Examining the American Identity “Americans aren’t idyll daydreamers; they take the initiative.” (Cato.org) In his statement, Edward Hudgins, the director of regulatory studies at the Cato Institute, captures the essence of “Americaness.” Since the publishing of Ben Franklin’s Autobiography in 1790, this definition of Americans as go-getters and self-made-men has become stock. While Franklin’s life story helped define the American identity, the discussion of what an American is began decades before, as can be seen through J. Hector St. John de Crevoeur’s Letters of an American Farmer. Franklin and Crevecoeur both touch on American archetypes including the Yeoman Farmer Ideal, the free, self-made man, and the noble savage. These authors also set the stage for how Americans should act in regards to fellow Americans, religion and the “old world.” The house of American identity built by Franklin and Crevecoeur was not one built on shifting ground with a weak foundation, but one built sturdily and carefully. It is a house that still stands in American society today. In their writings, Franklin and Crevecoeur make use of several examples of what an American is. Among those archetypes is the “Yeoman Farmer Ideal,” which portrays America as “every person’s country,” (666) and supports the idea of humans being nurtured by the earth, instead of being the care takers of it. Crevecoeur also mentions that in America, “…the rewards of his industry follow with equal step the progress of his labor.” (660) Like Crevecoeur, Franklin emphasizes the importance of a strong work ethic and becoming free through one’s own labor. Though Franklin puts more stress on the “American” ideal than that of the Yeoman Farmer, he nonetheles... ... middle of paper ... ...ended any Public Worship.” (590) Crevecoeur also contributes to a sense of religious apathy in his belief that as long as his neighbor “…is a sober, peaceable good citizen…” it does not matter what his religion is. To Crevecoeur, the impact lies in “the visible character,” because the “invisible one is only guessed at and is nobody’s business.” (663) Crevecoeur’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” philosophy toward religion and Franklin’s method of practicing it have become the bricks and mortar of the American identity. The walls built by Franklin and Crevecoeur’s attitudes toward religion have stood strong throughout America’s development. The banning of prayer in schools, the discussion of removing the phrase “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance and an entirely secular social atmosphere can attest to the long-lasting influence of early definitions of American.
"To prohibit a great people from making all that they can of every part of their own produce advantageous to themselves, is a manifest violation of the most sacred rights of mankind." These views of Adam Smith were very much supported throughout the mid-18th century. Throughout this time, many new developments were made regarding American colonists view's of their sense of identity and unity as Americans. Due to an over controlling British government and a need for individuality as a country, colonists became Americans through their great fight to highly develop their sense of identity and unity as Americans.
Founding Brothers is a rather problematic title for this collection of essays by Joseph Ellis, since his group of “brothers” includes Ben Franklin who was old enough to the father of the other well known members of the founding generation of America and also a strong cameo appearance by Abigail Adams. Despite this and the author's overtly neoconservative bias leanings, this remains a worthwhile read for both scholars and the more casual reader of history as well. The arm-chair historian will likely not notice the lapse in chronology in the chapters and will surely enjoy the flowing narrative as it relates a half dozen intimate tales from the lives of the most enshrined of this legendary generation.
Boyer, Paul S. The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People. D.C. Heath and Company, Mass. © 1990
Michel-Guillaume-Jean de Crevecoeur was a French born citizen who moved to New York and became a naturalized citizen of Great Britain. After living in America as a citizen for a while, Crevecoeur decided to write an essay titled “Letters from an American Farmer”. During this time, tensions in America between the colonists and loyalists were increasing, and because of this the idea of America as a sovereign nation and territory was becoming popular. Crevecoeur wrote this essay in order to discuss what it means to be an American, and why people should be honored to be called an American. Crevecoeur believes that America is a melting pot of the world, and is full of opportunities for anyone who lives there. In order to back up his claim, Crevecoeur uses rhetorical devices, especially pathos, while he does also use ethos and logos as well.
America was born and survived, its rough road into a nation, through a series of events, or moments in history. The founding brother’s book is about a few important figures during and after the American Revolution. These important figures consisted of Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, John Adams, George Washington, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson. Each of these men, contributed to the building of America in one way or another. The book breaks these contributions into a few short stories, to help understand what these important figures did.
To what extent had the colonists developed a sense of their identity and unity as Americans by the eve of the Revolution?
In the words of Joseph Margulies, “National identity is not fixed, it is made.” Through the event of 9/11 our national identity has changed significantly. Before we dive into the now and the changed national identity, lets set a foundation of where national identity started. In the nineteenth century, Protestant Americans were incomparably dominate. It was argued that the Enlightenment and the Western intellectuals of the eighteenth century were still the foundation of national identity in the nineteenth century. However, from the writer, Samuel Huntington, the religious foundations of American society were based off the Anglo-Protestant heritage. (Page 24) On the other hand, in Who Are We? The Challenges to America’s National Identity, the author stated the American culture was dwindling Anglo-Protestant heritage. The original values were based off the Anglo-Protestant heritage included liberty, equality, individualism, democracy, and the rule of law under a constitution. Later in the nineteenth century, the European heritage grew and the ideas of individual freedom, political democracy, and human rights grew as well. (Page 19) The nineteenth century introduced the “well-being and integrity of the community and the virtuous citizen’s obligations to the community’s welfare (page 20).”
Religion in May 1966. It was reprinted with comments and a rejoined in The Religious Situation.
Boyer et.al. The Enduring Vision: A history of the American People Vol. 1 Houghton Mifflin 2006
When the first American settlement on Roanoke Island was established in 1585 it’s primary force, Sir Walter Raleigh, had no idea that this “New World” would evolve into one of the most powerful voices in the modern world. But before it developed it would have to shaped by it’s founders from the Western world. Two of the largest voices in America’s early development are John Smith, who with a group of English merchants, hoped to get rich in this new land, and William Bradford, a puritan farmer who was one of the most influential men involved with the Mayflower compact. In their two pieces they both convey America as a place to escape but fail to reach many other similar conclusions on what America was like at this time.
Thus, here in the new land, they view as useful, not as in their home where they were viewed as useless. This tells us that to be an American is to look for one’s happiness. Here they have the opportunity to grow. In this new land, they learn to grow and become better than yesterday. As Crevecoeur states, “The American is a new man, who acts upon new principles; he must therefore, entertain new ideas, and form new opinions” (Crevecoeur 290).
Defining the American character is quite difficult because American identity is vaguely founded on shared values and ideologies, more so than a particular creed, race, or culture. In order to describe the American character, we will consider the dominate and distinctive qualities of Americans as interpreted by J. Hector St. Jon De Crèvecoeur and Thomas Paine. First, we will examine how Crèvecoeur illustrates Americans as industrious, prideful, and political in “Letters from an American Farmer.” Then, we will analyze from Thomas Paine's “Common Sense” how he depicts the prevalent qualities of Americans to be driven by justice, liberty, emotions, and individualism. Also, because both authors consider the American character and culture different
The conception of America, like Jesus Christ, was believed to be immaculate. Illustrations depicting biblical images show how early Americans romanticized their origin. In Benjamin Franklin’s reverse design
American exceptionalism is a belief that the United States is different from other nations around the world and as such superior; the term was coined by Alexis de Tocqueville in 1831, yet the philosophy of American superiority can be traced all the way back to the days before the United States was even an idea. They saw their new culture as “A city upon a hill” and sought to achieve moral and spiritual perfection. With this moral superiority the colonists, later Americans, saw a duty presented upon them by God and nature to instill such superior values into other cultures and the world. One such example can be clearly seen in the work of St. John de Crèvecoeur in Letters from an American Farmer where the narrator “Farmer James” states his belief
The American Scholar is one of the speeches given by Ralph Waldo Emerson on August 31, 1837 to the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Cambridge (World Largest Essay, 2014). People are not born with perfection, everyone learns through trials and errors. Mistakes are lessons not yet learnt. Therefore, you should try and make use of the knowledge and wisdom. Emerson’s speech tries to determine the real American culture and ask his citizen to prevent the essence of the real American culture. Sixty years after declaring independence, American culture was still heavily influenced by Europe. The main purposes of Emerson’s speech are to create their own American identity through writers, artists, and philosophers, without regard to European because America was colonized by European till July 4, 1776 (Happy Birthday America, 2014).