The United States boasts the greatest cultural diversity of any nation in the world. Among these cultures are African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian Pacifics, and European immigrants. The common ground these groups share is their belief in the American Dream.
Diversity is found even within ethnic groups. Native-born blacks as well as recent immigrants from the Caribbean and Africa are classified as African-American. The term "Hispanic" refers to a wide range of groups including Mexican-Americans, Cuban-Americans, Puerto Ricans, and immigrants from South and Central America. (Mexican-Americans represent the largest group among the Hispanic population.) Native Americans are identified according to their tribal affiliation, which includes Sioux, Cherokee, Chippewa, and Navaho. European immigrants hail from countries as diverse as Ireland, England, France, and Germany. (Among Europeans, the Irish have emigrated to America in the greatest numbers in recent years.) An Asian-American could have Japanese, Chinese, Korean, or Southeast Asian ancestry. The United States truly represents a salad bowl of humanity: "America does not belong to one race or one group . . . Americans have been constantly redefining their national identity from the moment of first contact on the Virginia shore" (Takaki, 1993, p. 17).
America was once considered a country where different nationalities blended into a melting pot. This assimilation implied that successive generations would eventually obliterate their native customs in favor of becoming one hundred percent "American." Social scientists now realize that an ethnic group's retention of traditional customs is positive, and often results in a blending of the best of both cultures.
The degree of ties to their native countries provides an interesting point of comparison/contrast for America's immigrant ethnic groups. Asian Americans tend to maintain close political and eco...