One of the central and most enduing foundational ideologies in American culture is that of freedom, democracy and equality. The ideal and ideology of freedom from oppression and coercion began with the very founding of America in the fight for freedom from the colonial and territorial domination of the British. This historical experience has been a driving force within the American experience for the very beginning.
             However, the history of American ideology, like any nation and culture, is complex and often reveals opposing views and ideologies that are in conflict with one another. There is also a more conservative life-view and ideology that is part of the American cultural fabric. This ideological strand is essentially opposed to change and rejects diversity and the freedom and equality of all. This life-view is evident in the racist part of American history and in the history of the fight for civil rights and gender as well as class equality. Therefore American culture is characterized by two main and often contradictory ideologies that interact in a complex way and which have resulted in the intricate and intertwined historical experience of America.
             Many critics and commentators are of the opinion that the most pervasive ideology that has most characterized the American view of life is the idea that the country is a "melting pot' of peoples and cultures, which emphasizes the individual's right to freedom and equality under the law. This view relates to the early history of the country and the fact that much of the of the ethnic and cultural diversity of the country was as a result of immigration. As the main character in Israel Zangwill's 1908 play, The Melting-Pot says, "America is God's Crucible, where all the races of Europe are melting and reforming....Germans, Frenchmen, Irishmen and Englishmen, Jews and Russians--into the Crucible with you all! God is making the American." ( Grestle G.) Thes...