DIVERSITY IN AMERICA - A SOCIOHISTORICAL ANALYSIS

Multiculturalism, while a fairly new term, is not a new social phenomenon despite prevailing beliefs that the United States was culturally homogeneous at its formation. A new concept, the Dillingham Flaw, can explain many misconceptions about the nation's past. Cultural pluralism in the colonial and early national periods was extensive, in many ways surpassing that of the 1990s. Through conceptualization of mainstream/outgroup population proportions and comparative analysis of immigration rates, foreign-born percentages, and racial composition, the diversity of American society is shown to be less today than in past generations. Future projections suggest greater diversity by the mid-21st century, but the nonwhite population has not yet returned to its dimensions of 200 years ago.