“Fortunately, the time has long passed when people liked to regard the United States as some kind of melting pot, taking men and women from every part of the world and converting them into standardized, homogenized Americans. We are, I think, much more mature and wise today. Just as we welcome a world of diversity, so we glory in an America of diversity - an America all the richer for the many different and distinctive strands of which it is woven.”
(Hubert H. Humphrey)
This term paper deals with the reasons for the challenging task of defining America’s national identity and will introduce several historical concepts of defining this terminology. The aim of the following pages is to answer the question if the terms melting pot or salad bowl are truly reflecting a multicultural American society, if the myth of the American Dream includes all the various ethnicities living in the USA and if there is a unique national identity that is shared by the whole population of the U.S.
Contents
1. Introduction
2. America’s National Identity
3. The Difficulty of Finding an Overarching National Identity
3.1 Immigration
3.1.1 The First Wave: Colonial Immigration
3.1.2 The Second Wave: Old Immigration
3.1.3 The Third Wave: New Immigration
3.2 Today’s Racial and Ethnic Demography of the USA
3.3 First Roundup: Immigrants, Heterogeneity and National Identity
4. Concepts of National Identity in the Past
4.1 Assimilation trough Ethnic Blending: The Melting Pot
4.2 Assimilation through Americanization
4.3 American Nationalism and Anglo-Saxon Racism
4.4 Cultural Pluralism and the Salad Bowl
5. Second Roundup: U.S. National Identity Today
6. Final Note
7. References
Frequently Asked Questions about America’s National Identity
What is the main goal of this term paper?
The paper explores the challenges of defining a unique American national identity and evaluates historical concepts of ethnic diversity.
What is the difference between the 'Melting Pot' and 'Salad Bowl' concepts?
The 'Melting Pot' represents assimilation through ethnic blending into a standardized identity, while the 'Salad Bowl' emphasizes cultural pluralism where distinct ethnicities coexist.
Which waves of immigration are discussed in the paper?
The paper categorizes immigration into three waves: Colonial Immigration, Old Immigration, and New Immigration.
How does the paper view the 'American Dream' in relation to diversity?
It questions whether the myth of the American Dream truly includes all various ethnicities living in the USA today.
What are the historical concepts of national identity mentioned?
Concepts include ethnic blending, Americanization, Anglo-Saxon nationalism, and cultural pluralism.
- Quote paper
- Pet Er (Author), 2012, The Changing Perception of America’s National Identity with Regard to Ethnic Diversity, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/199988
