Debate

Melting Pot in America was failed.

Melting pot has two words, “melt” and “pot”. According to literal meaning, “Melt” means Reduce or cause to be reduced from a solid to a liquid state and “pot” means place. Melting pot means that an environment in which many ideas and races are socially assimilated.

The history of melting pot occurred since 19^th Centuries when German, Irish, Russia, and English immigrant to America after revolution of French. Population of America getting pressure, fragmentation of land in rural Europe and famines drove millions of Europeans to the new world. Throughout the 19^th and 20^th Centuries, America’s ports teemed with German, Chinese, Irish, Italian, and polish immigrants.

Until 1882, the US government practice law about opening an immigration policy, but at the end of the century, it began to take over the immigration control by excluding prostitutes, criminals, alcoholics.

Why melting pot in America has failed ?

America take pride in their melting pot society (the term of immigrant, Israel Tangwill) that encourage newcomers to assimilate into one-America culture, but the melting pot imagery has been contested by the idea of multiculturalism, “The Salad Bowl Theory”, or in Canada known as “Cultural Mosaic” whereby the immigrants retain their own national characteristics while integrating into  a new society. According to Professor Huntington, the reality of American history is best described as “tomato soup” because of the blending of new ingredients adds spice without compromising the essential character of tomato. For example, some immigrants had thought that America unwelcome to them. Immigrant come and change America and are change by America (Douglas Rivelin).

A century later, Ralph Waldo Emeron used the melting pot image to describe “the fusing process” that transforms the English, the German, and the Irish immigrant into an America. Of course this process of assimilation also entailed costs and painful sacrifices, having voted with his feet for superiority of America, the immigrant was required to become America, to learn the language, history, political principle, and civic customs that identified an America as America.

Is it irony? Nowadays, Korean-America people in America were suffered with the society in America. They got some sneering from the original America people and also got discrimination. The person from England was pitched by American children. He only seen the after school children through the window, but suddenly he got pitch a basket ball toward him. He felt discrimination because of he an English man, and many more.