Assimilation Versus Acculturation: Historical Context

Mr. Evans’ History Documents

Assimilation is when a minority group adopts the beliefs, culture, and way of life of the dominant culture. During the 1890s-1900s Americans wanted the “new” immigrants to stop following their old culture and beliefs, such as religion, traditions, and customs, and instead adopt the ideals and characteristics of Americans to create one homogenous culture shared between people of all backgrounds. Acculturation is when the minority culture is changed by the dominant culture, but the minority culture is still able to retain unique cultural markers of language, food, and customs. During the 1890s-1900s many “new” immigrants refused to give up their cultural identities in order to merge into American society. Each of these terms can be simplified into a cultural theory, the “melting pot” theory and the “salad bowl” theory. The “melting pot” theory describes society as a mixture of people of different cultures and races who blend together by abandoning their native languages and customs. The “salad bowl” theory describes society as the integration of the many different cultures in the United States where each culture retains their own unique cultural characteristics.