ed States into another Germany or a Catholic state paying primary allegiance to the Pope in Rome.
Starting in the 1880s, more than 60 percent of the immigrants to the United States began to come from Mediterranean countries and Asia. O'Neill reports, "Most spoke languages unintelligible to Americans. Most had dark skin, hair, and eyes, in contrast to the lighter skin and features of the northern and western Europeans who had come . . . earlier" (104). These arrivals created significant problems, unique to the United States. As O'Neill writes, "No other country has been created by the members of so many different nations" (23). Clashes between cultures came to define the American character and forced Americans to consider whether they could truly integrate every newcomer into a coherent society.
The challenge of defining America and the meaning of being an American has fascinated social historians since the founding of the nation. John Higham catalogues "the most notable American traits: idealism; flexibility and adaptability to change; a depend
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