The history of immigration to the United States has been complex and, at times, brutal. Our country has welcomed immigrants and, at other times, excluded certain people as the new American culture has developed. Today, we often describe the United States as a melting pot, but that has been contentious. The United States is a unique experiment. What is different about our country as opposed to others with a multicultural population? With the international common language of music as a guide to our history, what can we discover about ourselves?