Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 8.djvu/751

 SOCIAL DIFFERENTIA TION AND INTEGRA TION ^ 3 1

the term "race" loses all that definiteness with which it was formerly, and is still falsely, clothed, and comes to stand for any group of men who have, from whatever cause, acquired a certain community of characteristics which cement all the members of the group into a compact whole. There are other races in process of formation. There will soon be a distinct American race and an Australian race, a South African race and a South American race.

Some may be willing to admit this much, but still deny that integration is taking place between these so-called white races and the races of a different color. But even here the same law is in operation. Wherever races of different color are thrown together they tend to coalesce. However strenuously the superior races may resist this tendency, they can only diminish to a certain extent the rate at which it proceeds. They can never completely arrest it. It is well known that the Latin races freely combine with all the other races with which they come in contact. The Mexican is now a cross between a Spaniard and an Aztec. The Canadian "half-breeds " already constitute a race of French-Indians. All South and Central America is more or less mixed. The Teu- tonic races have somewhat successfully resisted the movement, but not wholly. The original Indian tribes of North America that have remained in the territory now occupied by the whites are now all thoroughly mixed. This makes no sensible impres- sion upon the white population on account of their great numeri- cal preponderance, but the Indians have become practically absorbed in the white population. Even in the larger reserva- tions of the United States, wherever a considerable white popu- lation has made its way into the midst of the Indians, rapid race mixture is going on. This is exemplified in Indian Territory, where the two races have already become extensively blended.

A curious result has flowed from the law fixing annuities for the Indian population. The Indians are graded according to the amount of Indian blood in the veins of the recipients, and each person has a record showing this. This, on the one hand, puts a premium upon Indian blood, which would seem to work toward keeping the blood as pure as possible. But, on the other