Abstract
Many terms have been used to describe the process by which immigrants become part of the American population: they are “incorporated”, or “absorbed”, or “integrated”, or “assimilated”. Each of these terms has a somewhat different meaning, a somewhat different set of implications. “Assimilation” is perhaps the most widely used, and it is also the term that has become, in recent years, the most objectionable to many elements in the United States. It implies the almost complete disappearance of the original ethnic traits that characterize immigrants from a given nation. We also use the term “Americanization” to describe the process by which assimilation occurs. That also has become objectionable. The popular term that has been widely used to characterize the process and end-product of assimilation and Americanization, the “melting pot”, has equally become objectionable to many (Glazer, 1993). Terms such as “salad bowl” or “glorious mosaic” (in which the individual ethnic and racial elements that make up the American population would still be identifiable) have replaced these earlier terms.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Binder, Frederick M. and David M. Reimers (1995), All the Nations under Heaven: An Ethnic and Racial History of New York City (New York: Columbia University Press).
Borjas, George (1990) Friends or Strangers (New York: Basic Books).
Brimelow, Peter (1995), Alien Nation (New York: Random House).
Brumberg, Stephan F. (1986), Going to America, Going to School: The Jewish Immigrant Public School Encounter in Turn-of-the-Century New York City (New York: Praeger).
Edmonston, Barry, and Passel, Jeffrey S. (1994), Immigration and Ethnicity (Washington, DC: The Urban institute Press).
Fix, Michael and Passel, Jeffrey S. (1994), Immigration and Immigrants: Setting the Record Straight (Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press).
Fix, Michael and Zimmermann, Wendy (1994), “After Arrival: An Overview of Federal Immigrant Policy in the United States”, in Barry Edmonston and Jeffrey S. Passel (eds), Immigration and Ethnicity: The Integration of America’s Newest Arrivals (Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press).
Fuchs, Lawrence S. (1985), “The Search for a Sound Immigration Policy: A Personal View,” in Glazer, Nathan (ed.), Clamor at the Gates (San Francisco, CA: Institute for Contemporary studies Press).
Glazer, Nathan (1997), “Governmental and Nongovernmental roles in the Absorption of Immigrants in the United States,” in Schuck, Peter, and Munz, Rainer (eds), Paths to Inclusion: The Integration of Migrants in the United States and Germany (Oxford: Berghahn).
Glazer, Nathan (1995), “Immigration and the American Future,” The Public Interest, Winter, pp. 45–60.
Glazer, Nathan (1993), “Is Assimilation Dead?,” The Annals, 530 (November), pp. 122–36.
Kerner Commission (1968), Report (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office).
Lieberson, Stanley (1980), A Piece of the Pie: Blacks and White Immigrants since 1880 (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press).
Miller, Harris N. (1985) “The Right Thing to Do: A History of Simpson-Mazzoli,” in Glazer, Nathan (ed.), Clamor at the Gates (San Francisco, CA: Institute for Contemporary Studies Press).
Muller, Thomas (1993), Immigrants and the American City (New York: New York University Press).
Muller, Thomas and Espenshade, Thomas J. (1985), The Fourth Wave: California’s Newest Immigrants (Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press).
Passel, Jeffrey S. and Barry Edmonston (1994), “Immigration and Race: Recent Trends in Immigration to the United States”, in B. Edmonston and J. S. Passel, Immigration and Ethnicity.
Portes, Alejandro and Min Zhou (1993), “The New Second Generation: Segmented Assimilation and its Variants’”, The Annals, 530 (November), pp. 74–96.
Ross, Jane L. (1995), “Supplemental Security Income: Recent Growth in the Rolls Raises Fundamental Program Concerns”, testimony before the Subcommittee on Human Resources, Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives, 27 January 1995.
Schuck, Peter H. and Smith, Rogers M. (1985), Citizenship without Consent-Illegal Aliens in the American Polity (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press).
Simon, Julian (1989), The Economic Consequences of Immigration (Cambridge, MA: Blackwell).
Sorenson, Elaine and Enchautegui, Maria E. (1994), “Immigrant Male Earnings in the 1980s: Divergent Patterns by Race and Ethnicity,” in Edmonston and Passel, Immigration and Ethnicity.
Waters, Mary (1994), “Ethnic and Racial Identities of Second-generation Black Immigrants in New York City,” International Migration Review, 28(4), pp. 795–820.
Winnick, Louis (1990), New People in Old Communities: The Role of New Immigrants in Rejuvenating New York’s Communities (New York: Russell Sage Foundation).
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1998 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Glazer, N. (1998). The Incorporation of Immigrants in the United States. In: Weiner, M., Hanami, T. (eds) Temporary Workers or Future Citizens?. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-14418-1_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-14418-1_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-14420-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-14418-1
eBook Packages: Palgrave Social & Cultural Studies CollectionSocial Sciences (R0)