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

by John J. Miller

Will today's immigrant population become the first in American history that fails to assimilate? If so, the United States threatens to collapse into disunion. Much of the blame for this state of affairs can be laid at the feet of multiculturalists, who have undermined the concept of Americanization by attacking it as racist and advancing in its place a divisive agenda of group rights and bilingual education. Unfortunately, many on the right have responded to this crisis by viewing immigrants themselves as their mortal enemies-- instead of the entrenched native-born liberal elite that has declared war on the American idea itself. In "The Unmaking of Americans", John J. Miller breaks this standoff with a commonsense call for a new Americanization movement based on fundamental American principles. He draws on lessons from the Americanization movement of the early 20th century, which helped the Ellis Island generation of immigrants adapt to their new home. In doing so, Miller makes the first modern defense of a patriotic social crusade that many "tenured radicals" have come to scorn as nothing more than a gentrified form of ethnic cleansing.

Miller sets out to convince conservatives concerned about immigration that the real threat to American unity is not the huddled masses of hardworking newcomers, but longstanding left-wing policies that actively inhibit assimilation. Proponents of bilingual education refuse to teach children in English, racial preferences encourage harmful group loyalties, welfare rules threaten the work ethic, and the citizenship process is under constant pressure from people who want to dumb it down. "The Unmaking of Americans" reveals where and how the system of assimilation fell apart-- and lays out a specific plan of action for correcting the problem that conservatives, libertarians, and sensible liberals can support.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

John J. Miller writes for National Review, the Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. He is the author of The First Assassin, a historical thriller, plus several works of nonfiction. He is a contributing editor of Philanthropy magazine and a consultant to grantmaking foundations. The Chronicle of Higher Education has called him “one of the best literary journalists in the country.”

Reviews

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miller's central argument is that immigrants should strive toward assimilation into American culture. This includes taking on the mantle of citizenship and learning the English language. Learning about American history and pledging to believe in the founding principals of the nation doesn't preclude an individual from holding on to certain home culture practices. He suggests the following actions: embrace colorblind law, get rid of bilingual education, English in the voting booth, only counting citizens in congressional representation counts, strengthen the naturalization process, permit private businesses to make rules about language use, deny welfare to non-citizens, forbid the cultural defense for criminals, reduce illegal immigration, and avoid the trap of a federal official English language. He explains each of these suggestions in detail throughout the book, including case studies, statistics, and research studies. These are all put into the context of the historical movements that shaped changes in legislation around immigration.

It was easy to follow Miller's argument, and I found myself agreeing with many of his points. However, I believe his dismissal of bilingual education did not give enough information about the positive sides of this type of program. In each of the other segments, he was sure to lay out both sides of the debate. With bilingual education, Miller seemed to default to a jump toward stating why it was bad. Perhaps this was because he feels so passionately about this opinion, but I wasn't convinced on this point.

I was, however, in complete agreement with him on the laws regarding voting and immigrants. Citizens should be the only ones that are counted in representation. Gerrymandering should not be allowed to make safe seats for minorities. English (and maybe Spanish) should be the only language necessary in the voting booths. ILLEGAL immigration should be reduced while we should do a better job of encouraging LEGAL immigration through improving our national path to citizenship.

Overall, I'm happy I read this book. This book is for anyone interested in cultural studies, in particular those related to immigration, both legal and illegal. It is for those people who agree with his argument and who disagree, because it does clearly state a perspective that I believe is commonly held by many average American citizens.