Pluralism

A Precursor to Pluralism

Against a tide of significant migration into America, by and large, America has Historically approached cultural and ethnic difference from an assimilationist perspective. The expectation was that migrants would over time encounter a melting pot—that is, they would blend into existing American cultural, social, and political values. These expectations can, for example, be strikingly captured through speeches made by American presidents and leading politicians, particularly in the 18th, 19th, and early parts of the 20th centuries. Speeches made by President Theodore Roosevelt of the United States after leaving office with reference to the time-significant migration between 1904 and 1908 underline this point.

Although assimilation has largely been associated with the United States, such an approach to migration is often compared to the French government's assimilationist policy. Some studies focusing on identity and ethnocultural differences suggest that comparisons between what may be called assimilationist approaches in America, Canada, and France can be too simplistic in that the modes of assimilation have emerged from somewhat dissimilar contexts.

As can be observed from the preceding discussion, underlying the assimilationist practice was an aspiration by the host society to foster a state that was truly American. Thus, the American state was conceptualized in terms of immigrants learning and embracing American language, education, and political and cultural values. It is important to note though that, at times, migrants themselves deemed it beneficial to learn the host nation's language and embrace American values, religion, and education with the aim and expectation of improving their chances for employment and acceptance within social circles. However, from as early as 1915, critics of assimilationist policies such as Horace Kallen argued that Anglo-conformist policies that demanded migrants abandon their culture, religion, and language were incompatible with American democratic ideals. During the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries and indeed the first part of the 21st century, the concept of assimilation and its dominant ideologies were seldom challenged, explored, or discussed in depth. Against this background, hardly any other options were considered for dealing with cultural difference or identity.

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