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Article: American Crucible: Race and Nation in the 20th Century.(Review)
- Article from:
- The New Leader
- Article date:
- May 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 American Labor Conference on International Affairs. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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American Crucible: Race and Nation in the 20th Century By Gary Gerstle Princeton. 325 pp. $29.95.
SO MAYBE America was never the great cultural crucible Israel Zangwill described in his 1909 play, The Melting Pot. "A fig for your feuds and vendettas!" Zangwill proclaimed in that drama. "Germans and Frenchmen, Irishmen and Englishmen, Jews and Russians--into the crucible with you all! God is making the American!"
But never mind the difficult facts. The play was a runaway success.
Why? Gary Gerstle offers a hint in his perceptive and illuminating history of racial and immigration issues in the 20th century. In truth, he explains, the playwright ...