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Americanization movement  

Definition

  • The Americanization movement refers to a disparate set of programs and institutions designed to incorporate immigrants, and in some cases nativeborn Americans, into the broad parameters of middle-class American culture. The premise of these programs—that qualified reformers could both improve material conditions and foster a unified national identity—represented a key element of Progressive Era thought and undergirded the idea of the United States as a “melting pot.” The popularity of Americanization crested in the early 20th century, but during the late 1910s, World War I and fears of political radicalism prompted a shift in programs from cultural uplift to a more conservative nationalism. [Source: Encyclopedia of American Urban History; Americanization Movement]

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https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/Americanization_movement

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