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Assimilation and multiculturalism
Examples of assimilation in america
Key words relating to the great melting pot
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Students attending American schools are taught clearly about the United States’ image as a melting pot; however, there is evidence to support that, while there is not an official federal stance on the matter (Sengupta), the amount of assimilation required to be legitimately considered a “melting pot” is not being reached. Although similar, there is often confusion about the differences between “multicultural” and “assimilated” communities. By definition, assimilation is the complete “merging of cultural traits from previously distinct culture groups” (Dictionary), while multiculturalism is delineated as the “preservation of different cultures or cultural identities within a unified society, as a state or nation” (Dictionary). Early to mid-1900’s America entertained the idea of a melting pot, where people from all parts of the world would join together and assimilate. It seems, however, that the growing trend has been to treat America as more of a “salad bowl” (Porter), in that people are joining together but instead of merging as one unit, are maintaining a majority, if not all, of their primary culture with little attempt to adapt. This underachievement has left America to unintentionally become a multicultural society. The clear differentiation between expectation and reality brings vast amounts of controversy among the nation’s people. The Puritans established America in their attempt to escape oppression for their religious beliefs, ironically driving out indigenous inhabitants because of their alternative beliefs and traditions. For quite a long period of time, it seemed as if the “Land of the Free” was promoting the opposite of freedom, through child labor, prohibition, sexism, and slavery. Between the 1964 Civil Rights Act ... ... middle of paper ... ...ng to the next “ingredient”; falling collectively into this bowl that is America. Works Cited “Assimilation v Multiculturalism”. www.proenglish.org.2014. Web. Bloemraad, Irene. “The Debate Over Multiculturalism: Philosophy, Politics, and Policy.” www.migrationpolicy.org. September 22, 2011. Web. Dictionary.reference.com. Copyright © 2014 Dictionary.com, LLC. Web. Porter, Rosalie Pedalino, Ed. D. “The Social Contract”. Divisive and Damaging Effects of Official Multicultural, Diversity, Multilingual Policies on American Public Life. Vol.22, www.thesocialcontract.com. Number 4, 2012. Web/Print. Sengupta, Saptakee. “Multiculturalism in America.” www.buzzle.com. June 5, 2010. Web. Teixteira, Ruy. “Defining ‘White’ and ‘Hispanic’ In Majority-Minority America”. Thinkprogress.org. June 18, 2013. Web. U.S Department of Labor. “Affirmative Action: Hiring”. Dov.gov. Web.
Takaki, Ronald. “Between Two Endless Days.” A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1993. 277-310.
...Multiculturalism: Essential Primary Sources. Ed. K. Lee Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, and Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 353-355. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Apr. 2014
Although at first glance the arrival of the Puritans in America seemed solely for religious freedom, it actually was deeply embedded in economic trading opportunities. In 1629, the English crown authorized the colonization of a large area of New England by the Massachusetts Bay Company, which was a joint stock trading company. The company was taken over by a group of wealthy Puritans, and they successfully established the Massachusetts Bay Colony under the leadership of John Winthrop in the New World. The Puritans brought the company’s charter with them, which allowed them to bend the charter to their own purposes, transforming the company into a commonwealth.
...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.
Today, scholars continue their dispute over the degree to which the Puritan colonists influenced American law, morality, and culture. In the area of law, this image is supplemented by lurid accounts of witch trials and corporal public punishments.
Despite what one might see on television and what conglomerates may want people to believe, the roots of multiculturalism and multiracialism are in shallow soil. Change does not come by commercial hype, but rather by an evolving process of change in thoughts, ideas and in the racial equation.
Integration of culture within the United States has become a difficult task for government officials who follows the Multiculturalist approach. Culture is the diversification of one’s being as regards to their immutable traits being learnt from the time of their births. Linda Chaves’s essay “Demystifying Multiculturalism” points out that the accommodation of equal rights between whites and non-whites is not a problem it is education. However, multiculturalist believes that non-whites are becoming a threat to their population and will eventually change the American culture. The demographic tidal wave illusion from the business sectors is merely an exaggeration as they believe that non-white’s will eventually whip out United States white’s population. Chavez gives attention to the fact that ‘judgment should not be based on skin color but by content of one’s character’ (6). Furthermore, she doesn’t only criticize the Multiculturalist techniques but emphasizes through reasoning why the Multiculturalist approach would imposed negative attitude towards the non-whites in the United States. This will not only create negativity but a racial chaos between whites and non-whites living in the United States.
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.
Puritanism as a religion declined, both by diluting its core beliefs and by losing its members. This phenomenon was at work even in colonial days, at the religion’s height, because it contained destructive characteristics. It devolved into something barely recognizable in the course of a few generations. We can observe that the decline of Puritanism occurred because it bore within itself the seeds of its own destruction.
Indeed, in all their schools from elementary to secondary schools, they already adopted curricula that will foster cultural diversity. Through this program, students from different levels had the chance to be exposed to different traditions and customs of various ethnic and racial groups. Even the government sectors in the United States are advocating tolerance for diversity, like how they commemorate Asian American, Hispanic, and Pacific Islander Heritage weeks (Margai, 2010). Even in their postage, they developed stamps highlighting some prominent Americans along with their diverse backgrounds. Despite all these efforts, sometimes the issue concerning multiculturalism causes significant political and societal conflicts. Right now, United States is widely known as the greatest melting pot where people from different countries and with different cultures could be united as one. However, people have divided views with regards to the issue whether the immigrants should adopt America’s culture, or they should be given the freedom to keep their own culture. The majority of the Americans believed that one must learn first how to speak English before permitting to have an American citizenship. In support of the notion of melting pot, many Americans still insist that their Creed should endure, and their nation is destined to be a prime model to
Takaki, Ronald. A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1993. Print.
The United States has a history of being viewed as a superior culture in which weaker cultures must adapt. However, this attitude has been cause of repression and conflict among the different cultures. As a result, activists have worked for years pushing to empower cultures; thus, encouraging unity rather than cultural divide for the strength of our nation as a whole. According to John Ogbu (1978), every "minority" group has a unique history in the United States that needs to be studied, understood, and validated to more authentically understand, support, and educate them. Education experts have responded to the overall push for this unification by developing an interdisciplinary approach in the development of multicultural education.
Thomas Bray, an editor for the Detroit News talks about the recent poll against bilingual education in California in his editorial, Memorial Day and Multiculturalism, in which he presents a strong argument for assimilation, "A nation unsure of it's roots and values may not survive long as a nation- witness how close even `multicultural` Canada is coming to crack up because of the drive by separatist French Quebec to secede and form an independent nation.". (Bray, 3) Bray suggests that to be a strong nation, we need to define what is `American` and everyone should live up to one standard. American culture, beliefs, and values should all be defined. Bray says that if we don't have one standard than how can we be as one nation? How can we be identified as one nation? He emphasizes the need for assimilation, "Assimilation is a bad word these days. But it's a tested method of achieving `E pluribus Unum`. (Bray, 4) Perhaps it need not be harshly administered in the old days, but a country that has no standards to assimilate to is a country without a core and a country deep in trouble." Bray's view is that of many Americans who think that America and American culture should be defined with roots that go deep into British history, and not by it's many other roots around the world. That America can be defined by one mainstream culture that everyone in the country assimilates to. I believe that there are too many different people in the country to think that everyone is the same. The fact is that people are different, and no one can change that.
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. ...
Most nations experience some sort of immigration, be it from a neighboring nation mired in conflict, or from someone seeking better economic prospects across the globe. Regardless of circumstance, the question inevitably arises about how to deal with these new countrymen. A hotly debated issue for many years, certain corners of American political discourse center around the idea that in order to protect the dominant culture, policies ought to be in place that coerce immigrants to adopt the customs of this, their new home, while abandoning traits distinctive of their place of origin. This reactionary mindset that values assimilation over integration and the preservation of uniqueness of culture is harmful to immigrant groups themselves, and American society as a whole. Rather than attempting to construct a common identity amongst vastly different groups, the behaviors and beliefs that make certain groups different ought to be celebrated and respected, as these differences constitute the true American identity and provide a richness that allows America to continue strengthening.