America is a melting pot of cultures; we have all heard this statement over and over again in our standardized history or government classes. Yet what does that means in a globular perspective or even for the America people beyond conflicting interest and inability to create a competent government? Just the English language itself is a feat of migration and blending of ideas. It has a Germanic sentence structure, with its very strict placement of verbs, nouns, and the actual subject of the sentence. Yet at the same time, it is heavily influenced by the neighboring Romance languages, the lexicon being 60% derived from Latin in some form or fashion. How this came about is too still embedded in the English language; when one wants to sound fancy
This description of a melting pot is now heard frequently in America to describe its citizens. The cultural assimilation that occurred in the colonies of the New World gave the people a great sense of identity and the unity as all being Americans.
America was founded on change. Past revolutions were fought to make new ways in which to live life in this country. Our families all came to America, at one point, to feed into this definition of being an American. The term melting pot in my mind means structure, meaning what we, as
American was dominated by the image of the melting pot that “melts up” all race differences and cultures to become on American culture. The ideas of multiculturalism started at the end of the nineteenth century and turned into the concept of cultural pluralism that defined the nation as a mixture of diverse ethnicities with different cultural backgrounds, all co-existing and contributing to the new nation.
Several years ago, America was taught to be a 'melting pot,' a place where immigrants of different cultures or races form an integrated society, but now America is more of a 'salad bowl' where instead of forming an incorporated entity the people who make up the bowl are unwilling to unite as one. America started as an immigrant nation and has continued to be so. People all over the world come to America for several reasons. Most people come to America voluntarily, but very few come unwillingly. For whatever reasons they may have for coming they all have to face exposure to American society. When exposed to this 'new' society they choose whether to assimilate or not. Assimilation
When America was founded, it was established on freedom and equality for all people. At first it was just religious freedom, but eventually freedom of speech, press, petition, and more. In time, America began to be known as a “melting pot” of cultures as more and more people came because they wanted this freedom; the more people who came though, the more problems America had. There were too many cultural discrepancies between people, and ultimately America, the country based on freedom and equality, faced challenges concerning diversity.
is a melting pot of different races and nationalities.Usually,when it comes to races in America,many of us thinks about the racial discrimination between white and black.And Latin Americans,Mexican Americans in particular, are forgotten.
Its makeup up which has led to it being nicknamed a “melting pot” is clearly reflected in its political culture as it is composed of people with different ideologies, ages, backgrounds, etc. Without each of these components, the U.S. wouldn’t be the country it is today as Lincoln once said the United States has a “Government of the people, by the people, for the people.” Without the people, this government wouldn’t be a democracy. Unfortunately, not all people in this country have come to this realization as voter turnout is still low among some groups, specifically among younger people, although it can be hoped for that through education they will come to the conclusion that talking alone does not get the job done. What gets the job done is acting. In other words voting but more importantly doing so in an educated
Surprisingly, the melting pot is a unclear piece of the American Identity. The melting pot is an idea about how people (immigrants) all over the world come in one place and share their different cultures. America is one example of a melting pot since immigrants all over the world visit, live and share thoughts and ideas to create one big unique culture. While most Americans are proud of the United States to be a country of big culture, some Americans do not like the notion of immigrants coming from other countries to live in America. Although many writers demonstrate that the melting pot exists, some authors show that there are Americans who don’t want the United States to become a melting pot. To examine
Peter Marin writes about how America is not a “melting pot”. He mentions that though that might not be so bad for America, it does
In America, the country described as the great melting pot, where the origins of the immigrant do not matter, the
President Obama most likely believes that the United States is closer to being a mosaic than a melting pot. He begins by saying that America was built by immigrants, “We don’t simply welcome new immigrants, we don’t simply welcome new arrivals -- we are born of immigrants” (President Obama, December 15, 2015, Washington, D.C.). When he claims that America was built with immigrants he goes on to explain how each immigrant is unique and each one comes from a different background. These differences that he talks about are what make up America and create the diversity that America is known for. Then he goes on to talk about how immigrant bring new life to America,“Immigrants and refugees revitalize and renew America” (President Obama, December
The United States of America was founded on July 4, 1776. Seeking a life free of the British Government, a host of immigrants founded a new nation. Because the United States was created by the migration of people from various parts of the world, it is sometimes described as a “melting pot.” Along with their personal possessions, these immigrants brought their respective cultures and traditions as they meshed together into a new society. Despite being categorized together as citizens of the same country, the independent traditions and lifestyles of humankind have created challenges throughout history. It is important for Americans to share a sense of pride, patriotism and loyalty. Equally important, however, is the need for respect regarding differences and individualism. Ethnocentrism is a barrier between understanding culture and diversity.
The United States has Changed from a Melting Pot to a Vast Culture with Varying Racial Backgrounds
Culture is a behavior that consists of several critical elements, such as language, religion, race and ethnicity, clothing and politics. Culture is what one does in his/her daily life. In order to understand others, we must first keep in mind that every culture carries its own set of values and assumptions. Culture is an evolving, ever changing civilization, which includes several different groups people. For immigrants, America is a land of opportunity; for others it is just the best country in the world because of its economic success and/or its democratic political system. Americans usually value independence a lot, believe in equal opportunity, and have a direct communication
The “melting pot” culture refers to people from various cultures coming together to create a new unique culture. (Lorenzo, 2000) In other words, these cultures have ‘melted’ together in a ‘pot’. For example, Chinese, Koreans, Germans and more cultures blended in together to create a whole new American culture. They are not Chinese-Americans, Korean-Americans or German-Americans anymore but just Americans. On the other hand, “salad bowl” culture refers to immigrants who do not lose the aspects of their cultures. . (Lorenzo, 2000) To put it in another way, you can still clearly see the different ‘ingredients’ in a ‘salad bowl’. As a contrast to the melting pot theory’s example, Chinese-Americans, Korean-Americans and German-Americans will still keep the unique traits of their cultures while living together in the country. America has been traditionally referred to as a ‘melting pot’, but recently; there are people who argue that ‘salad bowl’ will be a better description of America’s society today.