Abstract
This paper looks at the popular and enduring adage declaring that America is ?a melting pot? of cultures and at the idea that this country seems to believe that all of its ethnically, linguistically, and culturally diverse inhabitants have, throwing away all of their particularities, melted into just one cultural identity. It looks at the history of different immigrants to the United States, and examines their integration, or non-integration into society.

From the paper:

"Like national minorities (Native Americans), African Americans (not modern African immigrants to the U.S.) have been incorporated involuntarily into American society due to the fact that they are the descendants of those who entered the slave trade after either being captured from West African regions or sold into captivity by African kingdoms-in short, they did not emigrate out of free will from their birthplaces as did members of ethnic groups. However, they are somewhat like ethnic groups in the sense that they do originate from foreign lands and are not indigenous to U.S. territory as are national minorities."

Tags:americans, assimilationism, capital, civic, cultural, culture, ethnic, ethnicity, groups, identity, immigration, indigenous, integrationism, minorities, multiculturalism, national, nationalism, native, peoples, pluralism, politics, social