Interpret the Evidence and Put It in Context

Document Links:

Document 18.5 Israel Zangwill, The Melting-Pot, 1908

Document 18.6 “The Mortar of Assimilation—and the One Element That Won’t Mix,” 1889

Document 18.7 “Be Just—Even to John Chinaman,” 1893

Document 18.8 Alfred P. Schultz, The Mongrelization of America, 1908

Document 18.9 Randolph S. Bourne, Trans-national America, 1916

Interpret the Evidence

  1. According to Israel Zangwill, how will immigrants become “real Americans” (Document 18.5)?

  2. According to the Puck cartoon (Document 18.6), what are the limits of the melting pot?

  3. Why might other immigrant groups have supported Chinese exclusion (Document 18.7)?

  4. Describe Alfred Schultz’s view of the melting pot and the possibilities of assimilation (Document 18.8)? How would he evaluate the Puck cartoon?

  5. How does Randolph Bourne’s vision of America’s future (Document 18.9) differ from that of Zangwill (Document 18.5)? On what points might the two men have agreed, and could they have satisfied Schultz (Document 18.8)?

Put It in Context

What are the limitations of the melting pot metaphor for immigrant assimilation?

What metaphor would you employ to describe the assimilation process? Why?

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