The Great Melting Pot Essay

Zangwill (1908) wrote, “ God is making the American!...the real American had not yet arrived. He will be the fusion of all races, perhaps the coming superman…the glory of America, where all races and nations come to labor and look forward.” This is an exert from the play “The Melting Pot.” Israel Zangwill was Jewish born in England, January 21, 1864 in London, England. Besides the “The Melting Pot,” Zangwill used his pen to defend women’s suffrage, Jewish emancipation, assimilation and Zionism. Zionism is the Jewish liberation movement (Wikipedia, 2012). In 1909, “The Melting Pot” was opened in Washington D.C. It was a hit. President Theodore Roosevelt gave the play high reviews. The New York Metropolitan Playhouse ran the production in

So many times the phrase "melting pot" is used to describe the United States of America. It is a country built on ideals such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and other basic human rights. These  ideals, though they may have originated from European men labeled as liberals, eventually captured followers from all over the world. Soon, America was a mixture of peoples with different ethnic backgrounds, religions, and cultures all working together for the "American Dream."

Feminism has become an ugly word. Some say it does not even live up to its definition anymore. However, the definition remains unchanged in the pages of history. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary’s definition of Feminism reads, “The theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.” If one digs deep into this definition, beyond the surface of society’s view on feminism today, one can see that feminism would benefit both sexes. The true ideals of feminism break down gender roles, thus benefitting men, women and future generations.

America is often associated with phrases such the land of the free, or that all men are created equal. However, its meritocratic image is a naïve observation many fall into believing. America has a history of oppressive behavior to minorities, and sexes. If all men are created equal, why has America succumb such racial, and sexual inequality? Especially in terms of social economic status, the evidence strongly suggests that an individual’s social mobility is not as mobile as many think (McIntyre, lecture). Unfortunately, these false beliefs that racism, and sexism are no longer part of society make it hard to inform people that it is still a major problem for women, and minorities (McIntyre, lecture). Sexual and racial discrimination

The challenging and discordant opinions regarding gender equality have origins in various schools of thought, across time and place. Modern feminism heavily borrow from these old ideas and expounds upon them. Feminist worldwide are renowned for the action they must continually take that challenges the negative societal and stereotypical norms

Throughout much of its history, the United States has often presented to the world an ideal of assimilation or, colloquially known as, the melting pot. Within the melting pot, it would not matter if one was from Pakistan or the Dominican Republic. If an immigrant worked hard and obey the law of the land, he/she and all his/her descendants will be considered as American as those that have lived here for generations. Unfortunately, this has not always been the case. The problem with the supposed ideal of the melting pot is its own definition, it’s an ideal. Ideals are in essence a perfect version of a current system of values, not a reflection of reality. In reality the idea of the melting pot has been one exclusion, suppression, and forcible assimilation of entire groups of people. Native Americans were driven from their land and confined to reservations. African Americans were held under slavery and later Jim Crow. For Mexicans and Latinos, the situation was quite different. With the primary exception of immigration, there have been very few overt policies that have specifically targeted Latinos. These attacks have instead been more on the sublet, localized variety. To be more precise, it has not been by the basis of any racial identity but attacks of culture. These methods could be categorized into four specific groups.

Modern America is considered to be a melting pot, in which a variety of races, cultures, or individuals gather into a unified whole. The ideas of being a new American for people who have migrated from their homeland to America are to leave behind all their past cultures and practices and embrace their new American ways. Is that what really happens? If it was, would there be still racism in America? The number of people immigrating to America has risen over the years, but so has the number of active hate groups. The idea of unity in the melting pot of America is a myth because of racism, stereotypes, prejudice, and cultural segregation of its people.

For decades, history tells us a lot about sexism: women are deemed to be inferior to men. Since the 20th century, many women and feminist groups have protested to gain equal rights; these groups claim that—to a great extent—discrimination against women still exists in today’s society. But is this really true? Are women still heavily discriminated in the United States? Logic says otherwise—sexism might still be present today but it’s certainly not as bad as people claim it to be. The issue is much smaller than how feminists portray it.

America is a country that prides itself on equal opportunity for all. However, the results of the recent presidential election have demonstrated a major disparity in the ‘equality’ of that opportunity. Donald Trump, with almost no political qualifications, beat out Hillary Clinton, a highly qualified individual, for the presidency. In addition, many scandals were attached to the Trump campaign, mainly his disparaging comments against women. The success of his campaign, after all the scandals, can be attributed to sexism in the general American population. Ingrained sexism in American society constituted a major reason as to why Hillary Clinton lost the presidential election.

Is America Really a Melting Pot? For a long time, the United states of America has attracted people who share common goal so called, ‘American dream’ from all around the world. Since the history of America also started with the immigration of pilgrims who were looking for freedom from the religious suppression, the US has been considered to pose capability to assimilate various kinds of people including various race and diverse cultural backgrounds. This is why America is called melting pot, which means that various cultures and races have forgotten their own identity under a great identity as a ‘American’. However, America cannot considered as a melting pot, but salad bowl in terms of the segregation and discrimination against different race, religious and characteristic of separating and keeping different cultures.

Though they claim that feminism is about the equality of men and women, at the same time they often vilify men, simply for being men and having what they call “male privilege.” I believe that there are still equality struggles even here in America, but feminists exaggerate this and claim that all prejudice is directed towards women, and that “reverse sexism” doesn’t exist. For example, many feminists never speak about how men are more likely to lose a custody case even if the mother is unfit to care for their child, simply because they are a

It is absolutely necessary that the people of this nation grasp the cultural, ethnic and religious differences of the people that make up this nation and of the surrounding nations. America since 1908 has been called The Melting Pot, a place where people from diverse backgrounds can come and experience freedom. Long before Israel Zangwill coined the term Melting Pot, America has been a safe haven for immigrants even as early as the 1600’s up until the present time. With all of the various cultures that have come into America and continue to come, there must be an understanding of each other and respect, without those two key things in place there will not be peace. When you you see something totally different to you and do not understand it most people respond in fear, fear leads to misjudgement and spreading fallacies about that which is different from you. Their is no room for mutual respect when fear is in the way. Fear is at the root of all racism. Just look at how in Ancient times when Hebrews were slaves to the Egyptians, Pharaoh ordered every firstborn be killed and thrown into the Nile. He worried that the Hebrews would become too many and try to revolt. Because of his judgement many had to die. As a nation we must move past these pre passed judgements to see the culture and the people that made that culture. The ultimate solution to solving conflict early on is to prevent racism and misunderstandings within cultures and social groups is to have an understanding of

The idea of feminism is commonly misconstrued in society as having a pro-female only agenda. Butler, (2011) argues that feminism is simply the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes. Based off evidence provided in Bardsley’s

Today, the feminist movement has grown and is still growing as women around the globe have joined hands in the fight against inequality. Even though a lot has changed, all feminists, despite

In terms of gender equality, myriads of accomplishments have paved the way towards the elusive egalitarian society many idealize. The Equal Pay Act and the fight for women’s suffrage were quintessential landmarks exemplifying the valiant struggles of women in the past to establish themselves as equals to men in society today. However, as with anything, society is not perfect and women are still exposed to a fair amount sexism even in the present day. Fortunately, women do not currently face legal inequality. Prejudice against women in modern times are usually concentrated instances forged by cultural constructs and cognitive bias. With that said, it is important to highlight the mistakes of the past in order to prevent societal regression in