What Does It Mean To Be An American Essay

Traditionally, American studies is a field that explores the various complexities of American culture by examining its historical, social, political, and cultural aspects that shape what it means to be an American residing in the contiguous United States. As a unique representative of an “outsider”, I have a collective experience of what it means to be American in some ways, and a foreign student in others. This perspective gives me a third person point of view on what it entails to be an American, rooted in my personal experiences and observations of the reality of American living. The incredible and extremely varied perspectives of what it means to be American make it increasingly important to distinguish facts from opinions. By defining

As a student from a foreign country, this is a very broadly discussed ideal that is both refuted and supported by past and present American culture. Some common examples of the American Dream as written by The Investopedia Team include “owning your own house, starting a family, and having a stable job or owning your own business” (Investopedia). This was often supported by the image of owning one’s own house with a white picket fence, whilst having 1-2 children and a pet whilst living individually on the land of the free. From an outsider perspective, this is a plausible and popular reason to travel to America in hopes of a better life. Those living in American society, however, have largely varying views on the American Dream, as it largely satisfies the idea that you can do what you want in an effort to make the individual as happy as can be. One proud example of the successful American Dream is seen by Scottish-American industrialist Andrew Carnegie, the story of a poor foreigner who came to America and became one of the richest Americans in history, partly due to the ideals bespoke by American

Ideally, American Studies helps us explore the way Americans came to be, and furthermore explore the distinct differences and complexities bestowed within American society. Arguably one of the most important yet controversial documents of its kind, in 1776, the Declaration of Independence proclaims that “all men are created equal”, a statement that has been both deeply acknowledged and scrutinized for its inclusivity or lack there-of. This important document not only acknowledges the shortcomings of human nature and American society, but explores the ways in which American culture was shaped and changed in the hundreds of years after it was created. America’s history is met with backlash regarding the enslavement of African Americans, exclusionary practices against women, and even more so to other marginalized groups. In an article by Matthew Rozsa, he explained how in less than four months before the document was ratified, “Abigal Adams – the wife of future President John Adams and thus a future first lady – urged her husband to ‘Remember the Ladies’ when contemplating the legal premises that should guide the nascent republic”