The American Melting Pot is a Really a Stew

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The United States is a nation of, largely, assimilated immigrants that spans back over 200 years. Or at least it used to be. Today an American is an American that retains their cultural identity to their homeland. America is a nation of multiple cultures and races thrown together haphazardly but still one whole. The term salad bowl would seem fitting would it not? We used to be considered a melting pot, a blend of multiple cultures and races that were American. America is a melting pot because we are Americans, not matter where we came from, we are here now in the United States, and that is our culture. A Brief History of United States Immigration Immigration in America is often broken down into distinct “waves”. These waves were the greatest influxes of immigration into the United States. The first settlements consisted of people from Spain, (in Florida) England, (in Virginal and Massachusetts), and others from France, Sweden, the Netherlands and sadly the slaves from Africa (Matthews, 2013). These people were the foundations of a nation that from its beginning was already multicultural, but still considered American. The second wave of immigration was in the 1800’s. 4 million Irish immigrants and 6 million German immigrants flocked to the eastern shores of the United States to escape from bad economies, hunger, and war. Tapering off during the Civil War another influx in the second wave of immigration happened after its conclusion. Hailing from Sweden, Norway and Denmark, these immigrants once again sought American shores to escape hard times in their home countries, this time shrinking land holds being the reason. After the discovery of gold in 1849 yet another influx of immigration boomed. With though... ... middle of paper ... ...at came here, not only stayed here, but fermented and fostered the belief that they were Americans. Think about the slaves that are now Americans today. The English that fought a revolution became the Americans we are today. The Irish, Chinese, Japanese, Latin’s, Poles, and Slavs, that despite being treated unjustly, assimilated into our culture and became Americans. From the beginning we were a melting pot, and amidst terms like multiculturalism and salad bowl we remain... American. References: Ernsberger Jr., R. (2013, August). Roger Daniels, Immigration Historian. American History , pp. p28-29. Foner, N. (2009). The American Melting Pot is a Rich Stew. Phi Kappa Phi Forum , 7-10. Kurtz, S. (2013, 05 20). National Review. Acculturation Without Assimilation , pp. 19-20. Matthews, A. (2013, May/June). Coming In Waves. Cobblestone , pp. p2-5. 4p.

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