Zangwill (1908) wrote, “ God is making the American!...the real American had not yet arrived. He will be the fusion of all races, perhaps the coming superman…the glory of America, where all races and nations come to labor and look forward.” This is an exert from the play “The Melting Pot.” Israel Zangwill was Jewish born in England, January 21, 1864 in London, England. Besides the “The Melting Pot,” Zangwill used his pen to defend women’s suffrage, Jewish emancipation, assimilation and Zionism. Zionism is the Jewish liberation movement (Wikipedia, 2012). In 1909, “The Melting Pot” was opened in Washington D.C. It was a hit. President Theodore Roosevelt gave the play high reviews. The New York Metropolitan Playhouse ran the production in 2006. Zangwill married Edith Ayron, who was a feminist and an accomplished author in her own right. He passed away at age 62 in West Sussex, England (Rochelson, n.d.). Zangwill had an idea and vision of what cultural assimilation would become. This idealistic approach of Americas “melting pot” is a multifaceted theory on its own. There are many aspects to the American assimilation. This involves leaving part of ones cultural identification to join a larger American culture in search of work and a means to sustain. Many aspects of this vision have begun to unfold in our culture over the past century. Some of the cultural assimilation examples will be addresses as well as what the Bible might say regarding this vision. There are also some weaknesses or differences that can be found in the “modern melting pot” concept. “Today the trend is toward multiculturalism, not assimilation. The old "melting pot" metaphor is giving way to new metaphors such as "salad bowl" and "mosaic", mixtures of vari... ... middle of paper ... ...metaphor: why coerc, HoHoNu, A Journal of Academic Writing, 4(1) Web. 22 Nov. 2015. http://hilo.hawaii.edu/academics/hohonu/writing.php?id=91 Parrillo, V., (2009) Strangers to these shores: race and ethnic relations in the United States, (9th ed.), Boston, MA, Allyn & Bacon Preston, J. (2011) 11.2 million immigrants in the U.S. in 2010, report says, no change from ’09, The New York Times, Web. 28 Nov. 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/us/02immig.html Rochelson, M., (n.d.) Israel Zandwill, Jewish virtual library, Web. 30 Nov. 2015. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/zangwill.html ThinkQuest (n.d.) The Chinese, Immigration, the Journey to America, Web. 18 Nov. 2015. http://library.thinkquest.org/20619/Chinese.html Wikipedia (2012) Israel Zangwill, Web. 19 Nov. 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Zangwill
Gary Gerstle argues America followed a path both civic and racial nationalism throughout the 20th century in his book American Crucible: Race and Nation in the Twentieth Century, and that America is a melting pot of different cultures due to the accumulation of immigrants in the twentieth century. He uses Theodore Roosevelt as a support base for his arguments. Civic nationalism is the idealized understanding of America as an ethnic and cultural melting pot based on civil rights, and on the values of equality and liberty no matter the race and ethnicity of one another. Civic nationalism claims a nation can still grow stronger and better based solely on civil rights and citizenship.
In the excerpt from “From the Melting Pot to the Tossed Salad Metaphor: Why Coercive Assimilation Lacks the Flavors Americans Crave” Gloor evaluates several metaphors used to describe the diversity of America, beginning with the most common ideas of the United States being considered either melting pot or a salad bowl. After analyzing both metaphors, it becomes evident that while these ideas sound great, in reality, they are not only a flawed depiction of what America is like but altogether undesirable considering the implications of a “melting pot” or “tossed salad” society. In the text, Gloor brings up a third and new metaphor that symbolizes America as an ethnic stew, but in reality, the stew theory is more accurately wishful thinking than it is an actualized reality. Gloor’s writing piece not only exposes the flaws of the melting pot and tossed salad metaphors, but exemplifies the complexity of our society due to the several moderate inaccuracies of the ethnic stew theory.
Dyson, Michael Eric. 1996. Race rules: navigating the color line. Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co.
...d not assimilate to accepted American culture. However, by the time society learned which ethnicities were ‘unassimilable’, the cultures had already begun to take root in America. At first America had a knee-jerk reaction to this realization and began passing more resolutions preventing ‘non-whites’ from entering the United States. However, as America experienced the increase in cultural communities in reaction to prejudice formed by immigration laws, the government learned that only through a loosening of immigration law and lessening of prejudice would America become a true melting pot. The mid-1900s saw this manifestation in America, as immigration laws allowed more people from around the world to immigrate. As prejudice lessened, the cultural communities sprinkled throughout America that created a mosaic became less prevalent and have begun to form a melting pot.
Perhaps, the “Melting Pot” myth gained strength during the Industrial Revolution. With millions of immigrants entering the United States, culture was changing within the United States. Americans set a high standard for there society and everyone wanted to be accepted. There was a social requirement to live in a civil society creating together the “American Dream,” which leads to prosperity. Many immigrants moving to the United States brought with them various traditions of their culture and after moving, they repressed such beliefs and forged ahead with a new way of “American Thinking.” The rituals and traditions of such societies should have brought diversity to this nation’s culture however, these ways would soon become a part of the past. The “Melting Pot” myth heavily influences American society and people believe that everyone no matter what skin color or religious belief is created equal. This belief of the American Way of life is idyllic to say the least. Unfortunately, this myth has been thwarted due to a high level of racial supremacy within the nations past and even present. There are two particular events in national history, which will forever hinder equality: slavery of African Americans and Japanese internment camps during World War II in America. These substantial events shape our society and are only the tip of the iceberg when it
Wise, T. (2012). Dear white America: Letter to a new minority. San Francisco, CA: City
over 35 million.Now in 2008 the number is over 45 million people.(US Census 2008) The
Following the 1890’s, the world began to undergo the first stages of globalization. Countries and peoples, who, until now, were barely connected, now found themselves neighbors in a planet vastly resembling a global village. Despite the idealized image of camaraderie and brotherhood this may seem to suggest, the reality was only discrimination and distrust. Immigration to new lands became a far more difficult affair, as emigrants from different nations came to be viewed as increasingly foreign. In the white-dominated society of the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the only way to truly count oneself as American was to become “white”. For this reason, the idea of race, a socially constructed issue with no real physical basis, has become one of the most defining factors which shape immigration and assimilation in the United States.
Immigration has been the major source for America’s growth.The United States has the most immigrants in the world ("Nation of Immigrants"). Russia has the second most with only one fourth the number in America ("Nation of Immigrants"). The United States currently has over 40 million immigrants (Kirkwood). About 28 percent of immigrants in America are illegal (Kirkwood). Those 11 million illegals make up about 3.5 percent of the U.S. population (Kirkwood). This huge number grows every day as more and more people cross the border illegally.
E Pluribus Unum was originally intended to be both a representation of the union of the thirteen colonies and an expression of the United States as a country formed by immigrants of many different backgrounds. Today, just the literal size of America would suggest the existence of a largely varied social atmosphere, even before one considers its influx of immigration from countries all over the world. In a way E Pluribus Unum-"out of many, one-is a contradiction. Many different cultures are represented within American citizenry and within the country's physical borders, and they remain distinctive. The outmoded idea of America as the "melting pot" has been replaced precisely because people are not going to disregard their first cultural traditions to adopt "American" ones. Rather, their differences tend to perpetuate separatist notions and delineate cultural groups as clearly as borders delineate the end of one country from the beginning of another.
The numbers of immigrants to United States has risen from thousands to a record high of one million immigrants by the year 2008. The table below can represent this information
...accomplished the assimilation into one race, it consists of people sharing a similar identity. In the words of Richard Rodriguez, ?We are gathered together-but as individuals?we stand together, alone,? thus people will assimilate but as individual ?Americans?.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of immigrants, legal and illegal, from around the world, come to the United States. These immigrants come because they want a chance at a better life; others are refugees, escaping persecution and civil wars in their home country. Many people believe the United States is the best place to go. There is more freedom, protection, and benefits, which seems like a good deal to immigrants. But the large number of immigration is affecting the current citizens of the United States. Taxpayers are forced to pay for the welfare and schooling for many of these immigrants, some who are illegal aliens. Some citizens believe that immigration can be hazardous to the environment. Others blame crime, poverty, and overpopulation on immigration. About sixty-eight million immigrants have been added to the United States since 1970, and it is estimated that 130 million people will be added over the next fifty years. The government has tried somewhat to restrict immigration but the laws are still too lenient. Nearly every other advanced country in the world is moving quickly towards stabilized population or has already achieved it. The United States is moving towards it very slowly. This country would have to reduce immigration down to 255,000 a year to do this (Beck 1). If nothing is done to stabilize the immigration to this country, what will become of population in the next decade? The population will continue to grow even faster - not due to births, but to massive immigration to this country. Immigration can become a serious problem to this country if the government does not produce stricter laws.
Mexican immigrant's that migrated to the United States from Mexico was at nearly half million
“We may have all come on different ships, but we 're in the same boat now “ (Luther King, Jr. 1). Americans think only positive thoughts when they ponder the myth of the melting pot. The myth perpetuates the notion that once someone becomes an American, they are one with the nation; equal to everyone else. This notion is that to be truly American everyone needs to assimilate to everyone else to appreciate this country’s full experience. The myth, however, has a tendency to negate other cultures in the process, which is contradictory to what America stands for: freedom. Freedom is the operative word, freedom of religion, freedom to choose where one lives, freedom to be an American citizen. In blending in under the melting