The Role Of Political Identity In The United States

The United States was and is widely known as a “melting pot”. Common belief holds that America welcomed hopeful immigrants from overseas, and provided them with opportunities that would give them better lives for themselves and their families. While such a statement is technically true in general, the issues in regards to prejudice and racism, is where the metaphor weakens for America as a beacon of hope for immigrants. Many people today believe that Americans have always embraced and encouraged the melting pot concept. However, WASP stereotypes of immigrants were the driving force behind the quality of treatment received by immigrant groups. It was the group they hated, which made it difficult for immigrants to be seen as individuals, let

These words by Emma Lazarus, inscribed on a plaque on the Statue of Liberty, strike a chord of yearning for freedom in the minds of suffering yet hopeful people, and invoke a picture of the United States meeting the immigrant with open arms. The United States is often called a nation of immigrants, and yet US history reveals many examples of anti-immigrant sentiment, actions, and legal restrictions. Which is true --that America is a nation of immigrants or that it is a nation that does not support immigration?

America, a land that prides itself on being “the great melting pot”, and “the land of opportunity”, oftentimes exemplifies everything but that. Over the years, a vast majority of immigrants have migrated to America and assimilated themselves to American culture. In Moustafa Bayoumi’s novel, “Rasha”, he describes the turmoil some families face when trying to immigrate into America. In the novel, Rasha was arrested, thrown in jail and detained for three months just because she was a Muslim. While immigration is portrayed as a way to a “better life”, the truth is that families just like Rasha’s still encounter discrimination that challenges American ideals such as freedom of religion and equality.

Political ideas, beliefs, institutions, party systems, and alignments have developed and changed during the American

When Mark Twain first published The Gilded Age, there seemed to be no real discords between the Republicans and the Democrats. Both parties represented Corporate America—or a certain portion of it—although lines could be drawn between the Protestants and the Catholics, North and South, protectionists and people who believed in (or benefited from) free trade. As American politics gradually shifted from a game of the elites to ordinary people’s democracy, both parties took in more demographic groups under their wings. While it seems difficult to pinpoint when exactly the two parties evolve into what they represent today, it is generally agreed that Republicans are more conservative, Democrats are more liberal, whereas most people belong somewhere in between.

Amidst the past eight years of lackluster economic advancement, America’s prowess and respect declining worldwide, increasing government involvement in daily lives, and a President seemingly unwilling to take a solid stance on a the global threat of terrorism, the transfer of power between political parties in the White House is not so stunning. Due to the two-party system, this is not an unprecedented phenomenon. The American people are constantly seeking a political party to garner their attention and adapt to changing times, opinions, demographics, and attitudes (Cohen) and this results in the alternation of power between the two key political parties.

The main purpose of the article by Matt Motyl titled, “Liberals and conservatives are (geographically) dividing” is that political parties’ affiliations are dividing the U.S. This can be seen through the locations many Americans live such as liberals going to more urban areas as opposed to the conservatives to go to less populated areas in rural states (Motyl, 2014). The author uses the Ideological Enclavement Theory to explain the division of people in the U.S through ideological-segregated enclaves (Motyl, 2014).

127). This point is the first of emphasized three that seems worthy of its own chapter. While still maintaining that Americans are not polarized, Fiorina et al. give concessions to the opposition, recognizing their own speculation (p. 133). In addition to this, the authors included an appendix immediately after the chapter to clarify their charts. Although slightly different, this is reminiscent of the early chapters. The authors have rediscovered their confidence that had faltered in the two previous arguments. No longer relying on misrepresentations to paint a prettier picture, the authors instead trust in themselves enough to admit supposition and then defend it. Before getting into that, the authors begin by explaining that many scholars have identified a correlation between religion and voter identification (p. 128). What Fiorina et al. argue is that specific religions are not an indicator of specific political identification. Instead, they claim that it is the commitment of an individual to their religion, regardless of denomination, is the determining factor. This important distinction provides the authors with a base on which to build their

This extreme belief system has created a separation of people within America. Where most of people become divided and joint political parties according to Marlantes is on the topic of big government, global affairs, taxes, Americans safety nets and many other issues. When people’s values conflict with what is happening around them, they quick try to find the group or political parity that will support or come close to what they believe in. In Liz’s work she tell of how the current split in America is due to the verifying cultures. According to her this unusual split is caused by people’s values and morals. Because Republicans tend to be white Americans that go to church and Democrats tend to be whites that don’t go to church it is easy to lean toward the party that reflects your values and morals. Because the partisan is so deep between the two parties there is no middle ground for those who are usually unbiased or don’t associate with a political parity. They are instead forced to side with one side or the other. These parties have become a culture on their own. It is easy to see how a person who lives in exurban place, with a collage education are usually Republican and a person how lives in a unban city and has a Graduate degree supports Democrats. These factors of place, money, view, morals, and values have slowly created a deep divide with in our society and our political

Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “Remember, remember always that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.”. It is a common assertion that the United States is a “melting pot”-a mixture of numerous different cultures, ethnicities, religions, and people hailing from all over the world. However, just as proudly as this is proclaimed, there is another truth that becomes evident: prejudice against those who dare to make a better life by emigrating to the U.S. is alive and thriving. This unfortunate reality is nothing new. “Immigrants constantly face being discriminated against because of the color of their skin, the sound of their voice, or simply because of the way they look and their beliefs”

With America now in its very earliest days of being a new nation, any and all actions taken by the government would have lasting impacts on the development of the country and, going forward, would set a precedent for the future. After the Revolution and signing of the Declaration of Independence, America was no longer a sparse group of colonies aggregated along the Eastern coast. America was the start of something entirely new and profound to the modern world: democracy. Because of its hot and fiery origins, the founding fathers of America and intellectuals of the age — whether war veterans or legislators — were very much divided on the vision of America’s future. Thus, the roots of political parties were set in the course of American history forever. From the period 1789 to 1800, political parties developed from an insurmountable difference in opinion in leading a nation. These stark differences and

Since the United States of America was officially founded in 1776, American citizens have considered this country a free land that holds its arms invitingly open to everyone. Emma Lazarus depicts this ideal in her poem “The New Colossus” by describing America as a “golden door,” and a sanctuary for the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” However, America’s past has not always represented these ideals. Some historical examples of failure to reach these aspirations include the enslavement of Africans and the holding of Japanese-Americans in prison camps during WWII, which correspond to poems by Langston Hughes and Dwight Okita. After considering both the positive and negative aspects of American history, we can reach the conclusion that America has, the majority of the time,

In the much-admired poem “The New Colossus” American writer Emma Lazarus writes, “Give us your poor, your tired, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” Carved inside the inside of an icon of freedom, the Statue of Liberty, this speech has come to describe the country of the United States of America. Even before its declaration of independence in 1776, the United States was a dock for those looking for a better life. Gathering to this country by the thousands, immigrants past and present have travelled to the land of the free in an effort to find a lifestyle based upon the United States’ idea of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” With more and more people entering the country, the United States quickly changed into the

There are many individuals from Generations Y and Z who have resulted to shutting themselves off from current events and others who have even abstained from studying the subject due to their disdain of politics. This is quite saddening considering the rich history America has behind the foundation of the government. Among many topics in political science that are worthy of analysis, I have chosen the three areas of discussion that every American should have knowledge about regardless of their opinion on government’s effectiveness. The purpose of this paper is to give a brief overview on the Constitution’s path to ratification, various forms of federalism America has adopted, and the notorious concept of political parties. In addition, I will

Different ideologies tend to appeal to different demographic characteristics such as gender, class, race, etc. because a person’s background will affect which system of ideas they most closely align with. Liberalism and conservatism, for example, are ideologies that regularly contradict each other, because they appeal to different demographics based upon many factors such as class, race, gender, religion, etc. The general worldview of liberalism is that people have individual rights and liberty, while promoting progress. On the other hand, conservatism places greater importance of keeping tradition and strict regulation of rules. In determining the extent of appeal to different demographics, one must assess the ways in which both ideologies