Essay The American Melting Pot

The 21st Century mindset of individualism is causing the American Melting Pot to give way to terms like “tomato soup” and “tossed salad” to describe Americanization of immigrants coming to the United States (BBC News). In this time of change a commonly used identifier, African-American, is becoming a controversial phrase that is moving out from under the protection of political correctness.

It is expected that ultimately there will be a loss of ethnic distinctiveness for immigrants in the U.S., meaning the lack of attachment to the country of origin. (Golash-Boza, 2006) It is argued that all ethnic distinctiveness will no longer exist by the seventh or eighth generations. Before exploring the influence of foreign born vs. U.S. born parents on their children’s cultural assimilation; the different theories of assimilation will be explored. The idea of Assimilation came about in the early 20th century. (Golash-Boza, 2006) Assimilation is surrounded by two theories, the first that all immigrants will assimilate sooner or later and that the generational status of the individual is one of the main factors in determining the

America is greatly influenced and enhanced by the many versatile cultures which inhabit it. Cultural diversity has added to our economy in such a way that it brings innovated ideas and contact structures throughout the world. International cuisines have come to America through subcultures, have expanded the food industry, and have allowed English Americans to try new foods and flavors. Immigrants have brought with them religious values that greatly differ and vary from those at which were natural in the main stream American culture. The educational development through foreign nationals has led America, as a nation, to excel and be deemed one of the most intelligent nations in the world! Consequently, the subcultures have kept our

Known to many as the ‘melting pot,’ the United States consists of a variety of cultures and peoples. Immigrants from near and far traveled and continue to do so for economic opportunities or to escape persecution. One particular group of people who immigrated to the United States were the Filipinos or Pinoys, as some like to call themselves. Due to its 400-year colonization by Spain and the United States, the Filipino American populace increased after the Philippines became a territory under U.S. control. The last Asiatic group to migrate to the United States, the Filipinos have contributed to the American society through a variety of occupations, such as sailors or nannies. Moreover, the U.S. colonization of the Philippines from

In 1492, Christopher Columbus “discovered” what is known today as North America. Mistakenly, Columbus thought that he had landed in the Indies, and therefore the native peoples were called “Indians.” The New World soon became flooded with Europeans from a number of countries, and the Indians allowed them to settle on their land. Treaties and agreements were made between the settlers and the neighboring tribes in which European goods were exchanged for Indian land and assistance. The survival of these settlements could not have survived without the active support and protection of the Native Americans. However

How does Fredrickson distinguish between race and ethnicity? How and under what circumstances can ethnicity become racialized’ (para.2)?

It is easier to determine if there is a winner in a story if there is an internal conflict. The internal story of “Seventh Grade” by Gary Soto has a clear winner. In contrast, “The Melting Pot” by Anna Quindlen is an external story that does not have an obvious winner because it seems to be no winner in particular; everybody seems to be a winner.

Ask any American how they feel about multiculturalism you are likely to get one of two responses: either a cringe or a smile. Those that cringe will say something along the line of “Multiculturalism is the wrong way to look at things. It separates us by saying that everyone is different instead of saying that we are the same and unifying us.” Those that smile will talk about how great multiculturalism is because they get to see aspects of all different cultures on television and on the radio and they are free to explore all the different things that various cultures have to offer. In actuality, one cannot help but wonder if either of these responses reflects the true meaning of multiculturalism? What do

The first migrants to the Americas were hunter-gatherers there is no clear explanation of how they arrived here. The speculation is that they traveled here over a land bridge following the large mammals during the Ice Age. This land bridge today is currently known as the Bering Strait. This land bridge disappeared at the end of the Ice Age around 18,000 years ago. This created geological and biological isolation from the rest of the world. When the Ice Age ended it caused a separation for many lands and this is also thought to be the cause of the formation of the deserts in the Sahara and Gobi.

There has recently been some discussion about how the Americas were original populated. In the 1930s, it was declared that the first migration was about 15,000 years ago where they crossed a land mass called the “Bering Strait.” What is the Bering Strait and where is it today? The Bering Strait is an "ice free corridor" that lead to nowadays Canada but it was only passable between 13,000 and 12,000 years ago. Now it is apart of the interior of Canada between two masses of glacial land ice. There are technically three migrations, one being the people from “Northeast Asia began to enter the North American continent, following woolly mammoth and mastodon.” The second one being around 10,500 years ago, from Asia when the “Na-Dene peoples settling the central portion of the North American continent.

The United States is commonly know as a melting pot of nations, in which people from around the world have emigrated to form a homogeneous yet varied culture. Although we come from different ethnic groups, we are usually bound together through our common English language. This becomes an issue, however, when immigrants are not familiar with English and American culture, and instead attempt to keep their own heritage alive. They are often torn between identities through language, the one they speak at home which they are familiar with, and the one they must adhere to in public. This often leads to struggle and conflict on both sides, dealing with different cultures and how people react when assimilation occurs. Because of this, living in the United States often requires us to completely accept only one identity, even though hints of the other may spill over at times.

For millennia, North and South America lived isolated from the rest of the world, self-contained continents populated by many different native tribes, but without having contacted any nations east of the Atlantic. Through this separation, vastly different cultures were able to develop on the two sides of the ocean. The worlds of Europe and the lands that would one day become the Americas finally collided in 1492, when an explorer called Christopher Columbus tried to sail west to reach Asia and reached an entirely new land instead. Until 1620, these areas were claimed by the first Spanish and English settlers. However, these two countries had different ideas of how these new lands should be settled and explored.

Around the world, the United States of America has the most ethnically diverse population of people. Going out in the streets, one cannot miss being exposed to seeing many different races; however, some places in America do not have as many ethnic minorities as others. Unless they truly know a person of a certain race, one can only rely on the media for information on people with different backgrounds. The United States Committee on Energy and Commerce House of Representatives states that television is the most common source of information available to children growing up in the country (Serial Number 108-116). While watching television, viewers such as children will develop schemas, expectations that one has for the world. Stereotypes, a form

Native Americans, the first settlers of the Americas arrived to the continent about 15 000 years ago. Crossing a land bridge between Asia and America during the ice age. It was not just one group that spread across the continent, but small groups of migrants for a long time period. The land bridge which the migrants used to cross between the continents does not exist today, but is instead known as the Bering Strait. All of the groups of Native Americans originally came from Siberia, which is located in modern day Russia, East of the Ural mountains reaching all the way to the watershed between the Pacific and Arctic drainage basins. Genetic research has been conducted

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