National Identity. Often referred to as a melting pot, the United Sates is popularly regarded as a nation that assimilates or absorbs immigrant populations to produce a standard American. This is powerful cultural idea. The word American conjures up an image of a person of white. Middle-class status. All other residents, including the area's indigenous inhabitants, are "hyphenated" or characterized by an identifying adjective: Native American, African-American, The national Census Mexican-American. Asian-American, does not hyphenate Americans of European descent.