The Melting-Pot - Softcover

Zangwill, Israel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1977565220 ISBN 13: 9781977565228

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017

Synopsis

The Melting-Pot By Israel Zangwill

About this title

From the Back Cover

Israel Zangwill, an Anglo-Jewish author and son of immigrants, wrote The Melting-Pot to demonstrate how immigrants could become good American citizens, hoping to forestall the kinds of restrictions--particularly against Russian Jews--that had been enacted in his home country. In 1908, when the play first appeared on an American stage, rates of immigration were high and many Americans feared that these particular newcomers would unalterably change the nation's character. Politicians and others called for restricted immigration and stringent tests for citizenship. The Melting-Pot did not prevent the US government from enacting stringent immigration restrictions in 1924. But it became Zangwill's most popular and most continuously performed play, and it popularized a metaphor for America--the melting pot--that has been discussed and debated ever since.

This edition presents the play in its historical context, with readings from the time on immigration and intermarriage, as well as the settlement house movement and the Kishinev pogrom, which both figure prominently in the drama. Excerpts from the many and diverse reviews of the play highlight why it was so controversial. The Melting-Pot evokes questions about diversity and national identity that are still a contentious part of the national conversation.

About the Author

Meri-Jane Rochelson is Professor Emerita of English at Florida International University. She is the author of A Jew in the Public Arena: The Career of Israel Zangwill (Wayne State University Press, 2008) and editor of Zangwill's 1892 novel Children of the Ghetto (Wayne State University Press, 1998).

Edition details

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1977565220
• ISBN 13: 9781977565228
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 112