Towards the start of the twentieth century, America was deemed the “melting pot”. This term originated from the steamboats full of immigrants from all over Europe that entered American ports during that time. The majority of these immigrants were German, Irish, Italian, and East European. This was the largest inrush of immigrants in history, with nearly 18 million brand new citizens entering the United States. Now, immigrants to America typically come from either Mexico, China, or India. According to Pew Research Center’s 2018 survey, 25% of America’s immigrant population were from Mexico. They also found that nearly 1 million immigrants enter the United States each year. At the beginning of the twentieth century, we believed America to be a melting pot – a place where identities and cultural backgrounds would blend together into the single identity of “American”. The question is if that metaphor is still relevant and accurate for the America of today. Is there a better metaphor that we could use instead?

Despite the melting pot metaphor being a dated term, whether it was still relevant or not, many young people still remember learning about its importance in their Elementary School days. While the metaphor was originally meant to encourage the American ideals of “individual, inalienable human rights” and transform that into a shared, group identity, it soon became overshadowed by prejudices (Hoover Institution). Xenophobia, racism, and ethnocentrism tainted the idea of the melting pot and turned it into a weapon that was used to discourage multiculturalism and simple individualism.

Because immigrants are forced to learn the history and the ways of American life, whatever part of their own culture that does not fit into the traditional American values has to be discarded. They have to adjust and leave parts of themselves behind to “blend in” with their fellow citizens. The melting pot metaphor perpetuates this idea. In this way, many people believe the metaphor to be outdated and not applicable to today’s America.

A new and slightly improved metaphor was brought into play in the 1960s, called the Salad Bowl. This new metaphor represented the idea that the country could integrate and celebrate different cultures while also encouraging individual identities. These separate identities are still identifiable within the salad of America, but they also work to make up that salad. While it is not a perfect metaphor and does not fix the xenophobia, racism, and ethnocentrism that is rampant in many parts of America, it is more representative than its predecessor.

The salad bowl metaphor is present in the way that Chinese-Americans still celebrate the Chinese New Year and Mexican-Americans celebrate The Day of the Dead. They are no less American than anyone else just because they continue to celebrate and practice their culture. The melting pot metaphor can be seen in the way that Christians and non-Christians alike will often celebrate holidays like Christmas. Though not everyone practices the religion, many families will still give gifts on this day or have special dinners. There are essences of both ideas in different areas of our society, but in the larger picture, the salad bowl metaphor may be the more accurate representation of American culture.

American is made up of many different cultures, which work together to form the American “culture”. Many people would say that that fact is one of the best parts of America; our diversity is the root of our culture, as we do not quite have one of our own. People are free to believe and practice whatever they please, within reason, and that is what the entire appeal of America has been since it was founded. People came here for freedom and the specifically the freedom to be whoever they wanted to, so to call it a melting pot is not necessarily accurate and actually only furthers the bigotry in this country. While the salad bowl metaphor is not flawless, it is much more aligned with what America is meant to stand for.

Works Cited:

Booth, William. The Washington Post. www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/meltingpot/melt0222.htm.

Budiman, Abby. Key Findings about U.S. IMMIGRANTS. 22 Sept. 2020, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/08/20/key-findings-about-u-s-immigrants/#:~:text=Mexico%20is%20the%20top%20origin,and%20El%20Salvador%20(3%25).

Thornton, Bruce. “Melting Pots and Salad Bowls.” Hoover Institution, 16 Oct. 2012, www.hoover.org/research/melting-pots-and-salad-bowls.