America today is more accurately portrayed with a salad bowl metaphor than a melting pot. The melting pot metaphor implies that all the ingredients are combined and create a homogenous mixture (the same everywhere); the salad bowl illustrates that while we all contribute to the flavor each ingredient is still its own. As Joel Swerdlow illustrated in his article “Changing America”, “10 percent of America’s 281 million residents were born in other countries, the largest percent in U.S. history”(Swerdlow). I believe the large number of immigrants coming to America directly shows that people around the world want the freedoms that America has to offer. However, they are able to maintain their individual identity throughout their pursuit for that freedom. Being an “American” means you have the freedom to choose your own life. Being an “American” is about embracing the diversity of all cultures while feeling that they all belong to the same nation. When an immigrant becomes an American, they do not lose who they were before. An immigrant by all definition is someone born in another place who chooses to change their life; it does not erase every experience and belief the person previously held. Immigrants bring new ideas, beliefs, and traditions to America and improve on our society. They now have all the experiences and memories of their old lives, but become part of the larger picture and contribute to America by bringing in more diversity. One such aspect is that of carrying on the traditions and culture from their home land. For example, Hispanics here in New Mexico warn their children to behave by telling them the story of La Llorona, instead of the Boogie Man or another more traditional American folktale. Another way immigrant... ... middle of paper ... ...e rights and freedoms granted in this country. My first, and only, language is English while one of my classmates may speak nothing but Spanish at home. We hold on to our individual selves yet are both contributing to American society. I am in school today to better my career but I know that this is a privilege that not all of my fellow Americans share. We are each afforded the freedom of speech, regardless of the language, and the freedom to pursue happiness through education and career choices. It is the differences in these choices that adds to the unique blend of our country; America’s salad bowl. Works Cited Swerdlow, Joel L. “Changing America.” National Geographic. Sept. 2001. Web. 29 May 2011. The United States of America Declaration of Independence. 1776. A Chronology of US Historical Documents. U of Oklahoma Coll. of Law, 2006. Web. 2 May. 2011.
The term melting-pot has been used since the 1700s. It has always been a metaphor to describe immigrants coming to America. The melting pot is a fusion of cultures and ethnicities into one larger culture. Americans did not like the idea of immigration to their country, viewing their country as beautiful the way it was. Many thought America would be ruined if too many people immigrated and left their cultural mark on the country. The melting-pot concept on immigration seems to highlight historically how America came to be, but for more current immigration, Americans views are more negative. American attitude towards immigrants in the 1900s was not very favorable. Since they feared them, immigrants were often treated horribly by Americans. Robert H. Clancy says, “Vigorous complaint and more or less bitter persecution have been aimed at newcomers to our shores. Also the congressional reports of about 1840 are full of abuse of English, Scotch, Welsh immigrants as paupers, criminals, and so forth.” (Clancy,
The United States is a nation of immigrants but also a nation of Americans, when exactly does it happen that an immigrant becomes an American? Most of the people in the United States came from Europe or their ancestors came from Europe. Many immigrants were poor, day laborers who chose to live in the city. They came to America in hope of a better economic life. Many lived in sections of the city that suffered from severe poverty. They often lived in run down tenement houses that were unsafe. All the while, they clung to the cultures of the “old world” they just left. It was not until the 1880s that things began to change. Jane Addams, a middle class woman, decided to help the impoverished immigrants. She opened a settlement house and she called it Hull House. It was the first settlement house in the United States. She focused on Chicago’s most poverty-stricken area. The Hull House became the social center for immigrants. It offered night school for adults, kindergarten classes, clubs, a public kitchen, an art gallery, a coffeehouse, a gym, a bathhouse and so much more. Hull House helped immigrants become part of the social world in America. It also tried to Americanize the immigrants and encouraged them to assimilate into the American culture. In short, when Jane Addams founded the Hull House she wanted to help immigrants become part of the American culture and she persuaded them to leave the customs of the “old world” in their past.
States. Everyone had to prove that they were independent, capable, and willing to integrate into the cultural melting pot with its own identity of hard work, grit, and determination, which established and fostered success in American society. However, not everyone who chooses to take the adventure and risk associated with becoming American wishes to share in this identity. Many feel it necessary to shun the American identity and observe it with a level of disdain, disregarding the reasons themselves or previous generations may have immigrated to America for.
Americans can cherish their freedom of expression and are part of a diverse culture. An American is someone who would embrace freedom and liberty. Overall, to be an American, it is crucial to embrace the culture and become a part of it disregarding where you were born.
There is no denying that immigration will always be a factor in the development of the United States. Whether it is due to religious beliefs, economic problems or even war in their native country, emigrants will always come to America with hopes of starting a new life in the “Land of the Free”. Fortunately, the people who do choose to legally migrate to America are generally motivated for success and well-educated. Even the immigrants who are not well educated are motivated to succeed, work hard and take jobs in areas where labor forces are low or jobs that a native-born American may not even consider, effectively making them a contributing member of society.
Numerous countries of the world have very distinct cultures and are typically composed primarily of one type of race, religion, or nationality. For instance, France, Mexico, Japan, China. The United States differs greatly from these countries listed because we are known as the "melting pot." According to Merriam Webster dictionary, the term "melting pot" is metaphor for a society where many different types of people “blend” together as one. However, the United States is also associated with and known as a "nation of immigrants.". This name was given due to the fact that almost every citizen of the country has an immigrant ancestry, with the exception of the Native Americans. In the Francis Walker publication over “Restriction of Immigration
Immigrants leave their countries in search for a better life and improvement of their situation. There is no singular reason for immigration; motivations range from better economic prospects to political safety. As of late, the number of immigrants living in the United States is an estimated 11 million. Those who immigrate are expected to contribute to the United States culturally, politically, and economically. Yet, full assimilation becomes difficult to achieve when the immigrant is made into “the other” by the country of reception.
If this country were a melting pot with immigrants from all over bringing over their culture, this country would be very difficult to live in. You could have people like the bushmen living right next door to upper class Americans that just don’t want people who walk around pretty much nude right next to them. That then has people of different groups striving for their cultural identity to be shown because they aren’t fitting into the Eurocentric ideal of an “American” culture. Saying that this country is like a tossed salad though is a lot different and a lot more realistic.
America was founded on change. Past revolutions were fought to make new ways in which to live life in this country. Our families all came to America, at one point, to feed into this definition of being an American. The term melting pot in my mind means structure, meaning what we, as Americans, are made of. It was many ethnic backgrounds that came to make up our country. So as more and more people migrate to America, stand up for the changes they believe in, this country will only continue to get stronger.
“You are in America, speak English.” As a young child hearing these words, it did not only confuse me but it also made me question my belonging in a foreign country. As a child I struggled with my self-image; Not being Hispanic enough because of my physical appearance and not being welcomed enough in the community I have tried so hard to integrate myself with. Being an immigrant with immigrant parents forces you to view life differently. It drives you to work harder or to change the status quo for the preconceived notion someone else created on a mass of people. Coming to America filled me with anxiety, excitement, and even an unexpected wave of fear.
Immigrants have always been an important part of United States’ population. Each year, there are hundreds of thousands of immigrants, from all around the world, including legal and illegal, come into the United States for job opportunities, new life, or the American Dream. “Immigrants have contributed significantly to the development of the United States. During the Lincoln administration, immigrants were actually encouraged to come to America, as they were considered valuable to the development of the country.” (Soylu & Buchanan, 2013). They believe that the US will give them more freedom, protection, and opportunities, which sometimes it becomes the major issues for immigrants. That’s why “the U.S. population is becoming more racially and
America is often known as the land of opportunity, a place where you can be free. Many Immigrants came to America so that they could have a greater possibility at succeeding in life. Immigrants took a leap of faith when coming to America, for some it worked out well but for others they had a difficult time here. Despite the struggles that the immigrants encountered such as; standing out from others, being separated from their families, and breaking their culture, the immigrants are still grateful to be in America because they were in better conditions than they were in their home land. When viewing interviews or looking at an immigrant’s perspective you get many responses to being in America, some major things that stood out were the amount of freedom the immigrant had, and the age of the immigrant. These two things had a huge impact on the opinion of America from an Immigrants point of view.
Who is an immigrant? An immigrant is a person who has a citizenship in one country but enters another country to set up as a permanent resident. Sometimes countries are suffering greatly from lack of leadership, internal strife or war, and a collapsed economy. This is the case in Somalia, as well as in Syria, Libya, and Yemen. Syrian people are moving to Europe in order to find a peaceful home. Mexican immigrants come to the US looking for jobs. The people then move to new countries where they don’t speak the national language. In America, when the immigrants come, there are many difficulties: cultural differences regarding time and scheduling, transportation issues, and language difficulties.
Being the melting pot of the world is what made America the great country that it is today. In today’s America though, that phrase has been pushed out of its vocabulary. The country went from letting everyone one in to almost kicking its own citizens out. People are even leaving the country on their own free will now because they hate the political and economic systems we have in place. Steadily increasing amounts of regulations have torn apart families and made it extremely difficult to become an American citizen. Overall, things need to change so America can be seen as the melting pot of the world
The age old question that many ask today is “what is an American?” America is continued to be called the “melting pot” of the world. This statement refers to the combination of different cultures and ethnicities throughout the United States. The diversity of America should not take away from the history and foundation it was found upon. ...