The Importance Of Being An American Identity

“What is an American?” This speech, given by Harold Ickes in May of 1941, banded its audience together in a fight for World War II. The speech can be classified as many different things; some might say that it is persuasive, others motivational. Whatever title one might choose to brand it with, one thing is irrefutable; the speech itself does its duty by capturing the attention of its audience through language and technique.

Michael Walzer’s essay on “What Does It Mean to Be an American?” raises many points about the American citizen. Specifically, he discusses “American” as an adjective (Walzer). “American” is often associated with American citizens; while this is true, the term can also be applied to Canadians and Mexicans (Walzer). American is such an ambiguous adjective that it is applicable to all countries and individuals that are part of the North American continent. Like Mr. Walzer states, American is not a truly defined term and America is not a country (Walzer). Walzer goes on to introduce a Horace Kallen’s opinion on American’s as anonymous and their “unique” pluralism (Walzer). There are exceptions to all things; the positive to being an American is the fact that Americans can be whatever they choose to be. I feel to be an American one must believe in the American ideals, they must believe in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. American 's in general may be anonymous, however, upon further reflection they have left the definition of “American” open for each American to define the adjective for themselves.

Richard Rodriguez in his essay, “Does America Still Exists?” asserts that all citizens of America are Americans despite the difference in their origin. The author narrates the story, using different examples of interconnection between the different origins of people in America. He says, “America was born Protestant and bred Puritan, and the notion of community we share is derived from seventeenth-century faith…we are gathered together – but as individuals, with separate pasts, distinct destinies. Our society is as paradoxical as a Puritan congregation: we stand together alone” (195). The author states that people from all backgrounds live in in the country as

The concept of American identity is different for everyone. Though the definition differs from person to person it is based on the same idea of nationalism. In the late 1890s, every American was proud of what their nation had accomplished thus far, but after the Spanish-American War, the opinions of supporters and non-supporters showed a clear difference in their meaning of their American identity. Supporters, also known as imperialists, used beliefs such as the New Manifest Destiny, Darwinism, the Monroe Doctrine, and racial supremacy to support their wanting to archive islands and territories around the word. Non-supporters, also known as anti-imperialists, used documents such as the Declaration of Constitution and the Constitution to express their feelings of disapproval.

History is the framework of every nation. It describes what life was like in a nation, hundreds perhaps thousands of years previously. With history, many citizens are able to examine what lead to a crisis in a nation such as the Stock Market Crash of 1929 or the Civil War in the 1800s in the United States of America. Likewise, the moments of growth and economic success are looked at. From these past endeavors, the people can examine what went wrong and what went right and determine how they can stop themselves from making similar mistakes or act in a way that has been proven to work. In Eve Kornfeld’s “Creating an American Culture 1775-1800,” many different areas of national identity are discussed, including the beginnings of documenting the history of America as an independent nation. This was especially hard for Americans to create a singular national identity because there was bias in the early works, the different colonies or states were extremely diverse, and many intellectuals had different perspectives on the American identity.

Due to this, cities such as New York City and Los Angeles are known as “America’s Melting Pots,” because of the various diverse neighborhoods have developed over the years. In New York City, examples of neighborhoods where people with different cultures and ethnicities are ____. The picture of a tree whose leaves are changing colors best represents America because of the symbolism it portrays. A tree is the symbol of life, strength, security, and ambition, which are key ideas that encompass America. The actual elements illustrated in the image such as the different colors of the leaves and the roots symbolize the cultural diffusion found in America. The differently-colored leaves represent the various cultures, ethnicities, and beliefs that individuals in America possess; all the leaves of the tree represent what America’s culture is: a country where individuals have an American identity, without losing their own original identity. The tree’s trunk symbolize America’s origins, how and why it was founded and on what principles it was founded. After the Constitution was written, America was founded on the principles that individuals could assemble freely, could express their opinions freely, and could practice their

Americans have not only defined themselves by their religious, ethnic and racial identity, but also by their individual freedom and common values. America has become a nation where its people can fight for what they believe in. Our founding fathers have formed America to be “the land of the free and the home of the brave”. Being apart of the American culture and living on the land founded by our leaders specifies the meaning of the American Identity.

The colors of red, white, and blue reflect the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness established over two centuries ago by the nation’s forebearers. Being American is about anticipating change and being provided with the environment to dream. Americans have dreamed of a more equal union, where Women obtain the right to vote and African Americans are social equals. The country’s images of Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller inspire the American dream, where individuals are not satisfied with their socioeconomic standing and have the opportunity to progress. Furthermore, only a minor portion of the United States population is of Native American descent. Therefore, the United States is a country of immigrants,

In the early years of America’s foundation, a powerful air of uncapped potential, the desire for expansion and individual identification enamored the American people. Progress was inevitable as was cultural definition. But as time progressed, the feeling of unlimited strength, time and space transformed into something that, for better or worse, was no longer shared by later poets. Those of the “New World” came to realize that their world never really managed to leave behind the faults of the “Old.” Societal tension rose as different poets and authors struggled to pin down the direction of American culture and its ideals. When no solid idea was able to capture American culture adequately, the concept of an ever-evolving American identity

Despite the state of the situation, Americans have developed a unique sense of identity and we can always seem to be optimistic we can benefit change. Whether we create change, follow change, or need change, this identity which brings it about represents all the people, and serves the good of all. The ability to reform, adapt, and recover as an American is unmatched. This theme of a developing identity continues to develop up to modern day and will never stop evolving. With new challenges arising on the horizon, it is our responsibility as the people to never forget our history, as it defines our identity, destiny, and most importantly, what it means to be

The folk panorama of America noticeably shifts and become less outlined by the “Anglo-Protestant culture” (Foreign Policy), than previous occurrences. It may be considered a warning instead of a danger to American’s identify, if we tend to change modern day back to historical traditions. Conversely, American culture needs to be clarified on what it is. The approach that fundamentalists and non-traditionalists comparable to Samuel Huntington, manage to theorize culture as stable, instead of alteration. Due to this response, everyone should observe and state that American culture and identify will always continue to change, especially with the migration of countries.

When America joined WWI, American patriotism became an essential aspect of society because those who were not proud of their country were not true patriots. Because of this, immigrants were widely questioned about their devotion to the nation and had to assimilate themselves into “American culture”. However, the nation was known as a melting pot, so it was argued

These values can be observed in two notable works of American historical literature - Howard Zinn’s renowned narrative A People’s History of the United States, along with Joseph J. Ellis’s award-winning book Founding Fathers. Through a close analysis of both texts, one can observe how identity spawned courage, strength, and confidence in the people of America, inspiring them to push against common judgement and fight for their differences and the changes they believe in.

I chose to write about the key components of the American identity in the 1600 to 1750. The colonies had freedom, liberty, religion, and diversity. Freedom from the strict rule of Great Britain; having the ocean in between them made it hard for Great Britain to keep close control of the colonies. This allowed the colonies the liberty to rule themselves and practice their religions. People who lived in the colonies were not all English; they were French, Jewish, German, Swedish, Dutch, and Scots-Irish. Others were a mixture of many different ethnic groups. This group of people could not be found anywhere else in the world at this time. This helped create a separate identity from Britain.

Citizens, by birth or choice, of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The name of American, which belongs to you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political principles. You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together; the independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts of common dangers, sufferings, and successes. (Helicon Publishing