The USA is sometimes called “land of the immigrants” or “the promised land”. In early times immagrants from different origins and nationalities immigrated to the USA. That’s why the USA developed to a multicultural society. There is the great idea of all people from different nations living together. America is designates as a “melting pot”.
This term tries to discribe the assimilation of immigrants into American life. Its literal meaning is a chemical one: several different elements melted together to form a new product. The idea was that immigrants would fuse together with the “old” Americans, giving up their old lifestyles and cultures to form one American nation. The motto “ e pluribus unum” which still appears on American coins today, has been used since 1782, reflecting how even the early Americans saw their conuntry.
But does a mutlicultural society system like this really work? That’s the main point I will try to work out in my research paper. To get through this topic it needs to be defined very clearly what immigrations means in general and to describe briefly the immigration process from the early times till nowadays. This should be explained with some facts and figures to build the foundation of the following analysis. I will also show the reasons and problems of illegal immigration which is an important topic in the American society. That brings us to the next point the Hispanic Americans, which representativ for American immigrants. I will use The Hispanic Americans as an example to mark the assimilation problem of immigrants in the USA. Furthermore you can use this group of immigrants to explain the multicultural situation in the USA today. I will round off my work with the part of the conclusion and I will try to give an answer to the question asked in the beginnig of the work.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Historical Part
- Several waves of immigration to the USA
- New York as an example of a multicultural society
- The Hispanic Americans
- As the best example of assimilation problems
- Facts of immigration and origin
- Problems of assimilation
- Illegal immigration
- Conclusion
Objectives and Key Themes
This research paper examines the concept of immigration and assimilation in a multicultural society, using the United States as a case study. The paper explores the historical development of immigration to the USA, highlighting key waves of immigration and their motivations. The paper aims to analyze the challenges and complexities of assimilation, focusing on the experiences of Hispanic Americans as a representative group.
- The historical development of immigration to the USA
- The concept of a "melting pot" and its relevance to American society
- The challenges and complexities of immigrant assimilation
- The experiences of Hispanic Americans as a representative group
- The issue of illegal immigration in the United States
Chapter Summaries
- Introduction: This chapter introduces the concept of the USA as a "land of immigrants" and explores the idea of the "melting pot" as a model for immigrant assimilation. It raises the question of whether this model actually works in practice.
- Historical Part: This chapter delves into the history of immigration to the USA, outlining three major waves of immigration: colonial immigration (1680-1776), the "old immigrants" (1820-1900), and the "new immigrants" (1890-1930). The chapter provides a detailed overview of the demographics, motivations, and impact of each wave of immigration.
- New York as an example of a multicultural society: This chapter uses the example of New York City to illustrate the diverse and multicultural nature of American society.
- The Hispanic Americans: This chapter examines the experiences of Hispanic Americans as a representative group of immigrants in the USA. It explores their historical background, the reasons for their immigration, and the challenges they face in assimilating into American society. It also examines the issue of illegal immigration and its impact on the Hispanic American community.
Keywords
This paper explores the concepts of immigration, assimilation, multiculturalism, and the "melting pot" model. It analyzes the experiences of Hispanic Americans in the USA, examining issues such as illegal immigration and challenges to assimilation. The paper draws on historical data and analyzes various waves of immigration to the United States.
- Quote paper
- Tamara Schaub (Author), 2005, The problems of immigration and assimilation in a multicultural society, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/64537
