At the beginning of the twentieth century, steamships poured into American ports, filled with the largest number of immigrants in history. While this “Great Wave of Immigration” began in 1880, it exploded during the first decade of the century. More growth was seen from 1900 to 1910 than any previous decade in American history. The majority of these immigrants were coming from non-English speaking countries: Southern and Eastern Europe, especially Poland, Italy, and Russia. Whether they were escaping racial, religious, or political persecution, or seeking relief from famine or lack of economic opportunity, they all shared the same aspiration: to make a better life for themselves and their families. These European countries, however, were drastically different than the United States in terms of culture and language, which led to a difficulty in adjusting to life that many of these immigrants experienced.

At the same time, Israel Zangwill, an English playwright, introduced a play entitled “The Melting Pot”. Although the use of the idea of “melting” as a metaphor for assimilation had been explored before, Zangwill related it directly to the American society. The idea of the melting pot holds the promise that each immigrant, regardless of race and background, can be transformed into an American. Although the story line of the play has long since been forgotten, its main theme has been consistently discussed since its introduction over a century ago, and has become central to America’s national identity.

One of the lines of the play states “America is God’s Crucible, the great Melting Pot where all the races of Europe are melting and reforming! […] German and Frenchman, Irishman, and Englishman, Jews and Russians…” In other words, America was transforming the “races” of Europe into one white American race, as there was no mention of Native Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans, or Chinese Americans. This, of course, has to do with the time period in which the play was written, when more than 75 percent of all immigrants entering the United States were emigrating from European countries. Nevertheless, America’s theory of the Melting Pot calls for assimilation and the concept of assimilation is inherently racist and oppressive for a plethora of reasons.

In the Melting Pot Theory, immigrants come to America, bringing with them their rich cultural history that they melt into the ever-evolving homogenous broth. Some groups— particularly minorities— have been largely excluded from this melting process. While they are expected to shed the undesirable and unfamiliar aspects of their culture, the flavor of the pot has been and always will be distinctly white. Rather than an equal blending of cultures, assimilation in the United States is largely one-sided, as immigrants and minority groups are expected to give up their traditions and conform to the preexisting Anglo-American culture. Consequently, they gradually lose their cultural identity, melting the parts of themselves central to their sense of self, becoming part of the broth, and thus becoming indistinguishably American. In practice, assimilation leads to a loss of a sense of identity for people of less dominant cultures, as they lose their original language and culture, a process that can be both demoralizing and dehumanizing.

Ultimately, in theory, the melting pot would include learning about other cultures for mutual enrichment. In practice, however, the melting pot requires minorities to melt the undesirable aspects of their culture, yet still excludes these parts in the overall soup; all you can taste is the culture of the dominant group.