Question

in the first half of the nations history, explain what it meant to be an American vs being a part of multicultural group?

Answer 1

Most of the items that are fairly called "multiculturalism" are evil, and most of the others are fine. We can all imagine poor versions of multiculturalism— those that significantly disrupt the social cohesion needed to maintain order or defend the nation in war; those in which many people in a modern economy speak unintelligible languages to one another; those in which members of some subcultures feel comfortable attacking people aggressively, whether from their own culture or from others; and so forth. But America is also built on its own kind of multiculturalism, which generally (although not always) has served us well.

Even after the Civil War, the country remained committed to a great deal of federalism, with the intention of allowing the people of each state to preserve their own legal and social cultures which might differ from those of other countries. Yet today's proponents of pro-federalism, including those who also deride multiculturalism in general terms, are committed to defending states ' right to maintain their own legal systems, which embody different cultural values.

Religious tolerance combined with federalism and localism often has helped people to live, be free, and pursue happiness in America without compromising or concealing their belief systems. Thus federalism and religious diversity also generate a wide array of ideological and governmental options which then compete with each other. In federalism, this concept is known as the "states as political laboratories." This suits the "marketplace of ideas" concept better for religious and other philosophies.

A person did not need to be a specific cultural, linguistic, religious, or ethnic background to be or to become an American. All he had to do was indulge in the political ideology based on the abstract ideals of freedom, equality and republicanism. Therefore, American nationality's universalist cultural nature meant it was available to anyone who wished to become an American. The history of racial and ethnic discrimination in America has challenged the universalist stance; being an American has also meant sharing a national culture, one primarily defined in terms of race, ethnicity and religion.