Write a 4-5 page essay responding to the following questions and citing the texts A Different Mirror and the Prologue in The New Americans. Be sure to include the page numbers using MLA citation style after each quote.

In re?ecting on the diverse histories of each ethnic group discussed in by Ronald Takaki in A Different Mirror, what role does labor exploitation and legalized racial discrimination play in the building of the United States?

Give two speci?c examples (one example for labor exploitation and one example for legalized racial discrimination) for each ethnic group:

Native Americans; African Americans; Irish Americans; Mexican Americans; Chinese Americans; Japanese Americans, and Jewish Americans.

Then put your historical discussion in conversation with the contemporary experiences of Ruben Martinez (from the Prologue in The New Americans) and his discussion of immigration today. Do you see any relationship between the past and the present? What in your opinion does it indicate about the building of the U.S. today?