Letters From An American Farmer Summary

What is an American? According to J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur, the author of Letters from an American Farmer, an American is “one who is liberated from obligation or dependence on others, who finds the ability to make a living for himself and look out for his own interests.”I believe an American is someone who can work hard and provide for their family, they have to value everyone and they have to have a goal they strive for, something that goes beyond their job and family. Crevecoeur and I seem to have pretty different outlooks on what an American is. Because of this, it is clear that we have different viewpoints about what makes being an American different and why we should value people in the American system. Let’s see what he says about valuing Americans.

Apparently, everyone was a farmer, they all lived in the same types of homes and they were all treated as equals, everyone was valued as an individual. I do not agree with Crevecoeur, because he did not once mention slavery and the slaves. The definition of a slave is as follows, “a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them.” That does not sound like equality, it doesn’t sound like they were valuing those people. To me, valuing someone means being happy that that said person was in your life and that you got to be a part of theirs, you cherish them and believe that they’re very important to you. Don’t get me wrong, not a lot of people value each other these days, America in this day and age is one of hate and violence. People are shooting up schools and churches, they are fighting each other because of their skin color. Life would be a whole lot better if everyone valued each other, even if it was just a little bit. I think the lack of value is one thing that differentiates America from the rest world. I know Crevecoeur thought America was different in a lot of ways, and I think I agree with