Module 3: The Melting Pot
Essential Question: How did later immigrant waves contribute to the American identity?
Massive immigration after 1870 and how new social patterns, conflicts, and ideas of national unity developed amid growing cultural diversity.
- 4 Waves of Immigration
- Policies and Laws (Ellis & Angel Islands)
- Diversity in America
- Where am I from?
The United States of America thrives on diversity. A synthesis of the world’s plentiful and varied races, religions, and cultures, America is a home to all, such that no one group can call itself more “American” than another. And the fusion of cultures here is so unique and so exceptional that citizens can be just as proud of their original cultural heritage as they are to be an American.
We take a good look at what it means to be “American” and examine the rich heritages that make up our country. Each culture provides its own special and irreplaceable contribution to our understanding of America today. From Asia to Europe to Africa to Latin America, we trace each nationality’s broad history and important contributions to the American way of life. Diversity in America not only presents a host of intimate snapshots of culture and heritage, but documents the struggles of nationalities to integrate into the “melting pot” society of America, and highlights the strength and integrity of various cultural leaders and thinkers. Without its rich mixture of religions, races, and cultures, America would not be the nation that it is today. Founded upon the basis of equality and freedom for all, America acts as a stage where intensely different cultures not only coexist peacefully, but also thrive symbiotically and create a nation. The American Experience recognizes this and celebrates it in The Melting Pot.
We take a good look at what it means to be “American” and examine the rich heritages that make up our country. Each culture provides its own special and irreplaceable contribution to our understanding of America today. From Asia to Europe to Africa to Latin America, we trace each nationality’s broad history and important contributions to the American way of life. Diversity in America not only presents a host of intimate snapshots of culture and heritage, but documents the struggles of nationalities to integrate into the “melting pot” society of America, and highlights the strength and integrity of various cultural leaders and thinkers. Without its rich mixture of religions, races, and cultures, America would not be the nation that it is today. Founded upon the basis of equality and freedom for all, America acts as a stage where intensely different cultures not only coexist peacefully, but also thrive symbiotically and create a nation. The American Experience recognizes this and celebrates it in The Melting Pot.