When asked the question “What is an American”, the song God Bless The U.S.A by Lee Greenwood comes to many of our minds. The melodious tune and patriotic lyrics endear pride in our hearts. Something about our national flag makes us feel secure and content with our country. The symbol of the stars and stripes pumps pride through our blood. Americans are raised with the thought that The United States of America was the best place on Earth. So What is an American? In short, To be American is to be proud. If winning two World Wars and being one of the world's greatest superpowers doesn't inspire pride in your country, not much will. America has many of things to be proud of like gaining independence and containing communism. Things like freedom …show more content…
At the time if his immigration, Europe farmland was in high demand. There was no farmland that a poor man, like Crevecoeur, could buy to earn a living. If you had no way to make money, you would starve and most likely die. Only wealthy citizens could afford land. When Crevecoeur came to America there was land to spare. Land was fertile, cheap and perfect to start a simple farm and make a living. One thing that Crevecoeur mentioned was that the only familiar thing in the entire country was the language and a few other people that immigrated with him, and he still managed to make a living. When Crevecoeur explains his reasoning for loving the country so much, he says “Where my bread is earned, there is my country” (2 Crevecoeur). The young immigrant was happy to call another country home because America had so much to offer. Even he was proud of America and the fact that he could see a future for himself. There are so many other promising factors that added to his pride for the country. He enjoyed that there was freedom of religion and that so many races had melted into a new race of men. Crevecoeur admired the country very much and was proud to call it his home. Much like many americans today Crevecoeur had found what it means to be an
To be an American is to be proud of your flag and country, to be willing to suffer for America, and to never be willing to give up.
To begin, Crevecoeur states in his letters that there 's great opportunities for everyone in America. Those who were sober and hard working were quickly given jobs. All men who were hired were
Crèvecoeur depicts Americans as though they are a new race or sub-set of people formed from European descent. He mentions, “they are a mixture of English, Scotch, Irish, French, Dutch, Germans and Swedes. From this promiscuous breed, that race now called Americans have arisen” (310-311). Although the American character is founded on liberty, industry, independence, and happiness, Crèvecoeur mentions how extraordinary the diversity is among Americans. Although many Americans came from different customs, traditions, and governments, Crèvecoeur suggests their ability to unite on relatively new ideologies distinguishes them as a nation. Also, adopting the customs of America and rendering an individual's previous traditions, seems to be the product of the high-risk, high-hope behavior distinctive to Americans. He defines, “he is an American, who, leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he holds” (312). Incorporating new doctrines, governments, and hierarchies the American character develops with the growth of the nation. This becomes exclusive to American identity because it is relatively new as is the American nation and culture. While Americans are unified by similar ideas, and those ideas
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.
In his series of essays and "letters" on American life, Michel-Guillaume-Jean de Crevecoeur gives his readers numerous examples of the superiority of America to all other countries of that time. He believes that one reason for superiority is that America is with out the aristocracy so prevalent in Europe at the time, which led to a hard working and socially equal society. Another reason Crevecoeur sees America as a superior society is the accepting, and assimilating into one new race, the poor peoples from all European countries. This led to an extraordinarily diverse population, much more diverse than any one of the European countries eight-tenth century. It was for these reasons, as well as many others that Crevecoeur saw America as the greatest nation of the 1700’s.
According to Dr. Isaac Berkson, the definition of Americanization is "adaptation and adjustment". He further explained his statement by saying that the concept of Americanization happens "When an immigrant has adapted and adjusted himself to the American conditions and surroundings" (Berkson, 1891). There is a gap of the understanding of Americanization between Berkson back then and the concept of Americanization now. Berkson statement somewhat implied that Americanization could only happen in the land of America, or to individuals that come and stay in a sufficient period of time to be able to get accustomed to the culture. However, nowadays, the meaning indeed has changed into something more
Michel-Guillaume Jean de Crèvecoeur was a French immigrant who emigrated to the New World early in his life. He wrote a series of twelve passages by the name of Letters from an American Farmer. These positive entries made Crèvecoeur famous. (Johnson 72). In one of Michel-Guillaume
St Jean de Crevecoeur, was an emigrant of Europe. Crevecoeur, had no desire to go back to the land in which his forefathers had lived. He was going to a more diverse way of living “where all races melted into new race of man.” (pg 308) He believed America was a place to go to be a free man, “who leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners, that he receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he hold.”(pg 308) Crevecoeur knew that his life as a new man would entail new ideas and new opinions. Hoping that the new laws protect him, “from involuntary idleness, servile dependence, penury and useless labor, he has passed to tolls of very different nature, rewarded by ample subsistence.” (pg 308) Crevecoeur lived the life of a free man in which he was paid for his labors, he owned land and was a farmer. His view of an American, “is a new man, who acts upon new principles; he must therefore entertain new ideas, and form new opinions.” (pg 308)
Crèvecoeur begins his essay by establishing the background of Americans with regard to their reasoning for abandoning their homeland, Europe. The poor Europeans lived in “a continual scene of sore affliction” and received “nothing but the frowns of the rich.” When European’s arrived in America, they left behind “jails and punishments” that accompanied Europe’s “severe laws.” America provided refuge to those who constantly suffered in Europe.
The introduction of transoceanic steam ships also meant that the immigrants could come speedily, in a matter of ten or twelve clays instead of ten or twelve weeks. For a generation, from 1793 to 1815, war raged across Europe. Ruinous as it was on the continent, the fighting brought unprecedented prosperity to the long-suffering landsmen of Ireland. After 1815, war-inflated wheat prices plummeted by half. Hark-pressed landlords resolved to leave vast fields unplanned. Assisted now by a strengthened ...
The concept of identity is central to the conception of self. National identity is something that became increasingly important as the world became more integrated, as the various cultures of the world began to interact. The culture of the individual is thereby a concept that is constructed both internally and externally through interactions with one’s country and also the world around it. Herein, the concept of the American identity will be explored related to the period of 1870 to 1930. As will be demonstrated, over the course of this period, American identity became a concept that was particularly difficult to achieve for African Americans given the lingering racial tension and racism lingering from the Civil War.
People have never been afraid to overuse this word; they use it with great pride in the country and what it stands for. But what does it really mean to be American? America has undoubtedly become most known for the freedom it offers for its people. In the United States, people are given rights like freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of
What makes a person an american? What is an American? Is it someone who votes for the president? Is it someone who takes a stand in what they believe in? People have very different views on what makes an American. It could be the people that fight for our safety. It could be the people that help make a home safe. It may even be a person who fights for themselves. What makes a person an American is not living in the united states. There are plenty of people that have migrated to America, and have the same believes as any U.S citizen. Each person in this hectic world have their own views politically, socially, and emotionally, but that doesn’t make someone an American. What I have seen in my life what makes a person an American, are these three qualities, integrity, gratitude, and power.
What exactly is an American? An American is someone who strives for a better tomorrow. Someone who never settles and is never completely satisfied with what they have because, they know they can do better. An American is someone with a dream. Whether that dream is to become a teacher, astronaut, or the president.
He explains that there is no place like America, and that is something that makes it so special. According to The American Beginning, “No one has better stated what Americans have most wanted to believe about themselves and their society. Crevecoeur seems especially persuasive because he claimed to be a common American farmer—a pose rendered plausible by his richly detailed and affectionate descriptions of nature and rural work” (Taylor). Crevecoeur explains that stepping foot on American soil for the first time is magical: “I wish I could be acquainted with the feelings and thoughts which must agitate the heart and present themselves to the mind of an enlightened