The uneven distribution of advantages, material rewards, opportunities and power among groups, is due to stratification within a society. Ethnic stratification is a system of structured inequality in which people receive different amounts of society's resources based on someone's ethnic group. Level of power is determined according to a persons differences from the dominant group. These differences are generally cultural and physical. The ethnic groups most similar to the dominant group are more highly ranked, and those that are considerably different are ranked low. The lower ranked groups generally take a subordinate position to those of the dominant group. This comparison of ethnic groups to ones owns group is called ethnocentrism (Marger 40-1).

Ethnocentrism is one of the building blocks for ethnic stratification. When you add competition for the same scarce resources, and different levels of power, it will lead to the development of ethnic stratification. When the dominant culture has been determined, the wider the gap in distribution of power determines the strength of the stratification system. The more powerful the dominant group is the stronger the system is. The

At first, a group will pursue acceptance of their cultural differences from the dominant group. If this is successful then they will further pursue acceptance over several generations.

discrimination. Indirect institutional discrimination is unintentional and is usually carried out by individuals or groups who don't consider themselves discriminators. Indirect discrimination can occur as a legacy of past direct discrimination. For example, direct discrimination of housing segregation for African Americans, centralized a large portion of them in inner cities. The development of factories in the suburbs became more economically beneficial due to lower costs of property, reduced taxes and more accessibility to transportation lines. Qualified African Americans are at a disadvantage geographically to the employment. The direct discrimination of housing segregation led to the indirect discrimination of employment (Marger 86-7).

Reactions to subordination to a dominant group are usually one of four basic responses: pluralistic, assimilationist, secessionist and militant (Marger 60-2). Pluralistic minorities have generally immigrated voluntarily. Some attempt to maintain their culture while participating in political and social institutions. Others maintain their culture at the exclusion of the society. An example of this is the Amish. They have developed an understanding with the dominant group in order to maintain their way of life. Assimilationists are generally voluntary immigrants also. They most closely resemble the dominant group and seek integration by complying with the norms and values of the dominant group. This is most prominently seen in the immigration of northern Europeans. Secessionists have a goal to have complete political independence from the dominant group and do this by separating themselves from the larger society. Militant minorities have a goal of dominance over other!

Voluntary Immigration occurs when ethnic groups choose to move from one society to another. Political and religious reasons are primarily the deciding factors. It is usually factors of "push and pull" that

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