The Melting Pot

Paper Summary:

This paper explains the nature of assimilation in American society. The author reviews ongoing patterns of immigration and assimilation.

From the Paper:

" Americans do share a common national identity at some level, but at the same time, different groups in American society have somewhat different perspectives on the degree to which they belong to the larger entity of America. America is often referred to as a melting pot, a reference that is meant to indicate the fact that so many different kinds of people have come here to join the larger American society. The virtue being promoted in this concept is the virtue of assimilation, and it was long felt that even if the first-generation immigrants were unable to assimilate fully because of linguistic or cultural differences that might emphasize their separate identity, their children would be fully assimilated and "Americanized." America is effectively a multicultural society which on the one hand benefits from an infusion of different beliefs, mores, and traits, while on the other hand suffering because many groups feel disaffected and inferior."

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