The Americanization Ideal - New York Times 
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   Opinion   COLLECTIONS > IMMIGRATION POLICY  The Americanization Ideal By Barbara Jordan Published: September 11, 1995  
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onal principles. People from an extraordinary range of ethnic and religious backgrounds have embraced these ideals. There is a word for this process: Americanization. That word earned a bad reputation when it was stolen by racists and xenophobes in the 1920's. But it is our word, and we are taking it back. #
Americanization means becoming a part of the polity -- becoming one of us. But that does not mean conformity. We are more than a melting pot; we are a kaleidoscope, #