The paper sketches the agenda for a new research project on cultural pluralism and democracy. Cultural pluralism emerged in opposition to nativism, assimilationism (Americanization), and the melting-pot ideal in the United States during the historical period known as the Progressive Era (c. 1890–1920). For its proponents, cultural pluralism was not merely compatible with democracy; they claimed that it was in some sense a defining feature of democracy. The doctrine had roots in American pragmatism, from which it derived political and intellectual commitments that were potentially in tension. This tension remains underexplored. Although some historians have suggested that its Jewish origins
limited its scope to European immigrant groups, a broader perspective that looks beyond its chief architect, Horace Kallen, reveals that other intellectuals developed his ideas in relation to nonwhite and non-European
groups. These efforts merit closer scrutiny. Finally, there has been little effort to relate cultural pluralism to the wider global context in which it emerged. By pursuing these three lines of inquiry, the research project outlined here seeks to deepen our historical understanding of
cultural pluralism. At the same time, it seeks to clarify the relevance of cultural pluralism for renewed controversies over immigration and cultural diversity today.
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