Being An American Essay

What Being an American Means The Oxford-American Dictionary defines the term American as “relating to or characteristic of The United States or its inhabitants.” Similarly, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the term as “a native or inhabitant of the U.S.: a U.S. citizen.” Despite having a considerable amount of legitimate definitions in a multitude of dictionaries, when asked, citizens of America themselves will often define the term in a variety of different ways. Some may think the concept of Americanism is solely dependent on whether or not one has legality and citizenship. Conversely, others may think Americanism has a more complex meaning, such as depending on whether or not one agrees with the principles that were written by the Founding Fathers of the United States in the Declaration of Independence. People generally struggle to truly define what makes up the American identity, which is why the question of “What is an American?” has such varying answers among the public. A true American, however, is a person who lives, or has lived, in America and

In one of these essays, de Crèvecoeur defined an American as an innovative man - a man who acts on new principles and adapts to the ever-growing changes and ideas that are introduced in America (de Crèvecoeur, 2). Growing up in Europe, de Crèvecoeur experienced the vast contrasts between Europe and America. This is an important concept because Americans often do not realize the differences between their country and others. America is considered a land of opportunity, a place where one can make a life for themselves and others. America is a place where people from a variety of different countries, religions, and cultures can go to and