An Assortment of Memories, a Myriad of Histories Essay -- U.S. History

American society has traditionally been referred to as a â€Å"melting pot,† welcoming people of all races, religions, and heritages to enjoy the â€Å"freedom† that only America could provide. That was not always the case, as incidents such as the internment of Japanese Americans at Manzanar and the Lewis and Clark journey along the Columbia River exhibited American racial intolerance and demonstrated the inherent racism of the Manifest Destiny—an ideal upon which this nation was founded. Today, government agencies such as the National Park Service (NPS) aim to repair the United States’ negative reputation by creating national historic sites, which serve as either a celebration of American history or an apologetic reminder of events that can never happen again. In regards to these sites, the NPS sees its role as â€Å"a powerful shaper of historical images and messages,† capable of â€Å"determining, creating, and memorializing history for all Ame ricans† (Hayashi 53). I argue that the single shared history for all Americans that this statement suggests cannot exist. These American historical sites—manifestations of the history the National Park Service aims to express—present false equations of indigenous and immigrant experience in this country, representing versions of history and heritage that are not equivalent in past temporal scale and present cultural consequence. The erection of two historical sites—California’s Manzanar and the Confluence Project along the Columbia River—exemplify the false equation of immigrant, indigenous, and settler experience in the United States. Upon analysis of these sites, we will see that the history portrayed there cannot be called a shared history because of the truly imbalanced way in which history is actually ... ...that makes up the American melting pot. â€Æ' Bibliography Confluence Project â€Å"The Confluence Project.† Last Modified 2012. Confluence Project Journey Book â€Å"The Confluence Project Journey Book.† Last Modified 2009. Daehnke, John 2012 The Confluence Project (lecture notes). Stanford IHUM 40B Class, May 1. Hayashi, Robert T. 2003 Transfigured Patterns: Contesting Memories at the Manzanar National Historic Site. In The Public Historian 25(4). Pp. 51-71. Berkeley: Regents of the University of California and the National Council on Public History. National Park Service â€Å"Lewis and Clark National Historical Park.† Last Modified April 23, 2012. . National Park Service â€Å"Manzanar.† Last Modified April 4, 2012. .