CULTURAL DETERMINANTS OF NATURALIZATION.

The article says that in these days of increasing worship of the myth of race it is especially important to ask what are the real determinants of naturalization. Defenders of Anglo-Saxon heritage, both the well meaning and the masked night-riding varieties, are prone to believe that mainly the Nordic strain of peoples seeks to become naturalized. The lesser breeds are alleged to be content to remain aliens, except when forced by economic pressure and the need of qualifying for certain jobs. The relative percents naturalized of the various foreign-born groups in the U.S. are pointed to in support of this theory. And the inference is drawn that normal interest in naturalization is generally determined by race. Hence it is believed that the Nordics, such as the Germans, English, Scotch, and Scandinavians, are innately better material for American society than the non-Nordics, such as the Russians, Italians, Poles, and other South Europeans. The article presents a sample study of the foreign born made by the writer under the auspices of Yale University. The study highlights that the determinants of naturalization are cultural and not racial in nature.