What is the melting pot concept?

'Melting Pot' is a term used to describe a region where different peoples, styles, theories, religions, etc. are mixed together. This means people of different ethnicity, religion, etc. are living together in one place. For example, let's look at the US. The US is one of the most culturally diverse countries on the planet. Almost every imaginable ethnic group and religion is present in the country. There are large groups of Germans, English, Irish, Italians, Chinese, Mexicans, Japanese, Russians, Polish, Israelis, etc. and large groups of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Atheists, etc. all living in this country. These people are not necessarily all huddled together in one spot either; they are spread out throughout the country (although some areas do have a larger population of some sort of people than another).

The "melting pot" theory is that immigrants adopt the culture and behaviors of their new homeland, resulting in a homogeneous society in the end. The alternative to "melting pot" is the "multi-cultural" society where immigrants maintain the culture and behaviors of their origins, keeping distinct from other ethnic groups around them.