America is one of a kind, unique in that it has been successful where other countries have failed in bringing together people of different races. It owes part of this success to being inescapably English in language, ideas, and institutions. History has shown us that the United States has been accepting of people from all over the world. It has peacefully produced a multiethnic society by creating a new American culture that unites us all. Therefore, it should be mandatory for new immigrants to learn English because it’s the common ground and unifier of our diverse community. Non English speakers in America are also burdened with many challenges, limitations and negativity.
While ethnic and racial issues arise in nations all over the world, the U.S. succeeded at peacefully bringing together people of different races, religions, and backgrounds into one culture because we are unified by the English language. America has become a melting pot because we’ve forged a new culture that unifies people from all different backgrounds. According to Arthur Schlesinger, in his article “The Cult of Ethnicity” the point of America wasn’t to preserve old cultures but to forge a new, American culture, and there lies the secret to how America prospered. As Hector St. John de Crevecoeur admired the diversity of the settlers in America in the 18th century when, he realized that “here individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men” (Schlesinger 1). America has avoided ethnic tension that is constantly breaking up nations by finding common ground in the way we communicate.
It is these commonalities that makes us relatable to one another and escape the divisiveness of a multiethnic society. George Washington once said that immigrants would “get assimilated to our customs, measures, and laws” (Schlesinger 1). Mixing people from all around the world isn’t easy but