What Is The Difference Between King Jr And Martin Luther King

America is commonly characterized as the greatest country in the world, the glorious “land of the free and the home of the brave”, “indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”. This idealization of the American identity conveniently focuses on what people want to hear and blurs out most everything else. In reality, Americans do not live up to the dreamscape created by our views, and we never really have. America is no longer characterized by its freedom and democracy, nearly every first world country can afford that luxury. Nor are we set apart by the great opportunities given to our people, for those are far from universal. We aren’t equal, we aren’t unified, we aren’t kinder or smarter or richer than any other country across the board. It’s easy to find the shortcomings of American culture, all the things we aren’t, but the things we are have proven to be more elusive. First, let’s examine the nots.

Over the past few weeks of class, we have covered the first five chapters of our textbook, written by George Brown Tindell and David Emory Shi called, “America, A Narrative History.” Each chapter told the reader a narration of the history of America, as opposed to an expository version of America’s history. Each chapter had its own main idea over a portion of history, along with many details that cover the importance of the main idea. As a reader, one may obtain a deeper appreciation for the country 's history, prior to entering the class on the first day. The most important aspect of history, besides the battles that are fought, is the different cultures that make up today’s modern America.

America — a land known for its ideals of freedom and new opportunities, a nation built under the idea that every man and women is created equal. However, the definition of what makes a person an American is entirely different from what it is that makes up America, itself. J.Hector St. John Crevecoeur, author of Letters from an American Farmer (1782), exposes what he believes makes an American. However, when compared to the standards of what makes an American in today’s world, it seems that becoming an American then was much simpler then, than it is today. The definition of an American is always evolving due to the influences of our changing nation. During a simpler time, Crevecoeur defined an American as someone of European

America: “The land of the free, and the home of the brave” (Key 7-8). When our forefathers overcame the colonial reign of the British Empire, they formed the United States of America based on the premise of enlightened ideals promoting life, ownership of land, and liberty. But after the revolution, the country’s problems were far from solved. The country’s post-revolution issues sparked a Civil War, which was followed by a reconstruction. In some ways, the Civil War and Reconstruction helped the United States accomplish its original goals, but in many ways, that was not the case.

American beliefs and opinions give a great understanding of what an American values. The want and need for freedom is described in many different ways based on origin or social beliefs. The main backbone of America today is freedom. Through the building of an American empire everyone can’t come to an understanding of what it is to be equally free. By comparing and contrasting the perspectives of Patrick Henry’s speech to the “Virginia Convention,” to take up arms and fight for our freedom. Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July,” who feels it’s time to end slavery. It is clear that the struggles of the American story are still prevalent and America has not yet found a way for freedom for all.

Dawning like the sun on a new day, the United Sates of America has risen to become the most powerful nation on Earth. The United States of today is a land of freedom and inspiration, and a place where dreams have a real possibility of coming true. Though the United States may be very strong today, it wasn’t always like this. In the years leading up to the formation of the United States, many of what are considered “natural rights” were not established, and the nation was in chaos trying to fight for these rights from the overruling British empire led by King George III. Several things led to the formation and firm establishment of the United States, the three most prominent being the imposition of taxation acts, acts of rebellion

“What is American” by Hector St. John de Crevecoeur was an advertisement for America. America is explained as a beautiful and structured place that came to be after work was done to a wild woody place. The text stated “ he beholds air cities, substantial villages, extensive fields, an immense country filled with decent houses, good roads, orchards, meadows, and bridges, where an hundred years ago all was wild , woody and uncultivated!” Another point that was made that America was the land of free. He, as Hector calls America , was free of many things. One major thing he was free of was monarchy. The selling point hector used was there was no one person or power in control. Those who came to America would not

Thomas Paine, a revolutionary, intellectual, and supporter of American independence from England published a book titled, “Rights of Man” which deals with the government shielding the natural rights of its people. Initially, the book captures the diverse aspect of this nation, but it fails to reveal the struggles that arise to preserve and adapt to such a society. Paine expresses his optimism towards the supposed perfection of American society, as one “made up...of people from different nations,” with certain expectations. Additionally, the time gap between “Rights of Man” and modern America cannot be neglected. Paine wrote during an era in which “constructing a government on the principles of society and the rights of man” was the essential objective of the country. However, modern-day America experiences opposite ideals and Paine’s theory no longer remains true because of the educational gap between the rich and poor, terrorism, and racial profiling.

While writing his book, Rights of Man, Thomas Paine sheds an optimistic light on the “perfection” that is the American society. He describes the country as one “made up… of people from different nations,” with varied languages, and religions, which continues to hold true today. Although, Paine wrote in a time when “constructing government on the principles of society and the rights of man” was the central focus of the country, from this point on any connection between Paine’s book and modern society is merely false claims, issued with the intention of illustrating a lawless country. In particular, the income gap has been steadily increasing since Bush, racial discrimination and stereotypes, and the the fight against disagreeable legislature or tax raises.

“America is an improbable idea.”, an unexpected and eye-opening, yet simple statement Anna Quindlen uses to start her argument in “A Quilt of a Country”. In her writing, she speaks about how the “land of the free and home of the brave” is a discordant plan. The author supports her position by describing how American children are taught about the bigotry of their ancestors, how balkanized the country is with self-segregation and how all men were “created equal” but everyone thinks he is better than another. Quindlen’s argument is in fact one logical conclusion. The concept of America, on the surface, does seem improbable. However, she ends her composition unconvinced herself.

Throughout history, America has grown into a prosperous country inhabited by many native-born citizens as well as immigrants. As America advanced, its citizens developed an identity for themselves that in turn reveals itself in American literature. Through the portrayal of obstacles, experiences and common ideas, the writers Michel-Guillaume Jena de Creve Coeur and Thomas Paine explore and illustrate the American identity’s essence. These common ideas include the following: the need and desire for independence; the desire to work hard and smart; and the respect for oneself and others. Creve Coeur depicts the American identity in Letters to an American Farmer, and Paine illustrates his understanding of this identity in Common Sense.

Primary sources like letters, drawings, engravings and other original documents play a great role in learning and understanding history. Sometimes such document can tell us about the past even more than a history textbook, because it has direct relation to the past and connected with the historical period by the author’s personal feelings, thoughts and memories about the past. In 1782 a French writer Hector St. John de Crevecoeur published “Letters from an American Farmer”, where he put the beginning to the famous idea of the United States as a melting pot of different nations and cultures that harmonically mixed together and created a new American nation. The excerpt from the mentioned Crevecoeur 's work dipped me in America of post-revolutionary period, when newborn and independent country appeared and new nation was created, and gave an opportunity to imagine what the idea of an American man was in the reflection of a new coming immigrant from Europe.

In “Letters from an American Farmer,” written by de Crevecoeur, he discusses what life and society in America was like back then. He also talks about the process of becoming an American and defines what it means to have that title. A statement has been made that the general description of “the idea” of an American de Crevecoeur gives throughout his letter is still true today. This is relatively true except for some elements in modern America that make this statement partially not true. Religion, opportunities, being a free country, and life in general are all topics and components in the passage that qualify this statement. They all contribute to the fact that present America is still somewhat the same to what was said by de Crevecoeur in the early times. America is still a diverse and free country and has opportunities to be seeked by its citizens. Although this is true, America has changed, proving it is false as well. Our country has become even more diverse with way more nationalities than just European and does not have equal opportunities. Overall, the author’s description of early America is similar to today, however, there are significant aspects to consider that make the statement not entirely true.

1776, the Founding Fathers took a leap of faith, challenging the King and his far superior military forces, boasting only a ragtag army of farmers and patriots. Over 200 years, two World Wars, and a bloody Civil War later, America sits atop the hierarchy of world powers. Despite being endlessly doubted, questioned, and seen as an “improbable idea”, the the United States has been able to overcome all odds and take a prominent position in the world because of an unyielding bold determination held by Americans, embodied by the exaggerated details in George Washington Crossing the Delaware, the observations in the essay A Quilt of a Country: Out of Many One, and the pathos appeal in Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address.

Literature has a tendency to draw from ones’ surroundings to tell a story or make a statement. Authors use their observation skills to make pieces of work great. The idea that literature reflects society is an idea that can trace back many years. In Crevecoeur’s Letters from an American Farmers, James the farmers is on an exhibition through the American colonies. Crevecoeur is able to share what he sees and experiences in his own life through the character of James. His letters define the culture and attitudes of what being an American is. Each letter represents and tells the story of something different. There is a strong sense of pride in one letter; however, there is shame present in the other. In the beginning letters, it describes what being an American is and the pride associated with this. Letters towards the end share a saddened view. Crevecoeur helped to bring light to the conflicting greatness and the history and development of America.