E Pluribus Unum? How Ethnic and National Identity Motivate Individual Reactions to a Political Ideal

Preserving national unity in light of diversity—e pluribus unum—is a challenge in immigrant-receiving nations like the United States We claim that endorsement of this view is structured by the varied bond between ethnic and national identity among immigrant minorities and native majorities, a proposition we test across three studies of US Latinos and whites. Study 1 uses national survey data to show that ethnic and national identity are associated with support for this objective, though in varied ways, among these groups. Studies 2 and 3 sharpen these results experimentally by illuminating the role of elite rhetoric in forging these connections. We show that elite remarks about the (in-)compatibility of ethnic and national identity motivate support for e pluribus unum through the specific attachment it influences. That is, elite rhetoric causes shifts in ethnic or national identity, which then asymmetrically shapes support for e pluribus unum among Latinos and whites.