American Culture

In order to understand American culture, one must have knowledge of the

history of our country. America is traditionally a country of

immigrants. Very few people today have ancestors who were natives in

this land. Even our founding fathers fled to America…many because of

religious persecution, and a few who were just looking to start a new

life on the exciting untouched frontier. During the hundreds of years

to come, America was seen as a land of opportunity, and people from all

over the world moved there; some in large groups, and some all by

themselves. This history of immigration to America has greatly shaped

our culture. Instead of having one basic set of customs and beliefs,

our country has so many that there are no dominant viewpoints. We are

like a melting pot in some ways, and a tossed salad in other ways.

Each immigrant brings some of his homeland’s culture with him, and some

parts of his culture will melt with others, and some will stay intact

(like all of the different pieces of a salad). I think this is why the

French and English responses to individualism were different.