of American Samoans, the native population of the join States Territory of American Samoa, emigration from these islands began in the 1950s. However, un handle other heathen groups, like the Mexicans and Chinese, who were also arriving in the U.S. around the same period, American Samoa was already part of the union for nearly 50 years, yet, the natives desire to migrate to Hawaii and the mainland seemed to surface slowly. Although explanations for this delay in the movement of American Samoans are complex, historians ease up argued that besides the growth in curiosity and adventure of the outside world, American Samoans were forced to leave their homes because they simply had no other alternative to take up from. With the involvement of the United States, especially that of the U.S. Navy, the Samoans grew dependent on the resources, protection, and economic prosperity that the American foreigners introduced and continued to provide from the time of the cession of the islands in 1900. When the U.S. marine base, which was established in Pago Pago, the current capital city, was relocated to Hawaii in the early 1950s, work in American Samoa was limited and the natives were not ordain nor prepared to return to farm and agricultural work. As migration to the mainland became more likable to the islanders, their American Samoan status as U.S. Nationals was, (and continues to be to this day), confusing and approximately contradictory to the policies of American citizenship. As American Samoans have discovered, U.S. Nationals are given privileges such as entrance to the United States. However, American citizenship is not part of the package, which greatly limits the political voice of these natives. To understand the disrupted social, political, and econom ic press out in which the American government left American Samoa with the closing of its naval base, a brief historical overview of the Samoan archipelago is necessary, which will discuss the cost of the islands and its location to foreign powers, U.S. diplomacy, and the push and pull for migration to the U.S. mainland. Samoan people are known for their rich culture and heritage, but the history of their islands is virtually unknown. From 1870 to 1914, countries like Germany, France, the U.