The Melting Pot is a play by Israel Zangwill, first staged in 1908. The actual story line as well as the author have been lost to history save for those who have a deep interest in the subject. The term “melting pot” went on to have national significance in the American culture. Lately it has fallen out of use as new ideas of identity have come to the fore.
SOUTHERN EUROPEAN AND EASTERN EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS
The phrase “melting pot” was applied to immigrants from southern and eastern Europe who arrived via Ellis Island. The term could be used for other peoples as well. But its rise to national prominence occurred because of the largescale immigration to New York City, home of the Statue of Liberty, by people especially from southern and eastern Europe.
It referred to a process of Americanization of these people. It differed from the Indian schools where the children had no choice but to attend. The situation for these people was different. True, circumstances back home may have been horrific thus generating the desire to leave. Still the impact of first seeing the Statue of Liberty after a long ocean journey was a powerful one. Landing at airports don’t have quite the same power.
The storyline for the immigrants was quite simple.
They would learn English (or at least their children would).
They would attend American schools (or at least their children would).
They would work hard and eventually open small businesses.
They would attend college (or least their children would with CUNY becoming Harvard for immigrants).
They would tell stories about the American way of life. Hollywood became the immigrant storytelling center of the country where the new technology was harnessed to exalt the American way of life. With Christmas we will soon be inundated with showings of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It is a classic tale of living the American dream with such traditionally American-named actors like James Stewart and Donna Reed. In the background or as a subtext to the movie, we can see the building of Bailey Park, housing for the immigrants. The new Americans are welcomed into their homes by Stewart and Reed. For Sicilian Frank Capra, the story expressed a version of the American Dream come true.
They would sing songs about the American way of life. Immigrant Irving Berlin wrote “God Bless America” during World War I. He revised it during World War II. It became the “national” anthem Americans actually could sing. The iconic versions from the war later were joined by the Celine Dion version after 9/11. Clearly this immigrant song to the country of his naturalization became a defining song for that country.
Of course, there also is baseball. Back when baseball was the national pastime, it provided a way for immigrants to partake of the American Dream.
All in all the melting pot vision of America worked quite well. And these immigrants from southern and eastern Europe call ethnics rallied behind Roosevelt and the Democratic Party. For the mid-twentieth century they dominated politically at the national level and continued to do so into the latter part of the century.
SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE AND EASTERN HEMISPHERE IMMIGRANTS
Does the model for southern and eastern European immigrants apply to southern and eastern hemisphere immigrants?
Times have changed. People are called upon to retain their authenticity. They are called upon not to abandon their heritage for the “American culture.” After all what is so great about the American way of life anyway? It is a country born in sin not that these immigrants were here in 1619. It is a country born through the displacement of the original settlers not that these immigrants did the displacement. So why celebrate your citizenship? Why celebrate the sesquicentennial of a country that you did not help create in the first place?
The problem is that immigrants from the southern and eastern hemispheres are proud to be Americans. They or their children (or grandchildren) do learned English. They intermarry with “real” Americans both in our Hollywood stories and in real life. They do go to public schools and want them to be better. While their path may not be identical to the one taken by southern and eastern European immigrants just a few decades earlier, there are enough similarities to see that the melting pot vision of the United States did function.
SECURE BOUNDARIES
When it comes to the present, not all legal and illegal immigrants are alike. The legal immigrants from both waves know their country of origin and played by the rules to become naturalized Americans.
They have no objections to additional immigrants provided they play by the rules.
They have no objections to immigrants who play by the rules receiving government assistance aka taxpayer money.
What they object to is a system in chaos where taxpayer money is ceaselessly spent on people who did not follow the same rules their predecessors did. Immigrants from southern and eastern hemispheres who play by the rules and are living the American dream object to the assistance given to people did not. Just because someone arrives from the same country as a naturalized American does not mean that they will be welcome with open arms.
Democrats misjudged the immigrant situation. First, immigrants from southern and eastern hemispheres have more in common with immigrants from southern and eastern Europe than they do with people arriving now even from their original country. Second immigrants from southern and Eastern Europe have more in common with the 19th century immigrants than they do with people arriving in chaos today. Third people who arrived in the 19th century have more in common with people who arrived four-score and seven years ago and created this country. In short, the American melting pot model has been working ever since we became a country. The national political party that realizes that and embraces that reality will be the one which dominates politically.
