{"product_id":"democracy-versus-the-melting-pot-a-study-of-american-nationality-9781646790012","title":"Democracy versus the Melting Pot: A Study of American Nationality","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"Eliminate the pressure of immigration, and we may be headed for a caste system based on ethnic diversity and mitigated to only a negligible degree by economic differences.\" --Horace Kallen, in \u003cem\u003eDemocracy versus the Melting Pot\u003c\/em\u003e, 1915\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDemocracy versus the Melting Pot \u003c\/em\u003ewas published in \u003cem\u003eThe Nation\u003c\/em\u003e magazine by Horace Kallen in 1915, at a time when the United States were receiving the largest influx of immigrants in history. The government tried to enable the assimilation of those diverse peoples into \"American\" culture through \"Americanization\" programs, but Kallen saw these programs as being mostly in the interest of Anglo-Saxon business classes and against the spirit of democracy. Kallen rejected the \"melting pot\" concept, and supported \"cultural pluralism,\" a term he coined.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDemocracy versus the Melting Pot\u003c\/em\u003e also strongly influenced Randolph Bourne, another progressive writer. Just as Kallen, Bourne was also against forcing immigrants to assimilate to the dominant Anglo-Saxon culture as he described in his famous article \u003cem\u003eTrans-national America\u003c\/em\u003e in 1916.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKallen's work is relevant as ever for students of history, political scientists, and others interested in the current discussion about immigration in America.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKallen, Horace:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - HORACE M. KALLEN (1882-1974) was a Polish-born American philosopher, who was the first Jew to teach at Princeton University. Later he lectured at Harvard, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and in 1918 became a professor at The New School in New York City as a founding member.","brand":"Cosimo Classics","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50494134288658,"sku":"9781646790012","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_240e8407-45e6-45b0-ba9e-c55ff8b04379.jpg?v=1730660286","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/democracy-versus-the-melting-pot-a-study-of-american-nationality-9781646790012","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}