Eleanor Finch
The US Constitution has historically been interpreted as supporting the ideas of assimilation, particularly in the context of cultural assimilation of Native Americans and immigrants. From the late 1700s to the 1960s, various policies and efforts were undertaken to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream European-American culture, often under the guise of civilizing or Americanizing them. This included the removal of Native Americans from their lands and the implementation of educational curricula designed to immerse them in European-American culture. Supreme Court cases during this era, such as United States v. Sandoval, reflected a paternalistic view of Native Americans as wards of the nation. On the other hand, multicultural policies aim to support the maintenance of immigrants' cultures and traditions while promoting their inclusion and participation in society, reducing discrimination, and improving their economic and societal position. In contrast, assimilation policies in the US have traditionally focused on encouraging immigrants to adopt the language, customs, and values of the majority while discarding their cultural heritage. This notion of assimilation has been promoted by prominent figures such as George Washington, who believed that immigrants should assimilate to become one people. However, critics argue that this assimilation erodes loyalty to common core values and contributes to a fragmented national identity.
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What You'll Learn
The US Constitution and the cultural assimilation of Native Americans
The US Constitution, signed in 1787, was influenced by the tribal political entities that were neighbours of the newly formed US government. Many of the Founding Fathers, including Benjamin Franklin, had negotiated treaties and engaged in diplomatic relations with Native American tribes, and were familiar with their systems of governance. Franklin, for instance, studied the governance of the Iroquois Confederacy, which separated military and civil leadership, guarded religious freedom, and included democratic policies. John Adams suggested that those drafting the Constitution study the governments of "the ancient Germans and modern Indians," citing the Mohawks as an example of a group with "complete individual independence." Thomas Jefferson also studied and expressed admiration for Native systems of government, noting their "lack of law" compared to European systems.
Despite this familiarity and admiration, the United States made a series of efforts to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream European-American culture between 1790 and the 1960s. George Washington and Henry Knox were the first to propose the cultural assimilation of Native Americans, formulating a policy to encourage the "civilizing process." With increased immigration from Europe, there was growing public support for education to encourage a standard set of cultural values and practices among citizens. Education was viewed as the primary method to acculturate minorities, with the belief that Indigenous people would merge tribal traditions with American culture and peacefully join the majority society. This process often involved Native Americans converting to Christianity and leaving their former way of life to embrace the ideals and practices of the "Ideal American." This course of action was often forced on Native Americans, with the alternative being expulsion from their lands or death.
During the assimilation era, several US Supreme Court cases focused on the sovereignty of Native American nations and their rights. The Supreme Court's rulings during this period reflected a paternalistic view of Native Americans as "wards of the nation." For example, the Sandoval Act of 1913 reversed a previous decision and claimed that the Pueblo were "not beyond the range of congressional power under the Constitution," resulting in continued prohibition of liquor sales to Native Americans. Other cases, such as Ex parte Crow Dog, addressed the sovereignty of Native American nations and set precedents for later legislation. The Indian Education for All Act in Montana is a more recent example of legislation aimed at preserving Native American culture and heritage by mandating the teaching of American Indian history and culture in schools.
In conclusion, while the US Constitution was influenced by Native American systems of governance, the historical efforts to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream European-American culture have been complex and often forced, with varying degrees of success. The US Constitution has been interpreted in different ways regarding the sovereignty and rights of Native American nations, and the recognition of their unique status as distinct from regular citizens has been a ongoing process.
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The melting pot: individual rights over group identity
The concept of the "melting pot" in the context of assimilation refers to the idea that American identity is formed not by factors such as race, sect, or ethnicity, but by the unifying beliefs and political ideals enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. This notion emphasizes individual rights and freedoms that transcend group identity. According to this ideology, the United States is a nation of immigrants, and assimilation is the process by which immigrants adopt the dominant language, customs, and values of the host nation, abandoning their own cultural heritage to varying degrees.
Historically, the United States has a long history of assimilation policies, particularly regarding Native Americans and immigrants. Since the nation's founding, there has been a belief in the need for assimilation, with figures like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson advocating for it. The idea was that through intermixing with existing citizens, immigrants would adopt American customs, measures, and laws, eventually becoming "one people." This belief in assimilation continued through the Progressive Era, with a focus on education as a tool for acculturating minorities, particularly Native Americans, into mainstream European-American culture. The Carlisle curriculum, for example, immersed Native American children in mainstream culture and provided vocational training, reflecting the belief that education would enable the merging of tribal traditions with American culture.
While the melting pot theory emphasizes individual rights, the historical implementation of assimilation policies has often conflicted with this ideal. Native Americans, for instance, experienced forced assimilation policies that aimed to destroy their traditional cultural identities. The Allotment Act of 1887, also known as the Dawes Act, ended the policy of granting land parcels to entire tribes and instead granted small parcels to individual tribe members, pressuring them to become farmers or ranchers and facilitating their assimilation. Additionally, Supreme Court cases during the assimilation era, such as United States v. Sandoval (1913), reflected the paternalistic view of Native Americans as "wards of the nation," needing protection and separate treatment under the law.
In more recent times, the melting pot idea has faced challenges due to multicultural identity politics and the celebration of cultural differences. While the melting pot theory emphasizes individual rights over group identity, multicultural policies aim to support the maintenance of immigrants' cultures and traditions while promoting their inclusion and participation in society. This shift in perspective, reflected in the "salad bowl" metaphor, acknowledges the existence of diverse identities within a nation, bound together by shared laws and economic systems.
Despite the idealistic notion of the melting pot, the reality of assimilation has often been complex and contentious. While it strives for inclusivity and the protection of individual rights, the process of assimilation can entail costs and sacrifices, and historical assimilation policies have often been coercive and destructive of cultural identities. As such, the tension between the melting pot ideal and the reality of group identities continues to shape discussions around assimilation and the very definition of American identity.
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Multicultural policies: supporting cultural diversity
Multicultural policies are designed to support cultural diversity and immigrant integration. They aim to promote the inclusion and participation of immigrants in society, thereby reducing discrimination, increasing equality, and improving the economic and societal position of immigrants. Multiculturalism, as a concept, refers to the coexistence of multiple cultures within a single society. It is often used in sociology and political philosophy to describe a society with diverse ethnic and cultural groups.
Multicultural policies have two main goals. Firstly, they aim to support the maintenance of immigrants' cultures and traditions. This involves recognizing and valuing cultural diversity, rather than expecting immigrants to abandon their cultural heritage. Secondly, they focus on promoting the inclusion and participation of immigrants in society, which involves reducing discrimination and increasing equality. This is achieved through various means, such as bilingual education, anti-discrimination laws, and equitable access to services and opportunities.
Canada is often cited as a successful example of multiculturalism. Canadian multiculturalism, adopted as official policy in the 1970s and 1980s, cherishes immigrant ways of life and is reflected in laws such as the Canadian Multiculturalism Act and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Similarly, Luxembourg, with nearly half of its population being foreign-born, officially promotes and implements the objectives of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. This convention affirms multicultural policies and creates political awareness of cultural diversity.
In the United States, the approach to multiculturalism has been characterized as "laissez-faire," with a focus on distant, neutral relations with immigrants and ethnic organizations. While there is no federal push for multicultural programming, most states with higher diversity or larger immigrant populations, such as California and New York, have adopted multicultural principles in their school curricula. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, created by the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, also encourages the development of content that addresses the needs of underserved audiences, including minorities.
Critics of multiculturalism argue that it can lead to fragmentation and separatism, with immigrants prioritizing their original cultures over the shared national identity. This can be exacerbated by schools and popular culture, which may reinforce a sense of rivalry between identity groups. Additionally, some countries, like the US and UK, have been accused of having assimilationist policies that emphasize the adoption of the majority language, customs, and values, rather than supporting cultural diversity.
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Assimilation policies: homogenising the population
Assimilation policies have long been a feature of American political life, with the aim of homogenising the population and reducing cultural diversity. From the late 18th century to the 1960s, a series of efforts were made to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream European-American culture. This was known as the "civilising process", and it was believed that education was the primary method of acculturating minorities. Later, in the 19th century, the federal government adopted a policy of forced assimilation, relocating Native Americans from their reservations and granting small parcels of land to individual tribe members to pressure them into becoming farmers or ranchers.
The idea of the "melting pot" has been used to describe the notion of American identity as one formed by unifying beliefs and political ideals, enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. This ideal, however, has been violated throughout American history by racism, ethnocentrism, xenophobia, and other prejudices. In the modern era, multicultural policies have emerged as an alternative to assimilation, with the goal of supporting the maintenance of immigrants' cultures while promoting their inclusion and participation in society.
Despite the existence of multicultural policies, assimilation policies continue to play a role in American society. English has been promoted as a crucial aspect of patriotic assimilation, with schools, civil society organisations, and governments at various levels encouraging its mastery among newcomers. This has been framed as a way to foster harmony and cooperation, ensuring that immigrants' interests and affections become deeply rooted in America and that they adopt the national consciousness.
Critics of assimilation policies argue that they can be a method of dominance, and that they fail to respect the cultural heritage and traditions of immigrants. Instead, alternatives such as integration have been proposed, which allow for the maintenance of cultural diversity while also fostering social cohesion. However, integration policies have their own challenges, requiring careful consideration of fair and useful service outcomes delivered through systems and structures that allow for user-led intervention methods.
In conclusion, assimilation policies in the United States have historically aimed to homogenise the population by encouraging the adoption of mainstream cultural values and practices. While multicultural policies have gained traction in recent years, assimilationist approaches continue to shape the way immigrants are received and integrated into American society. The balance between cultural diversity and social cohesion remains a complex issue that policymakers and society continue to grapple with.
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Patriotic assimilation: the American way of life
Assimilation has been a part of the American way of life since the country's founding. Since the days of George Washington, the patriotic assimilation of immigrants has been a key aspect of American civic life. This process, also known as "Americanization," aims to welcome immigrants and integrate them into the mainstream culture and values of the United States.
The idea of a "melting pot" captures the notion that American identity is formed not by blood, sect, or race, but by the unifying beliefs and political ideals enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. These ideals include the notion of individual, inalienable human rights that transcend group identity. While this ideal has been violated throughout American history by racism, ethnocentrism, and other prejudices, changes in laws and social norms have made the United States a more inclusive and tolerant nation.
The English language has played a crucial role in patriotic assimilation. Immigrants were expected to adopt English and assimilate into the dominant culture, abandoning their own cultural heritage. This was often facilitated through education, which was seen as the primary method for minorities to acquire the customs and values of the United States. However, this expectation was not always reciprocated, as there was little willingness to modify the majority culture to accommodate immigrant traditions.
The United States has a long history of attempting to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream European-American culture. From the early 1800s to the 1960s, various policies and efforts were made to acculturate Native Americans, including the use of reservations and the Dawes Act, which pressured Native Americans into becoming farmers and ranchers. While some Native Americans voluntarily adopted aspects of European-American culture, others resisted assimilation and fought to protect their cultural identities and sovereignty.
In recent times, the concept of assimilation has evolved. Starting in the 1960s, the metaphor of a "salad bowl" emerged, suggesting that different ethnic groups could coexist while maintaining their separate identities, bound together by shared laws and economic systems. Multicultural policies have also gained traction, aiming to support the maintenance of immigrants' cultures while promoting their inclusion and participation in society. However, the challenge of assimilating immigrants into the American way of life remains a complex and ongoing process.
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Frequently asked questions
The melting pot idea communicates the historically exceptional notion of American identity as one formed not by the accidents of blood, sect, or race, but by the unifying beliefs and political ideals enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Multicultural policies have two principal goals: supporting the maintenance of immigrants' culture and traditions, and promoting the inclusion and participation of immigrants in society, thereby reducing discrimination and improving their economic and societal position.
Assimilation policies are based on the idea that immigrants should adopt the language, customs, and values of the national majorities, and abandon their own cultural heritage.
Since the days of George Washington, the US has had a long history of assimilation policies. In the early 1800s, the US government adopted policies aimed at acculturating and assimilating Native Americans into European-American society. This continued until the 1960s, when a new vision of pluralism arose, captured in the metaphor of the salad bowl, where different ethnic groups would coexist in their separate identities.
While the US Constitution has been interpreted in various ways, some scholars argue that it contains multiple and contradictory ideals. The common identity shaped by the Constitution has been replaced by fragmented micro-identities, and the problems of illegal immigration have been worsened by multicultural identity politics. Additionally, the constitutional order has been criticised for accommodating subordination and colonialism, with Native scholars and activists worried about a totalizing vision that would completely assimilate them.
