US History

Assignment Details

In 1908, playwright Israel Zangwill referred to America as a melting pot. Zangwill’s concept of the United States as a country where people of all cultures and nations are free to come and contribute to a common American culture remains a popular concept—even more than a century after its introduction. 

More recently, the concept of the American mosaic asserts that American society consist not of melting pot in which people and cultures mix together to form a larger American culture, but as a mosaic in which ethnic groups come to the United States and coexist with other groups but maintain significant cultural and social distinctions among themselves.

Post a discussion that explores these themes by demonstrating how various cultures and ethnicities have contributed to modern American history and culture. Select 1 ethnic group, and include the following in your discussion:

Part 1

• Explain a specific contribution that this group made to American society or culture.

Part 2

• Evaluate the concepts of the melting pot and the American mosaic.
• Which concept more accurately reflects the experiences of the ethnic group you chose? Support your assertion.

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Choose one (1) Native American tribe residing within the continental United States (Lower 48 states) at the time of first European contact. Research various aspects of the chosen tribe’s culture or history. Make sure ample historical records exist for the chosen tribe. Some tribes are not well-documented in the existing historical record.

Topics that need
to be researched include but are not limited to:

• Describing what is known of the tribe’s pre-Columbian history, including settlement dates and any known cultural details. 
• Describing the cultural and religious beliefs of the chosen tribe.
• Describing the tribe’s history after contact, including major events and armed conflicts that may have been important to the history of the tribe in the present day.
• Explaining the history of at least one historical figure of the chosen tribe and events surrounding that individual’s life