Thomas Paine's Characterization Of America

America is the country metaphorically known as the ‘melting pot’, this implies the union of countless different cultures, ethnicities, religions, and backgrounds into America. They work in unison and everything runs smoothly between the people from different backgrounds because of America’s just government. This just government allows the people from all the varying cultures, ethnicities, and religions to have the freedom to do what they believe in, contrary to most other countries. Although the term ‘melting pot’ was not used to describe America until 1908 and is continually used today, America was made up of ample disparate individuals long before this phrase was introduced. In 1791 Thomas Paine, English pamphleteer and supporter of American
In this way, Paine’s characterization of America holds true today. Along with the constant relatively low taxes and the construction of our government around the rights of man and society, all of these differences are able to work in union and create a nation in which everything runs with ease, both in the past and present. Though true at the time, the rich are now privileged; the poor are oppressed, and there is a myriad of reasons that engender riots and conflict in America today. On that same note, America being the diverse melting pot is a key connection between Paine’s characterization of America in 1971 and today. One might think that with all of this diversity, conflict may break out. However, in America, this is not the case. America’s government is built on the true rights of man and this allows the country to support everyone’s differences without dispute. Back in 1971, Thomas Paine portrays America as being made up of people from different nations, accustomed to different governments, speaking different languages, and occupying different modes of worship. The same facts hold true today. For example, as of 2018, 350 different languages are spoken in America,
How is it possible that one country could brace all of these differences? America can support its diversity for the same reason it could in 1971, because of its just government. The American amendments keep our government just, seeing that they are built on our basic rights. Take the 14th amendment, for example, it grants equal rights for people of any ethnicity or background. In the familiar civil court case, Brown vs Board of Education, a class action suit was filed against the board of education in Topeka, Kansas, pleading for the reversal of the school's segregation policy (Vinson). After review, the United States Supreme Court declared that state laws establishing segregated schools were unconstitutional, practicing the nation’s rights of the 14th amendment. This outcome would not have been attainable if Americas just government did not recognize the need for equal rights of every man in the country. Or take the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City; in a moment of fright and sadness, people with vast differences all came together to help one another. To help search through the