ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author looks at the classic theories of assimilation and their relevance to American history, especially emphasizing the consequences of the leveling theories of cultural pluralism which came to dominate American thinking after Second World War. The forces of cultural pluralism and moral relativism have increased at all levels of American society in the course of the twentieth century. Most modern religious historians and theologians have lauded the Pennsylvania experiment in religious liberty and cultural pluralism, while few have praised the intolerance and establishment policies of Puritan New England. To celebrate the 300th anniversary of Penn's landing in America, the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography has dedicated a recent volume to William Penn. At any rate, Pennsylvania was the most economically successful of all the British colonies in North America. In contrast to boss-ridden Pennsylvania, Massachusetts from the very beginning was a class-dominated, deference democracy.
