Question

Drawing on your reading and the 1908 Zangwill quote (see below), discusses ways in which the idealistic "Melting Pot" vision of assimilation has been or perhaps is being fulfilled in the development of American society as well as weaknesses of the theory.

Zangwill Quote

"God is making the American!. . .the real American has not yet arrived. He will be the fusion of all races, perhaps the coming superman. . .the glory of America, where all races and nations come to labor and look forward."

Answer 1

The quote sounds like a prophecy that has been fulfilled if we look at the mix of nationalities living in harmony in the United States of America. The real American hasn't got one identity as America has embraced people from all over the world. Although there were disturbances in the name of colour, race and class in the past, it's not that severe today as American society has adopted a holistic approach in dealing with ethnic minority groups by taking them into the mainstream American Population. Ofcourse, God is making America because God is multifaceted who is present in all the races and classes.

The quote states that the real American hasn't arrived. So who are the natives, who were there from the time the human race evolved. They danced, sang and laboured to protect the land from all the calamities. The real White Americanism is a myth and they have coveted the land from the natives and treated them as if they were aliens.

Secondly, the Black Americans who were kidnapped and made slaves to work in America are the real Americans because for generations they had undergone the brutality in the hands of the White settlers.

So the quote is true to some sense and sounds false in another sense.

Thank you for your question.

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