Langston Hughes Definition Of American Identity

What is the American identity? The American identity is a universal idea of what the ideal American should be like, and is a constantly changing idea. Since the American dream is constantly changing, it is safe to say that it changes with time. There are also reasons that make the American identity change, like a war, a new president, or a new idea. The American identity will never stay the same for a long time because of today's ever changing society. Over time, the definition of the American identity has changed greatly. For example, in 1793, Hector Crevecoeur wrote, “He is either an European, or a descendent of a European… The american is therefore to love his country much better than that wherein his forefathers were born… the american is a new man who acts upon new principles.” This quotation is saying that an American is either an European or the descendent of one,

One example of a definition of American identity is found in the Langston Hughes reading. Hughes says, “I am the man who never got ahead, the poorest worker bartered through the years… who dreamt a dream so brave, so strong, so true.” Hughes proffers that he believes that the American identity is an immigrant who works hard and and gets paid nothing, and believes in the American dream more than anyone, while the rich white men sit back and collects the money. Another definition of the American identity can be found in the Group Presentations. A quote from the Group Presentations is, “If you want opportunity, and are willing to work for it, America is the place to be.” This quotation is from the Hudgins Reading Questions, and shows that Hudgins thinks that the American identity is a hard working person, of any race or gender, is someone who gets opportunities. Both of these readings provide a different definition of the American identity, proving that it is not possible to have a singular definition of the American