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Before the 20th century, individual progress was the definition of the American identity. Success was zero-sum; the people that did progress had authority over the people that didn’t, and people had this overwhelming desire to strive to the fullest as an individual. Several developments throughout American history demonstrated the desire to succeed and progress in America before the 20th century. Slavery, industrialization, and the great depression are events that had an immense impacted the American identity in the 1920s by transforming it from an identity built on a greedy desire to strive and progress as an individual to one that strives to progress as a nation in whole.
In “Cotton is King”, James Henry Hammond explained how the north would
“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”, three common goals immigrants came to America seeking with hopes of the promise to prosper and gain success. However, during the Gilded Age it seemed as though these were attainable only for the select few, while others left the land they knew to spend their lives toiling away in pursuit of the American dream, many never understanding how unattainable it really was. While the Gilded Age was a time of an industrial boom and a growing economy, those working by the sweat of their brow to make the success of this time possible, were not actually ever grasping this wealth, but rather putting right back into the pockets of the wealthy. The Gilded Age compromised the American Dream by limiting the chances of the immigrant working class, and thus creating a cycle of missed opportunities keeping the immigrants from progressing much further then when they came to America to begin with.
Throughout the course of human history, civilizations time and time again have attempted to obtain the solidity and happiness found in the United States. In order to seize this stability, the U.S. faced a great variety of hurdles within its history, but also tasted the fruits of prosperity and victory. By far, the most spectacular of these ages of wealth was the Roaring 20’s. After leaving World War I with few losses, the U.S. dove deep into the evolution of pleasure and also focused on helping immigrants from around the world achieve the coveted American Dream. After this joyous age of diversity died, the reign of Jim Crow Era emerged like never before, this era of discrimination served as
Are black people that different than white people? This is both a question and concern society focuses much attention on today, is there cultural assimilation in the United States or does the country still remain segregated? Realistically, America has a long way to come before saying it fully integrates both races equally. Donnell Alexander, author of “Cool Like Me” approaches the topic of the prejudices whites have of blacks, arguing that there exists no cultural integration and the United States is still separated. With many lucid examples using expressive tones and personal examples, he compares the coolness of himself to the coolness of other blacks and other cultures in order to get the reader to identify “cool” and relate it as a black quality and observe it in American culture as a style and a way of thinking.
The nineteenth century was a period of significant change for the newly established United States of America. The bloody and destructive Civil War had left the weakened country in a state of disorder and adjustment. Although politically unified, the country was still socially divided between the North and the South. In addition to the social issues that conflicted their way of life and economic foundation, the South had to correspondingly adapt to the rise of “industrialization and corporate capitalism, urbanization, and migration“(14). In the essay the “Natural Distinction”, Maureen Montgomery constructs a standpoint to interpret the identity crisis that the nation had succumbed to. This episode of vast change and transformation would ultimately
The Extent of American Unity and Identity Since early colonization the English colonies had always felt closer to England than to each other. In fact, it took a British newspaper less time to reach Savannah than a letter from Massachusetts. However, after the French and Indian War a sense of unity began to permeate through the colonies as a result of British acts. For every British action there was an American reaction, which fed the spirit of a new identity as Americans, not English colonists. The American identity was being established in the years before the revolution, but it was not the majority as some colonists stayed loyal to the King.
Since the birth of the new country, America had to create everything from zero. When America was discovered it was a wild territory in which the culture, the language and the religion according to Europeans were not developed. At the very beginning of the birth of the country, America was divided into different colonies whose population was basically immigrants from Europe. Those immigrants, who came to America, were from England, Holland, France, German, and Scandinavian population. They carried the culture, language, and traditions from their countries and then they were adapted to the new country and to the new style of life. This melting pot of cultures made America to be one of the most influenced nation, and also one of the most independent as well. The majority of those immigrants who composed the new American population were puritans, and this caused some consequences in the development of the nation and in particular in literature.
It all started in the 1800’s and 1900’s when change started happening for all Americans, and it came as a surprise as they watched it all unfold. Agriculture wasn’t considered an option for most people as the rise of Industrialization made its mark on America, started by Andrew Carnegie in 1875, he created steel which would help change the way people could get across rivers. Equalities have changed the way men and women think of each other, considering men didn’t think highly of women back in the 1900’s. Immigration, which has changed today with the political debates, and people not accepting people for who they are, then when they did in the 1900’s. Lastly, what we consider the American Dream, and it is a Dream that has taken a drastic turn as what we thought was the greatest gift you could receive, is now overlooked as something we just have, rather than something we have earned.
The "American" identity is a lot different than how it was when the country was first established in 1776. People believed it represented freedom and opportunity. But after many events and many changing trends, the "American" identity evolved. After World War II, the world developed a different view of America then it had before. Some said we were heroes of the war and an industrial powerhouse, others said we destroyed lives with our atomic bomb. But no matter which point you take, you can agree, the role the United States played in World War II during the 1940's shifted the meaning of the "American" identity.
The Progressive era of the 1920s was setting up for the devastation that would come in the next decade. The United States continued to become bigger, more efficient, and more modern each year. “Get-rich-quick” and “buy now pay later” were new concepts that Americans were consuming in large scales. Then the stock market crashed in October of 1929, banks failed, purchasing reduced, and unemployment rose which inevitably began the 10-year Depression. Many people would think that culture could not flourish during these times, but that is not the case. During the great Depression, culture grew within many different ethnic groups in America.
The United States went through a dramatic change from 1865 to the twentieth century. The United States evolved from being a nation not prominent in world affairs, with an agriculture-based economy, to being one of the dominant industrial powers on our planet by going through political and social shifts such as Progressivism and populism, Expansion and industrialization, and reconstruction These factors all tied together led to productive changes that makes America to be the most industrialized and free country in the world.
Every person or generation has a different way of describing the American identity. Each generation is unique and made of something different. My generation is called generation Z. There are five generations that make up America, and they all see American identities differently. Here are the birth years for each generation:
How does throwing something at someone make them sad? How does bullying someone make them un confident? These are all questions that go with how our generation defines what it means to be an american. There are so many ways that our actions effect on our american identity. Either bad or good. There are so many ways that you can make your American Identity good. And that's not by doing illegal or just bad things in general. Start by making your mark on others and leaving a good example.
There are different types of people in the world that people may know. Sometimes we may see two different sides of people. One, a person can be a leader, an innovator, or a role model to set an example of how to be independent. Another way we can see is how a person or anyone may control their lives. Sometimes people force others to be something that they are not really meant to be. Amy Tan went through a phase where her mother wanted her to be something than herself, but showed her mom that she does not have to be a certain way to be successful. Amy wrote a short story called “Two Kinds” and explains what happens in her life and how her mom wanted to be a child of prodigy. People can be creative and become successful in their own ways if they
What is an American identity? Where do you get one? Does it form when you learn right from wrong, or is your status formed when you are born? Identity- everyone has one, yet no one has the same. The description of American identity has no distinct definition. The question can be interpreted in a thousands ways, nevertheless, one similarity remains the same. Our variety of culture, religion, and beliefs is what makes us American.
In countries outside of the United States, Americanization is the influence American culture and business has on other countries, such as their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, technology, or political techniques. The term has been used since at least 1907. While not necessarily a hostile term, it is most often used by critics in the target country who are against the influences.