Why has the salad bowl replaced the melting pot as a metphor for american multiculturalism?

Multiculturalism is the co-existence of diverse cultures.

Salad bowl is a model of racial integration where people of various cultures live in harmony like the ingredients of a salad. Different American cultures are brought together, but they do not form together into a single homogeneous culture.

This term indicates that different ethnic groups are able to preserve their original cultures and identities even if they assimilate well into their new host societies. The salad bowl approach can be compared to the idea of multiculturalism in Europe which means a partial integration only.

The traditional American melting pot conveyed the idea that, with time, generations of immigrants melt together. They abandon their original cultures to become totally assimilated into the American society.

Salad bowl has become a more politically correct term, as it implies a society of many individuals with various ethnic and cultural identities living together in harmony.