The Unmaking of Americans: How Multiculturalism Has Undermined the Assimilation Ethic

Immigration is one of those issues where cooler heads rarely prevail. Most literature on the topic is close to one of two perspectives: nativist restrictionism and libertarian free and open borders. Mr. Miller makes the case for a sensible and patriotic middle ground arguing for continued immigration coupled with the Americanization of our new residents. He makes a cogent and much needed contribution to the immigration issue. It is also a quick and interesting read.

This is a good book that argues the reasons why assimilation is a good public value and crucial to the happiness of the United States. It also presents a solid critique of multiculturalism and well argued discourse concerning the potentially destructive results if the "multi-culti" view of the US were ever fully implemented by the left.Although not quite as lucid or compelling as Schlessinger's brilliant "Disuniting of America," Miller's book is an important contribution to the growing debate regarding the nature of America's self image and the constant effort to build our country with the aid of new generations of newcomers. Much of the history Miller presents is informative and interesting. I was particularly fascinated to learn about the "Americanization Societies" and related programs funded by state and local governments and private philanthropic organizations at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. This is a well researched and thorough book on the subject of Americanization and the assimilation of immigrants and newcomers in America.

If I could afford it, I would give this book to every naturalized citizen and every legislator. I am a naturalized American citizen. The liberal atmosphere of my American college and of this politically correct climate led me to believe that special assistance to racial and ethnic groups was the compassionate thing to do, while anyone against such policies was racist. Americans who want to promote the unifying tradition of the English language, patriotism, and the pride of citizenship through assimilation are unfairly represented today; they are branded as oppressors of foreign cultures. Nothing is further from the truth. John J. Miller corrects this and other misconceptions. The Canadian motto of "diversity, not assimilation" is not a fair juxtaposition of immigration philosophies. Diversity and the appreciation of one's heritage can coexist with assimilation into good American citizenship. I want to succeed in this society on my individual merits, not through "group rights" (empowerment) that assume that I have special needs or attachments to my ethnic group. Most immigrants share this sentiment. The way to help them succeed is to help them assimilate, not encourage cultural practices (e.g., language, "cultural defenses" against American law, etc.) which bind their allegiance to their original country and distance them further from the American mainstream. The idea of a "global village" is so warm and fuzzy. But politicians heed Mr. Miller: we don't want to be a "United Nations nation --- a country made up of bickering factions divided by their race, ethnicity, and language. The United States strives to be something else, a place where race and ethnicity do not have an iron-fisted influence on political life, a place where common citizenship and the principles to which that citizenship is dedicated pull together Americans of all races, ethnicities, and religions." My only complaint about the book is Mr. Miller's criticism of American high school students' lack of basic understanding of American history. I would've been one of those students too, except that I studied and memorized and learned (with appreciation) facts about American history and government for my Naturalization interview.

The Unmaking of Americans presents a clear, easy-to-follow, rational case for promoting Americanization for new immigrants. Point by point, it refuted common fallacies of both the far right and far left. The book diagnosed problems with current approaches to immigration and American culture, described historical efforts to treat the same cultural maladies, and proposed a solution to the problem in the form that faces America now.Very worthwhile, very easy to understand, very concise, and very rational.

Mr. Miller offers, perhaps, one of the most thorough and understandable explanations of why, for most of this contry's history, immigrants gladly transformed themselves into patriotic Americans. He also shows how our government at all levels has gradually reversed this trend, pitting American against American in the poisonous soil of multiculturalism. This is a remarkable book, rich in detail. Miller traces the roots of Americanization back to the Mayflower where "dicsontended and mutinous" Pilgrims, after sixty-seven days at sea, grew increasingly distrustful of the "strangers" who were hired to sail the ships. In well-constructed prose, we learn how the Pilgrims, who trusted in Divine Providence to deliver them to the new land, were forced by necessity and a desire to survive, to also trust the "strangers" upon whose abilities the Pilgrims' lives depended. The document they created, tying their fate to that of the "strangers" was the "Mayflower Compact". The act of coming together for the common good, and creating a written Compact which all signed, defined for the first time, a prototype of the American tradition -- and it has remained an American tradition ever since. It is the tradition of the many, willingly assimilating into the one, for the common good of all, which has set America apart from all other nations. Miller shows that the steady growth of this country did not come about without problems, however. Although Americanization was always easy -- you just had to want to be an American -- there was ethnic strife, suspicion, lingering bigotry and social problems. But all overcame these differences to be part of the many. This meant that immigrants not only wanted to learn this nation's history, its language, customs and laws, but most important, they wanted to adopt the norms of Americans as their own. And that's how America was transformed, until the advent of multiculturalism. Liberals in government have not only discouraged the natural Americanization process, but have encouraged racial and ethnic group separation, by rejecting the dominant American culture because its founders were white, its leaders male. As Miller points out, "when the government places a premium on differences and a penalty on a commonality, it retards the natural process of assimilation by offering a motive for groups to remain distant from Americanization. It gives them reason to say that they are so unlike everybody else that they cannot possibly be expected to compete on the same playing field, live by the same rules, or conform to the same standards. The result is a poisonous atmosphere of constant suspicion, hostility, and recrinimation." This is an outstanding and easily read book. I highly recommend it.