E Pluribus Unum: The Enduring Struggle for American Unity
From its earliest days as a fledgling nation, the diverse United States has aspired to unity under the motto E Pluribus Unum—"out of many, one." This push for cohesion has been both optimistic and unrealistic, successful and a failure, enduring as an American ideal during moments when citizens struggled—and continue to struggle today—to practice it. How has this notion of unity evolved over 250 years, and what does it truly mean in fraught and troubled times?
The Beginnings of These 'United' States
From the milestone moment of the nation's founding, the founders emphasized that unity would be a vital component of the new country. Government would be based not on monarchy but, as the Declaration of Independence states, "on the consent of the governed." George Washington, stepping down after two terms as the first president, urged citizens to cherish their national union as essential to collective and individual happiness.
Yet, even as the founders spoke of high-minded ideals, they imposed limits on who could participate, who had rights, and who did not. The fabric of a nation stitched together from 13 original colonies left the definition of unity far from settled. Today, interpreting that Latin motto remains a challenge: does it mean blending different perspectives to create a country greater than the sum of its parts, or does it require sameness?
Aspiration Versus Reality
While unity stands among America's ideals, the on-the-ground experience of life for the last two and a half centuries reflects a different reality. There has never been just one America where everyone lived similarly or had equal access to power and prosperity. This was absent at the country's inception and remains elusive today.
Daniel Immerwahr, a history professor at Northwestern University, notes that the United States has had a volatile history in dealing with inclusion and exclusion. Differences have been straightforward—like geography and climate—or cultural, such as varying countries of origin, languages, and religions. Economic disparities between rich and poor have always existed.
However, some differences have been travesties: enslaved Africans and their descendants forced into labor, Indigenous tribes decimated by disease and displacement, and communities barred from opportunity due to gender or sexual orientation. Despite this, persistent efforts across eras have aimed to expand voting rights, economic growth, and education access to all through protest movements and legal action.
Eileen Cheng, a history professor at Sarah Lawrence College, explains that American ideals provided a language for excluded groups to challenge the system, invoking the Revolution's principles to claim they were the true Americans.
What Could 'Unity' Even Look Like?
Ideals can be abstract. What does it mean for a country to be 'united'? Does unity imply uniformity, or can people be on different sides that happen to be side by side? Is unity even desirable in a raucous democracy? Globally, there is no single answer: countries vary in official languages, religions, and naturalization processes.
Paul Wachtel, a psychology professor at City College of New York, emphasizes that tensions between unity and separateness exist in all societies. The key is learning to negotiate these tensions. The United States experienced this firsthand; its Constitution replaced the weaker Articles of Confederation, showing that less unity was ineffective for governance.
Unlike many European nations with centuries of history, the U.S. was a new entity founded on principles rather than lineage. Immerwahr points out that this makes America remarkably open at times, but also leads to contradictions in inclusion practices. The nation's history with these tensions is mixed, fluctuating in areas like migration and political factions.
Cindy Kam, a political science professor at Vanderbilt University, notes that group identities are culturally constructed by elites, defining who is part of 'us' versus 'other.' Discussions about unity have become more relevant due to demographic, technological, and economic changes in recent decades.
In an era of rampant polarization, serious questions about the future abound. Cheng suggests this is not new but a return to the country's beginnings, where acceptance of difference has fluctuated rather than linearly progressed. The struggle for unity, as embodied in E Pluribus Unum, remains a defining challenge for American society.
