Melting Pot
The Metaphor of the Melting Pot
Peggy Ruth Geren
The melting pot has been used metaphorically to describe the dynamics of American social life. In addition to its descriptive uses, it has also been used to describe what should or should not take place in American social life. How did the term originate? How was it used originally? How is it used in contemporary society? What are some problems with the idea of the melting pot? How is public education connected to the idea of the melting pot? How does the melting pot function in American cultural and political ideology? These are some of the questions considered in the following discussion.
The Statue of Liberty is by now a universally recognized symbol of American political mythology. She stands at the entrance of New York harbor, wearing a spiked crown representing the light of liberty shining on the seven seas and the seven continents. The statue was a gift to the United States from the people of France in 1884. It is made of riveted copper sheets, only 3/32 of an inch thick, ingeniously attached to a framework designed by Louis Eiffel. Its construction is such that it will not be stressed by high winds or temperature changes (The world Book Encyclopedia, pp. 874-875). The symbolism of the statue is reinforced by Emma Lazarus’poem “The New Colossus”, which is inscribed on a plaque at the base of the statue.
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of exiles. From her beacon hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the tempest-tost to me.
I lift
Peggy Ruth Geren
The melting pot has been used metaphorically to describe the dynamics of American social life. In addition to its descriptive uses, it has also been used to describe what should or should not take place in American social life. How did the term originate? How was it used originally? How is it used in contemporary society? What are some problems with the idea of the melting pot? How is public education connected to the idea of the melting pot? How does the melting pot function in American cultural and political ideology? These are some of the questions considered in the following discussion.
The Statue of Liberty is by now a universally recognized symbol of American political mythology. She stands at the entrance of New York harbor, wearing a spiked crown representing the light of liberty shining on the seven seas and the seven continents. The statue was a gift to the United States from the people of France in 1884. It is made of riveted copper sheets, only 3/32 of an inch thick, ingeniously attached to a framework designed by Louis Eiffel. Its construction is such that it will not be stressed by high winds or temperature changes (The world Book Encyclopedia, pp. 874-875). The symbolism of the statue is reinforced by Emma Lazarus’poem “The New Colossus”, which is inscribed on a plaque at the base of the statue.
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of exiles. From her beacon hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the tempest-tost to me.
I lift
References: Adamic, L. (1941). Two Way Passage. New York: Harper & Brithers Publishers. Booth, W. (February 22,1998). “One Nation Indivisible: Is It History?”. Best, J. & Sidwell, R. (1967). The American Legacy of Learning. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company. Crevecouer, J.H. St. J. (1997). Letters From An American Farmer. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. Fischer, W. et al. (1997). Identity, Community, and Pluralism in American Life. New York: Oxford University Press. Glazer, W. & Moynihan, D. (1963). Beyond the Melting Pot. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The M.I.T Gutek, G. (1997). Historical and Philosophical Foundations of Education. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Merrill. Hirsch, E. (1987). Cultural Literacy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Noll, J. (2006). Taking Sides. Dubuque, Iowa; McGraw Hill/ Dushkin. Rippa, S. (1984). Education In a Free Society. White Plains, New York: Longman, Inc. World Book Encyclopedia, vol. 18. (1988). Chicago: World Book, Inc. World Book Encyclopedia, vol