The Great American Melting Pot?: Assimilation and Ethnic Identity in the United States

The United States has long described itself as a “Melting Pot,” a nation created by the blending of many people from around the world. But few people are clear about what they mean when they use this term, and the phrase has often been controversial and rejected as being either inaccurate or culturally offensive and oppressive. What do we mean when we say, “America or the United States is a melting pot”? Where did this phrase come from and how has it changed over time? Is this term even accurate in describing American society and immigration history? Using examples from the German immigrant community in New York City in the late 19th-early 20^th centuries, this talk argues that the U.S. has experienced a type of Melting Pot – for the descendants of white European immigrants, but ethno-racial and religious diversity have persisted.