What do people mean when they refer to the United States as being a "Melting Pot"?

Question

What would be a better metaphor to describe it?

Just wondering...

Thanks a bunch!! =]

Answer 1

A trash can also holds all sorts of different things mixed up together. Melting pot is more positive as it indicates a blend.

Answer 2

A mix of many ethnicities and cultures in one country.

Answer 3

It means that people from many nations came to this country and tried to achieve and are still trying to achieve mixing together to become a whole.  Like a melting pot you heat different liquids (nationalities) to achieve a new substance (nation) America.  It is still in the experimental stage, because somehow we don't all quite melt down very well together.  I wish we did!

Answer 4

It's a melting pot of several different cultures, because they tend to blend together. It's hard to coin another metaphor for it that could do better than "melting pot"

Answer 5

It means that the USA is a country that absorbs other cultures. Migrants to the USA are encouraged to think of themselves as 'Americans', ie, an Indian that migrates to the US is encouraged to renounce the idea that they are Indian and think of themselves as now being 'American'. This is different to countries such as Australia that take the "salad bowl" approach wherein migrants are encouraged to think of themselves both as being both Australian and Indian and encouraged to keep their culture and traditions whilst also assimilating into their new country and culture. Hence, you could describe the US as being multi-ethnic but not multicultural.

As to a better metaphor? Identity-eating monster? :-)

Answer 6

it means different cultures and enthiticities

Answer 7

It just means that there are a lot of different ethnicities in the country. I don't really understand why it is called a melting pot.. I think it is suppose to mean that all different things are put into the pot but they melt into one whole thing... maybe a toss salad or bowl of M&M's would be more understandable, lol.