The Meaning Of Being An American In The 1800s

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The Meaning of being an American has changed tremendously over the years. Being an American in the early 1800s means many different things. When i went to America last year they taught me that to be an American I need to understand Politics, Music and the American Religion. When I was down in America there were many people talking about Politics. Apparently politics is a really big thing there. They have two political parties, the Democrat-Republicans and the Federalists. The Democrat-Republican Believed that America’s future was with small farmers and opposed “monied interests.” They Argued for state rights and a small government, they also supported France in its wars with England. Their Support came from farmers as well as workers and craftsmen in towns, and they are strongest in the South and West. Opposed to the Federalists who wanted strong central government to promote commerce and manufacturing, including a national bank. They tended to be suspicious of democracy. They also Support England in its wars with France. Their support came especially from urban areas, business, and upper classes. They were also strongest in New England and coastal towns. It really surprised me on how different people in the same country can be. …show more content…

There were all kinds of music. There is Classic, Spiritual, Folk Songs and Minstrels. Classical music was mostly heard at Cotillions. It is played by Orchestras and it sounds beautiful. Spiritual songs are church hymns that slaves set to African music styles. Now Folk Songs, those are interesting. They are songs that originate and traditional popular culture or that is written in that style. The last kind of Music that is popular in America is Minstrels. Minstrels are written by white composers to mimic the music of blacks. To be completely honest my favorite kind of music it