No. of Recommendations: 6
But I think you're wrong in suggesting that things were different here - that our successive large waves of European immigrants somehow conducted themselves differently, that they came to this country in order to become Americans in ways that current migrants to European are not intending to become Germans or Danes. That's an ahistorical and incorrect view of our past.
It’s a fairly established trope that immigrants tend to group together in their own ethnic enclave for support, commonality of language, customs, religion and so on during their generation, that their sons and daughters begin to assimilate as they learn English and intermix with others of varying cultures, and by the third generation tend to be “fully” assimilated.
There are lots of exceptions of course; Hasidic Jews in New York are an obvious example, but it’s true for almost every ethnic group, sociologists have found.
AI Overview
Yes, new immigrants frequently cluster together upon arrival, and historically, this has been followed by a long-term process of spatial and social assimilation that often peaks by the third generation.
While the "three-generation rule" suggests that the first generation retains the native culture, the second breaks away to adopt the new language/customs, and the third becomes fully assimilated, modern studies show this path is often "bumpy" rather than a straight line.
