Part 5 Culture of Us

BRITISH AND AMERICAN CULTURAL STUDIES 133
OF THE UNITED STATES

After learning this unit, the learner will be able to:
Present, analyse and discuss the matters relating to the
United States on the different aspects of: ways oflife, education
and arts and letters.
- Have profound insights into the ways oflife ofthe
American people.
- Identify the forces that shaped the culture of the United
States.
- Recognize the role ofEducation in the United States as an
enormous investment that requires contributions from many
sources.
Recognize the role of Arts and Letters in the American
culture in providing avenues for the expression of imagination
and personal vision.
2.1 INTRODUCTION
The American people express their culture through
traditions in food, clothing, recreation, and ceremonies;
through the education system and institutions of learning,
including museums and libraries; and through the arts,
encompassing the visual, literary, and performing arts.
American culture is rich, complex, and unique. It emerged
from the short and rapid European conquest of an enormous
134 BRITISH AND AMERICAN CULTURAL STUDIES
landmass sparsely settled by diverse indigenous peoples.
Although European cultural patterns predominated, especially
in language, the arts, and political institutions, peoples from
Africa, Asia, and North America also contributed to American
culture. All of these groups influenced popular tastes in music,
dress, entertainment, and cuisine. As a result, American culture
possesses an unusual mixture of patterns and forms forged from
among its diverse peoples. The many melodies of American
culture have not always been harmonious, but its complexity has
created a society that struggles to achieve tolerance and produces
a uniquely casual personal style that identifies Americans
everywhere. The country is strongly committed to democracy, in
which views of the majority prevail, and strives for equality in
law and institutions.
Characteristics such as democracy and equality flourished in
the American environment long before taking firm root in
European societies, where the ideals originated. As early as the
1780s, Michel Guillaume Jean de Crvecoeur, a French writer
living in P,ennsylvania who wrote under the pseudonym J.
Hector St. John, was impressed by the democratic nature of
early American society. It was not until the 19th century that
these tendencies in America were most fully expressed. When
French political writer Alexis de Tocqueville, an acute social
observer, traveled through the United States in the 1830s, he
provided an unusually penetrating portrait of the nature of
democracy in America and its cultural consequences. He
commented that in all areas of culture - family life, law, arts,
philosophy, and dress - Americans were inclined to emphasize
the ordinary and easily accessible, rather than the unique and
complex. His insight is as relevant today as it was when de
Tocqueville visited the United States. As a result, American
culture is more often defined by its popular and democratically
inclusive features, such as blockbuster movies, television
comedies, sports stars, and fast food, than by its more cultivated
aspects as performed in theaters, published in books, or viewed
in museums and galleries. Even the fine arts in modern America
often partake of the energy and forms of popular culture, and
modern arts are often a product of the fusion of fine and popular
arts.
While America is probably most well-known for its popular
arts, Americans partake in an enormous range of cultural
activities. Besides being avid readers of a great variety of books
and magazines catering to differing tastes and interests,
Americans also attend museums, operas, and ballets in large
numbers. They listen to country and classical music, jazz and
folk music, as well as classic rock-and-roll and new wave.
Americans attend and participate in basketball, football,
baseball, and soccer games. They enjoy food from a wide
range of foreign cuisines, such as Chinese, Thai, Greek,
French, Indian, Mexican, Italian, Ethiopian, and Cuban. They
have also developed their own regional foods, such as
California cuisine and Southwestern, Creole, and Southern
cooking. Still evolving and drawing upon its ever more
diverse population, American culture has come to symbolize
what is most up-to-date and modern. American culture has
also become increasingly international and is imported by
countries around the world.
202 FORCES THAT SHAPED AMERICAN
CULTURE
202. 1 Imported Traditions
Today American culture often sets the pace in modern
style. For much of its early history, however, the United States
was considered culturally provincial and its arts second-rate,
especially in painting and literature, where European artists
defined quality and form. American artists often took their
cues from European literary salons and art schools, and cultured
Americans traveled to Europe to become educated. In the late
18th century, some American artists produced high-quality art,
such as the paintings of John Singleton Copley and Gilbert
Charles Stuart and the silver work of Paul Revere. However,
wealthy Americans who collected art in the 19th century still
bought works by European masters and acquired European
decorative arts - porcelain, silver, and antique furniture. They
then ventured further afield seeking more exotic decor,
especially items from China and Japan. By acquiring foreign
works, wealthy Americans were able to obtain the status
inherent in a long historical tradition, which the United States
lacked. Americans such as Isabella Stewart Gardner and Henry
Clay Frick amassed extensive personal collections, which
overwhelmingly emphasized non-American arts.
In literature, some 19th-century American writers believed
that only the refined manners and perceptions associated
with the European upper classes could produce truly great
literary themes. T»ese writers, notably Henry James and
Edith Wharton, often set their novels in the crosswinds of
European and American cultural contact. Britain especially
served as the touchstone for culture and quality because of its
role in America's history and the links of language and political
institutions. Throughout the 19th century, Americans read and
imitated British poetry and novels, such as those written by Sir
Walter Scott and Charles Dickens.
2.202 The Emergence of an American Voice
American culture first developed a unique American voice
during the 19th century. This voice included a cultural identity
that was strongly connected to nature and to a divine mission.
The new American voice had liberating effects on how the
culture was perceived, by Americans and by others. Writers
Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau proposed that
the American character was deeply individualistic and
connected to natural and spiritual sources rather than to the
conventions of social life. Many of the 19th century's most
notable figures ofAmerican literature - Herman Melville, Emily
Dickinson, and Mark Twain - also influenced this tradition. The
poetry of Walt Whitman, perhaps above all, spoke in a
distinctly American voice about people's relation to one
another, and described American freedom, diversity, and
equality with fervor.
Landscape painting in the United States during the 19th
century vividly captured the unique American cultural identity
with its emphasis on the natural environment. This was evident
in the huge canvases set in the West by Albert Bierstadt and the
more intimate paintings of Thomas Cole. These paintings,
which were part of the Hudson River School, were often
enveloped in a radiant light suggesting a special connection to
spiritual sources. But very little of this American culture moved
beyond the United States to influence art trends elsewhere.
American popular culture, including craft traditions such as
quilting or local folk music forged by Appalachian farmers or
former African slaves, remained largely local.
This sense of the special importance of nature for
American identity led Americans in the late 19th century to
become increasingly concerned that urban life and
industrial products were overwhelming the natural
environment. Their concern led for calls to preserve areas
that had not been developed. Naturalists such as John Muir
were pivotal in establishing the first national parks and
preserving scenic areas ofthe American West. By the early 20th
century, many Americans supported the drive to preserve
wilderness and the desire to make the great outdoors available
to everyone.
2.203 Immigration and Diversity
By the early 20th century, as the United States became an
international power, its cultural self-identity became more
complex. The United States was becoming more diverse as
immigrants streamed into the country, settling especially in
America's growing urban areas. At this time, America's social
diversity began to find significant expression in the arts and
culture. American writers of German, Irish, Jewish, and
Scandinavian ancestry began to find an audience, although
some of the cultural elite resisted the works, considering them
crude and unrefined.
Many of these writers focused on 20th-century city life and
themes, such as poverty, efforts to assimilate into the United
States, and family life in the new country. These ethnically
diverse writers included Theodore Dreiser, of German ancestry;
Henry Roth, a Jewish writer; and Eugene O'Neill and James
Farrell, of Irish background. European influence now meant
something very different than it once had: Artists changed the
core of American experience by incorporating their various
immigrant origins into its cultural vision. During the 1920s and
1930s, a host of African American poets and novelists added
their voices to this new American vision. Langston Hughes,
Zora Neale Hurston, and Countee Cullen, among others,
gathered in New York City's Harlem district. They began to
write about their unique experiences, creating a movement
called the Harlem Renaissance.
Visual artists of the early 20th century also began
incorporating the many new sights and colors ofthe multiethnic
America visible in these new city settings. Painters associated
with a group known as The Eight (also called the Ashcan
school), such as Robert Henri and John Sloan, portrayed the
picturesque sights of the city. Later painters and photographers
focused on the city's squalid and seamier aspects. Although nature
remained a significant dimension of American cultural self
expression, as the paintings of Georgia O'Keeffe demonstrated, it

was no longer at the heart ofAmerican culture. By the 1920s and
1930s few artists or writers considered nature the singular basis of
American cultural identity.
In popular music too, the songs of many nations became
American songs. Tin Pan Alley (Union Square in New York
City, the center of music publishing at the turn of the 20th
century) was full of immigrant talents who helped define
American music, especially in the form of the Broadway
musical. Some songwriters, such as Irving Berlin and George
M. Cohan, used their music to help define American patriotic
songs and holiday traditions. During the 1920s musical forms
such as the blues and jazz began to dominate the rhythms of
American popular music. These forms had their roots in Africa
as adapted in the American South and then in cities such as
New Orleans, Louisiana; Kansas City, Missouri; Detroit,
Michigan; and Chicago, Illinois. Black artists and musicians
such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald,
and Count Basie became the instruments of a classic American
sound. White composers such as George Gershwin and
performers such as Bix Beiderbecke also incorporated jazz
rhythms into their music, while instrumentalists such as Benny
Goodman adopted jazz's improvisational style to forge a
racially blended American form called swing music.
2.2.4 Development of Mass Media
In the late 19th century, Americans who enjoyed the arts
usually lived in big cities or had the money to attend live
performances. People who were poor or distant from cultural
centers settled for second-rate productions mounted by local
theater troupes or touring groups. New technologies, such as the
motion-picture camera and the phonograph, revolutionized the
arts by making them available to the masses. The movies, the
phonograph, and, somewhat later, the radio made entertainment
available daily and allowed Americans to experience
elaborately produced dramas and all types of music.
While mass media made entertainment available to more
people, it also began to homogenize tastes, styles, and points of
view among different groups in the United States. Class and
ethnic distinctions in American culture began to fade as mass
media transmitted movies and music to people throughout the
United States. Some people criticized the growing uniformity of
mass culture for lowering the general standard of taste, since
mass media sought to please the largest number of people by
appealing to simpler rather than more complex tastes. However,
culture became more democratic as modern technology and
mass media allowed it to reach more people.
During the 20th century, mass entertainment extended the
reach of American culture, reversing the direction of influence
as Europe and the world became consumers of American
popular culture. America became the dominant cultural source
for entertainment and popular fashion, from the jeans and T-
shirts young people wear to the music groups and rock stars
they listen to and the movies they see. People all over the world
view American television programs, often years after the
program's popularity has declined in the United States.
American television has become such an international fixture
that American news broadcasts help define what people in other
countries know about current events and politics. American
entertainment is probably one of the strongest means by which
American culture influences the world, although some
countries, such as France, resist this influence because they see
it as a threat to their unique national culture.
202.5 The Impact of Consumerism
Popular culture is linked to the growth of consumerism,
the repeated acquisition of an increasing variety of goods
and services. The American lifestyle is often associated with
clothing, houses, electronic gadgets, and other products, as
well as with leisure time. As advertising stimulates the desire
for updated or improved products, people increasingly equate
their well-being with owning certain things and acquiring the
latest model. Television and other mass media broadcast a
portrayal of a privileged American lifestyle that many
Americans hope to imitate.
Americans often seek self-fulfillment and status through
gaining material items. Indeed, products consumed and owned,
rather than professional accomplishments or personal ideals, are
often the standard of success in American society. The media
exemplify this success with the most glamorous models of
consumption: Hollywood actors, sports figures, or music
celebrities. This dependence on products and on constant
consumption defines modern consumer society everywhere.
Americans have set the pace for this consumer ideal, especially
young people, who have helped fuel this consumer culture in
the United States and the world. Like the mass media with
which it is so closely linked, consumption has been extensively
criticized. Portrayed as a dizzy cycle of induced desire,
consumerism seems to erode older values of personal taste and
economy. Despite this, the mass production of goods has also
allowed more people to live more comfortably and made it
possible for anyone to attain a sense of style, blurring the most
obvious forms of class distinction.
WAYS OF LIFE
2.3. I Living Patterns
A fundamental element in the life of the American people
was the enormous expanse of land available. During the
colonial period, the access to open land helped scatter
settlements. One effect was to make it difficult to enforce
traditional European social conventions, such as primogeniture,
in which the eldest son inherited the parents' estate. Because the
United States had so much land, sons became less dependent on
inheriting the family estate. Religious institutions were also
affected, as the widely spread settlements created space for
newer religious sects and revivalist practices.
In the 19th century, Americans used their land to grow
crops, which helped create the dynamic agricultural
economy that defined American society. Many Americans
were lured westward to obtain more land. Immigrants
sought land to settle, cattle ranchers wanted land for their
herds, Southerners
looked to expand their slave economy into Western lands, and

railroad companies acquired huge tracts of land as they bound a
loose society into a coherent economic union. Although Native
Americans had inhabited most of the continent, Europeans and
American settlers often viewed it as empty, virgin land that they
were destined to occupy. Even before the late 19th century,
when the last bloody battles between U.S. troops and Native
Americans completed the white conquest of the West, the idea
of possessing land was deeply etched into American cultural
patterns and national consciousness.
Throughout the 19th century, agricultural settlements
existed on large, separate plots of land, often occupying
hundreds of acres. The Homestead Act of 1862 promised up
to 65 hectares (160 acres) of free land to anyone with
enough fortitude and vision to live on or cultivate the land.
As a result, many settlements in the West contained vast
areas of sparsely settled land, where neighbors lived great
distances from one another. The desire for residential
privacy has remained a significant feature of American
culture.
This heritage continues to define patterns of life in the United
States. More than any other Western society, Americans are
committed to living in private dwellings set apart from
neighbors. Despite the rapid urbanization that began in the late
19th century, Americans insisted that each nuclear family
(parents and their children) be privately housed and that as
many families as possible own their own homes. This strong
cultural standard sometimes seemed unusual to new immigrants
who were used to the more crowded living conditions of
Europe, but they quickly adopted this aspect of American
culture.
As cities became more densely populated, Americans moved
to the suburbs. Streetcars, first used during the 1830s, opened
suburban rings around city centers, where congestion was
greatest. Banks offered long-term loans that allowed individuals
to invest in a home. Above all, the automobile in the 1920s was
instrumental in furthering the move to the suburbs.
After World War Il (1939-1945), developers carved out rural
tracts to build millions of single-family homes, and more
Americans than ever before moved to large suburban areas that
were zoned to prevent commercial and industrial activities. The
federal government directly fueled this process by providing
loans to war veterans as part of the Servicemen's Readjustment
Act of 1944, known as the GI Bill of Rights, which provided a
wide range of benefits to U.S. military personnel. In
BRITISH
14Q AND AMERICAN CULTURAL STUDIES
many of the new housing developments, builders constructed

homes according to a single model, a process first established
in Levittown, New York. These identical, partially
prefabricated units were rapidly assembled, making suburban
life and private land ownership available to millions of
returning soldiers in search of housing for their families.
American families still choose to live in either suburbs or the
sprawling suburban cities that have grown up in newer regions
of the country. Vast areas of the West, such as the Los Angeles
metropolitan region in California, the area around Phoenix,
Arizona, and the Puget Sound area ofWashington state, became
rapidly populated with new housing because of the American
desire to own a home on a private plot of land. In much of this
suburban sprawl, the central city has become largely indistinct.
These suburban areas almost invariably reflect Americans'
dependence on automobiles and on government-supported
highway systems.
As a result of Americans choosing to live in the suburbs, a
distinctly American phenomenon developed in the form of the
shopping mall. The shopping mall has increasingly replaced the
old-fashioned urban downtown, where local shops, restaurants,
and cultural attractions were located. Modern malls emphasize
consumption as an exclusive activity. The shopping mall, filled
with department stores, specialty shops, fast-food franchises,
and movie multiplexes, has come to dominate retailing, making
suburban areas across America more and more alike. In malls,
Americans purchase food, clothing, and entertainment in an
isolated environment surrounded by parking lots.
The American preference for living in the suburbs has also
affected other living experiences. Because suburbs emphasize
family life, suburban areas also place a greater emphasis on
school and other family-oriented political issues than more
demographically diverse cities. At their most intense levels,
desire for privacy and fear of crime have led to the development
of gated suburban communities that keep out those who are not
wanted.
Despite the growth of suburbs, American cities have
maintained their status as cultural centers for theaters,
museums, concert halls, art galleries, and more upscale
restaurants, shops, and bookstores. In the past several
decades, city populations grew as young and trendy
professionals with few or no children sought out the cultural
possibilities and the diversity not available in the suburbs.
Housing can be expensive and difficult to find in older cities
such as New York; Boston,
Massachusetts; and San Francisco, California. To cope, many

city dwellers restored older apartment buildings and houses.
This process, called gentrification, combines the American
desire for the latest technology with a newer appreciation for
the classic and vintage.
Many poorer Americans cannot afford homes in the
suburbs or apartments in the gentrified areas of cities. They
often rely upon federal housing subsidies to pay for
apartments in lessdesirable areas of the city or in public
housing projects. Poorer people often live crowded together
in large apartment complexes in congested inner-city areas.
Federal public housing began when President Franklin
Roosevelt sought to relieve the worst conditions associated
with poverty in the 1930s. It accelerated during the 1950s and
1960s, as the government subsidized the renewal of urban
areas by replacing slums with either new or refurbished
housing. In the late 20th century, many people criticized
public housing because it was often the site for crime, drug
deals, gangs, and other social ills. Nevertheless, given the
expensive nature of rental housing in cities, public housing is
often the only option available to those who cannot afford to
buy their own home. Private efforts, such as Habitat for

Humanity, have been organized to help the urban poor move
from crowded, high-rise apartments. These organizations help
construct low-cost homes in places such as the South Bronx
in New York City, and they emphasize the pride and
autonomy of home ownership.
I increased In recent as years, higher the real importance

estate prices of have home made ownership the house hasa
valuable investment. The newest home construction has
made standard the comforts of large kitchens, luxurious
bathrooms,
and small gardens. In line with the rising cost of land,
these houses often stand on smaller lots than those
constructed in the period following World War Il, when
one-story ranch houses and large lawns were the
predominant style. At the same
time, many suburban areas have added other kinds of housing
in response to the needs of single people and people without
children. As a result, apartments and townhouses-available as
rentals and as condominiums-have become familiar parts of
suburban life.
2.3.2 Food and Cuisine
The United States has rich and productive land that has
provided Americans with plentiful resources for a healthy diet.
Despite this, Americans did not begin to pay close attention to
the variety and quality of the food they ate until the 20th
century, when they became concerned about eating too much
and becoming overweight. American food also grew more
similar around the country as American malls and fast-food
outlets tended to standardize eating patterns throughout the
nation, especially among young people. Nevertheless,

American food has become more complex as it draws from the
diverse cuisines that immigrants have brought with them.
Historically, the rest of the world has envied the good,
wholesome food available in the United States. In the 18th and
19th centuries, fertile soil and widespread land ownership made
grains, meats, and vegetables widely available, and famine that
was common elsewhere was unknown in the United States.
Some immigrants, such as the Irish, moved to the United States
to escape famine, while others saw the bounty of food as one of
the advantages of immigration. By the late 19th century,
America's food surplus was beginning to feed the world. After
World War 1 (1914-1918) and World War 11, the United States
distributed food in Europe to help countries severely damaged
by the wars. Throughout the 20th century, American food
exports have helped compensate for inadequate harvests in
other parts of the world. Although hunger does exist in the
United States, it results more from food being poorly distributed
rather than from food being unavailable.
Traditional American cuisine has included conventional
European foodstuffs such as wheat, dairy products, pork, beef,
and poultry. It has also incorporated products that were either
known only in the New World or that were grown there first
and then introduced to Europe. Such foods include potatoes,
corn, codfish, molasses, pumpkin and other squashes, sweet
potatoes, and peanuts. American cuisine also varies by region.
Southern cooking was often different from cooking in New
England and its upper Midwest offshoots. Doughnuts, for
example, were a New England staple, while Southerners
preferred corn bread. The availability of foods also affected
regional diets, such as the different kinds of fish eaten in New
England and the Gulf Coast. For instance, Boston clam
chowder and Louisiana gumbo are widely different versions
offish soup. Other variations often depended on the
contributions of indigenous peoples. In the Southwest, for

example, Mexican and Native Americans made hot peppers a
staple and helped define the spicy hot barbecues and chili
dishes of the area. In Louisiana, Cajun influence similarly
created spicy dishes as a local variation of Southern cuisine,
and African slaves throughout the South introduced foods such
as okra and yams.
By the late 19th century, immigrants from Europe and Asia
were introducing even more variations into the American diet.
American cuisine began to reflect these foreign cuisines, not only in
their original forms but in Americanized versions as well.
Immigrants from Japan and Italy introduced a range of fresh
vegetables that added important nutrients as well as variety to the
protein-heavy American diet. Germans and Italians contributed new
skills and refinements to the production of alcoholic beverages,
especially beer and wine, which supplemented the more customary
hard cider and indigenous corn-mash whiskeys. Some imports
became distinctly American products, such as hot dogs, which
are descended from German wurst, or sausage. Spaghetti and
pizza from Italy, especially, grew increasingly more American
and developed many regional spin-offs. Americans even
adapted chow mein from China into a simple American dish.
Not until the late 20th century did Americans rediscover these
cuisines, and many others, paying far more attention to their
original forms and cooking styles.
Until the early 20th century, the federal government did not
regulate food for consumers, and food was sometimes
dangerous and impure. During the Progressive period in the
early 20th century, the federal government intervened to protect
consumers against the worst kinds of food adulterations and
diseases by passing legislation such as the Pure Food and Drug
Acts, As a result, American food became safer. By the early
20th century, Americans began to consume convenient,
packaged foods such as breads and cookies, preserved fruits,
and pickles. By the mid-20th century, packaged products had

expanded greatly to include canned soups, noodles, processed
breakfast cereals, preserved meats, frozen vegetables, instant
puddings, and gelatins. These prepackaged foods became
staples used in recipes contained in popular cookbooks, while
peanut butter sandwiches and packaged cupcakes became
standard lunchbox fare. As a result, the American diet became
noteworthy for its blandness rather than its flavors, and for its
wholesomeness rather than its subtlety.
Americans were proud oftheir technology in food production
and processing. They used fertilizers, hybridization (genetically
combining two varieties), and other technologies to increase
crop yields and consumer selection, making foods cheaper if
not always better tasting. Additionally, by the 1950s, the
refrigerator had replaced the old-fashioned icebox and the cold
cellar as a place to store food. Refrigeration, because it allowed
food to last longer, made the American kitchen a convenient
place to maintain readily available food stocks. However,
plentiful wholesome food, when combined with the sedentary
20th-century lifestyle and work habits, brought its own
unpleasant consequences - overeating and excess weight.
During the 1970s, 25 percent of Americans were overweight;
by the 1990s that had increased to 35 percent.
America's foods began to affect the rest of the world - not
only raw staples such as wheat and corn, but a new American
cuisine that spread throughout the world. American emphasis
on convenience and rapid consumption is best represented in
fast foods such as hamburgers, french fries, and soft drinks,
which almost all Americans have eaten. By the 1960s and
1970s fast foods became one of America's strongest exports as
franchises for McDonald's and Burger King spread through
Europe and other parts ofthe world, including the former Soviet
Union and Communist China. Traditional meals cooked at
home and consumed at a leisurely pace - common in the rest of

the world, and once common in the United States - gave way to
quick lunches and dinners eaten on the run as other
countries mimicked American cultural patterns.
By the late 20th century, Americans had become more
conscious of their diets, eating more poultry, fish, and fresh
fruits and vegetables and fewer eggs and less beef. They also
began appreciating fresh ingredients and livelier flavors, and
cooks began to rediscover many world cuisines in forms closer
to their original. In California, chefs combined the fresh fruits
and vegetables available year-round with ingredients and spices
sometimes borrowed from immigrant kitchens to create an
innovative cooking style that was lighter than traditional
French, but more interesting and varied than typical American
cuisine. Along with the state's wines, California cuisine
eventually took its place among the acknowledged forms of fine
dining.
As Americans became more concerned about their diets, they
also became more ecologically conscious. This consciousness
often included an antitechnology aspect that led some
Americans to switch to a partially or wholly vegetarian diet, or
to emphasize products produced organically (without chemical
fertilizers and pesticides). Many considered these foods more
wholesome and socially responsible because their production
was less taxing to the environment. In the latter 20th century,
Americans also worried about the effects of newly introduced
genetically altered foods and irradiation processes for killing
bacteria. They feared that these new processes made their food
less natural and therefore harmful.
These concerns and the emphasis on variety were by no
means universal, since food habits in the late 20th century often
reflected society's ethnic and class differences. Not all
Americans appreciated California cuisine or vegetarian food,
and many recent immigrants, like their immigrant predecessors,

often continued eating the foods they knew best.
At the end of the 20th century, American eating habits and
food production were increasingly taking place outside the
home. Many people relied on restaurants and on new types of
fully prepared meals to help busy families in which both adults
worked full-time. Another sign of the public's changing food
habits was the microwave oven, probably the most widely used
new kitchen appliance, since it can quickly cook foods and
reheat prepared foods and leftovers. Since Americans are
generally cooking less of their own food, they are more aware
than at any time since the early 20th century of the quality and
health standards applied to food. Recent attention to cases in
which children have died from contaminated and poorly
prepared food has once again directed the public's attention to
the government's role in monitoring food safety.
In some ways, American food developments are
contradictory. Americans are more aware of food quality
despite, and maybe because of, their increasing dependence on
convenience. They eat a more varied diet, drawing on the
cuisines of immigrant groups (Thai, Vietnamese, Greek, Indian,
Cuban, Mexican, and Ethiopian), but they also regularly eat fast
foods found in every shopping mall and along every highway.
They are more suspicious of technology, although they rely
heavily on it for their daily meals. In many ways, these
contradictions reflect the many influences on American life in
the late 20th century - immigration, double-income households,
genetic technologies, domestic and foreign travel - and food has
become an even deeper expression of the complex culture of
which it is part.
23.3 Dress
In many regions of the world, people wear traditional
costumes at festivals or holidays, and sometimes more
regularly. Americans, however, do not have distinctive folk

attire with a long tradition. Except for the varied and
characteristic clothing of Native American peoples, dress in the
United States has rarely been specific to a certain region or
based on the careful preservation of decorative patterns and
crafts. American dress is derived from the fabrics and fashions
of the Europeans who began colonizing the country in the 17th
century. Early settlers incorporated some of the forms worn by
indigenous peoples, such as moccasins and garments made
from animal skins (Benjamin Franklin is famous for flaunting a
raccoon cap when he traveled to Europe), but in general,
fashion in the United States adapted and modified European
styles. Despite the number and variety of immigrants in the
United States, American clothing has tended to be
homogeneous, and attire from an immigrant's homeland was
often rapidly exchanged for American apparel.
American dress is distinctive because of its casualness.
American style in the 20th century is recognizably more
informal than in Europe, and for its fashion sources it is more
dependent on what people on the streets are wearing. European
fashions take their cues from the top of the fashion hierarchy,
dictated by the world-famous haute couture (high fashion)
houses of Paris, France, and recently those of Milan, Italy, and
London, England. Paris designers, both today and in the past,
have also dressed wealthy and fashionable Americans, who
copied French styles. Although European designs remain a
significant influence on American tastes, American fashions
more often come from popular sources, such as the school and
the street, as well as television and movies. In the last quarter of
the 20th century, American designers often found inspiration in
the imaginative attire worn by young people in cities and
ballparks, and that worn by workers in factories and fields.
Blue jeans are probably the single most representative article
of American clothing. They were originally invented by tailor
Jacob Davis, who together with dry-goods salesman Levi Strauss

patented the idea in 1873 as durable clothing for miners. Blue
jeans (also known as dungarees) spread among workers of all
kinds in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, especially among
cowboys, farmers, loggers, and railroad workers. During the
1950s, actors Marlon Brando and James Dean made blue jeans
fashionable by wearing them in movies, and jeans became part of
the image of teenage rebelliousness. This fashion statement
exploded in the 1960s and 1970s as Levi's became a fundamental
part of the youth culture focused on civil rights and antiwar
protests. By the late 1970s, almost everyone in the United States
wore blue jeans, and youths around the world sought them. As
designers began to create more sophisticated styles of blue jeans
and to adjust their fit, jeans began to express the American
emphasis on informality and the importance of subtlety of detail.
By highlighting the right label and achieving the right look, blue
jeans, despite their worker origins, ironically embodied the status
consciousness
of American fashion and the eagerness to approximate the
latest fad.
American informality in dress is such a strong part of
American culture that many workplaces have adopted the idea
of "casual Friday," a day when workers are encouraged to dress
down from their usual professional attire. For many high-tech
industries located along the West Coast, as well as among
faculty at colleges and universities, this emphasis on casual
attire is a daily occurrence, not just reserved for Fridays.
The fashion industry in the United States, along with its
companion cosmetics industry, grew enormously in the second
half of the 20th century and became a major source of
competition for French fashion. Especially notable during the
late 20th century was the incorporation of sports logos and
styles, from athletic shoes to tennis shirts and baseball caps,
into standard American wardrobes. American informality is
enshrined in the wardrobes created by world-famous U.S.

designers such as Calvin Klein, Liz Claiborne, and Ralph
Lauren. Lauren especially adopted the American look, based in
part on the tradition of the old West (cowboy hats, boots, and
jeans) and in part on the clean-cut sportiness of suburban style
(blazers, loafers, and khakis).
2.304 Sports and Recreation
Large numbers ofAmericans watch and participate in sports
activities, which are a deeply ingrained part of American life.
Americans use sports to express interest in health and fitness
and to occupy their leisure time. Sports also allow Americans to
connect and identify with mass culture. Americans pour billions
of dollars into sports and their related enterprises, affecting the
economy, family habits, school life, and clothing styles.
Americans of all classes, races, sexes, and ages participate in
sports activities - from toddlers in infant swimming groups and
teenagers participating in school athletics to middle-aged adults
bowling or golfing and older persons practicing t'ai chi.
Public subsidies and private sponsorships support the
immense network of outdoor and indoor sports, recreation,
and athletic competitions. Except for those sponsored by
public schools, most sports activities are privately funded,
and
even American Olympic athletes receive no direct national
sponsorship. Little League baseball teams, for example, are
usually sponsored by local businesses. Many commercial
football, basketball, baseball, and hockey teams reflect large
private investments. Although sports teams are privately
owned, they play in stadiums that are usually financed by
taxpayer-provided subsidies such as bond measures. State taxes
provide some money for state university sporting events.
Taxpayer dollars also support state parks, the National Park
Service, and the Forest Service, which provide places for
Americans to enjoy camping, fishing, hiking, and rafting.

Public money also funds the Coast Guard, whose crews protect
those enjoying boating around the nation's shores.
Sports in North America go back to the Native Americans,
who played forms of lacrosse and field hockey. During colonial
times, early Dutch settlers bowled on New York City's Bowling
Green, still a small park in southern Manhattan. However,
organized sports competitions and local participatory sports on a
substantial scale go back only to the late 19th century. Schools
and colleges began to encourage athletics as part of a balanced
program emphasizing physical as well as mental vigor, and
churches began to loosen strictures against leisure and physical
pleasures. As work became more mechanized, more clerical,
and less physical during the late 19th century, Americans
became concerned with diet and exercise. With sedentary urban
activities replacing rural life, Americans used sports and outdoor
relaxation to balance lives that had become hurried and
confined. Biking, tennis, and golf became popular for those who
could afford them, while sandlot baseball and an early
version of basketball became popular city activities. At the same
time, organizations such as the Boy Scouts and the Young
Men's Christian Association (YMCA) began to sponsor sports
as part of their efforts to counteract unruly behavior among
young people.
Baseball teams developed in Eastern cities during the
1850s and spread to the rest of the nation during the Civil
War in the 1860s. Baseball quickly became the national
pastime and began to produce sports heroes such as Cy
Young, Ty Cobb, and Babe Ruth in the first half of the 20th
century. With its
BRITISH
city-based loyalties and all-American aura, baseball appealed

to many immigrants, who as players and fans used the game as
a way to fit into American culture.
Starting in the latter part of the 19th century, football was
played on college campuses, and intercollegiate games quickly
followed. By the early 20th century, football had become a
feature of college life across the nation. In the 1920s football
pep rallies were commonly held on college campuses, and
football players were among the most admired campus leaders.
That enthusiasm has now spilled way beyond college to
Americans throughout the country. Spectators also watch the
professional football teams of the National Football League
(NFL) with enthusiasm.
Basketball is another sport that is very popular as both a
spectator and participant sport. The National Collegiate Athletic
Association (NCAA) hosts championships for men's and
women's collegiate teams. Held annually in March, the men's
NCAA national championship is one of the most popular
sporting events in the United States. The top men's professional
basketball league in the United States is the National Basketball
Association; the top women's is Women's National Basketball
Association. In addition, many people play basketball in
amateur leagues and organizations. It is also common to see
people playing basketball in parks and local gymnasiums around
the country.
Another major sport played in the United States is ice hockey.
Ice hockey began as an amateur sport played primarily in the
Northeast. The first U.S. professional ice hockey team was
founded in Boston in 1924. Ice hockey's popularity has spread
throughout the country since the 1960s. The NCAA holds a
national collegiate ice hockey championship in April of each
year. The country's top professional league is the National
Hockey League (NHL). NHL teams play a regular schedule that
culminates in the championship series. The winner is awarded

the Stanley Cup, the league's top prize.
Television transformed sports in the second half of the 20th
century. As more Americans watched sports on television, the
sports industry grew into an enormous business, and sports
events became widely viewed among Americans as cultural
experiences. Many Americans shared televised moments of
exaltation and triumph throughout the year: baseball during the
spring and summer and its World Series in the early fall,
football throughout the fall crowned by the Super Bowl in
January, and the National Basketball Association (NBA)
championships in the spring. The Olympic Games, watched by
millions of people worldwide, similarly rivet Americans to their
televisions as they watch outstanding athletes compete on behalf
of their nations. Commercial sports are part of practically every
home in America and have allowed sports heroes to gain
prominence in the national imagination and to become fixtures
of the consumer culture. As well-known faces and bodies, sports
celebrities such as basketball player Michael Jordan and
baseball player Mark McGwire are hired to endorse products.
Although televised games remove the viewing public from
direct contact with events, they have neither diminished the
fervor of team identification nor dampened the enthusiasm for
athletic participation. Americans watch more sports on
television than ever, and they personally participate in
more varied sporting activities and athletic clubs.
Millions of young girls and boys across the country play
soccer, baseball, tennis, and field hockey.
At the end of the 20th century, Americans were taking part in
individual sports of all kinds - jogging, bicycling, swimming,
skiing, rock climbing, playing tennis, as well as more
unusual sports such as bungee jumping, hang gliding, and wind
surfing. As Americans enjoy more leisure time, and as
Hollywood and advertising emphasize trim, well-developed
bodies, sports have become a significant component of many

people's lives. Many Americans now invest significant amounts
of money in sports equipment, clothing, and gym memberships.
As a result, more people are dressing in sporty styles of
clothing. Sports logos and athletic fashions have become
common aspects of people's wardrobes, as people need to look
as though they participate in sports to be in style. Sports have
even influenced the cars Americans drive, as sport utility
vehicles accommodate the rugged terrain, elaborate equipment,
and sporty lifestyles of their owners.
Probably the most significant long-term development in 20th-
century sports has been the increased participation of minorities
and women. Throughout the early 20th century, African
Americans made outstanding contributions to sports, despite
being excluded from organized white teams. The exclusion of
black players from white baseball led to the creation of a
separate Negro National League in 1920 (see Negro Leagues).
On the world stage, track-and-field star Jessie Owens became a
national hero when he won four gold medals and set world and
Olympic records at the Berlin Olympics in 1936. The racial
segregation that prevented African Americans from playing
baseball in the National League until 1947 has been replaced by
the enormous successes ofAfrican Americans in all fields of
sport.
Before the 20th century women could not play in most
organized sports. Soon, however, they began to enter the sports
arena. Helen Wills Moody, a tennis champion during the 1920s,
and Babe Didrikson Zaharias, one ofthe 20th century's greatest
women athletes, were examples of physical grace and agility. In
1972 Title IX of the Education Amendments Act outlawed
discrimination based on gender in education, including school
sports. Schools then spent additional funding on women's
athletics, which provided an enormous boost to women's sports
of all kinds, especially basketball, which became very popular.
Women's college basketball, part of the National Collegiate

Athletic Association (NCAA), is a popular focus of interest. By
the end of the 20th century, this enthusiasm led to the creation
of a major professional women's basketball league. Women
have become a large part of athletics, making their mark in a
wide range of sports.
Sports have become one of the most visible expressions of the
vast extension of democracy in 20th-century America. They
have become more inclusive, with many Americans both
personally participating and enjoying sports as spectators. Once
readily available only to the well-to-do, sports and recreation
attract many people, aided by the mass media, the schools and
colleges, the federal and state highway and park systems, and
increased leisure time.
203.5 Celebrations and Holidays
Americans celebrate an enormous variety of festivals and
holidays because they come from around the globe and practice
many religions. They also celebrate holidays specific to the
United States that commemorate historical events or encourage
a common national memory. Holidays in America are often
family or community events. Many Americans travel long
distances for family gatherings or take vacations during
holidays. In fact, by the end of the 20th century, many national
holidays in the United States had become three-day weekends,
which many people used as mini vacations. Except for the
Fourth of July and Veterans Day, most commemorative federal
holidays, including Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day,
and Presidents' Day, are celebrated on Mondays so that
Americans can enjoy a long weekend. Because many Americans
tend to create vacations out of these holiday weekends rather
than celebrate a particular event, some people believe the
original significance of many of these occasions has been
eroded.
Because the United States is a secular society founded on

the separation of church and state, many of the most
meaningful religiously based festivals and rituals, such as
Easter, Rosh Hashanah, and Ramadan, are not enshrined as
national events, with one major exception. Christmas, and the
holiday season surrounding it, is an enormous commercial
enterprise, a fixture of the American social calendar, and
deeply embedded in the popular imagination. Not until the
19th century did Christmas in the United States begin to take
on aspects of the modern holiday celebration, such as
exchanging gifts, cooking and eating traditional foods, and
putting up oftenelaborate Christmas decorations. The holiday
has grown in popularity and significance ever since. Santa
Claus; brightly decorated Christmas trees; and plenty of
wreathes, holly, and ribbons help define the season for most
children. Indeed, because some religious faiths do not
celebrate Christmas, the Christmas season has expanded in
recent years to become the "holiday season," embracing
Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, and Kwanzaa, a
celebration of African heritage. Thus, the Christmas season
has become the closest thing to a true national festival in
the United States.
The expansion of Christmas has even begun to encroach on
the most indigenous of American festivals, Thanksgiving.
Celebrated on the last Thursday in November, Thanksgiving
has largely shed its original religious meaning (as a feast of
giving thanks to God) to become a celebration of the bounty of
food and the warmth of family life in America. American
children usually commemorate the holiday's origins at school,
where they re-create a harvest feast shared by Pilgrims and
Native Americans. Both the historical and the religious origins
of the event have largely given way to a secular celebration
centered on the traditional Thanksgiving meal: turkey - an
indigenous American bird - accompanied by foods common in

early New England settlements, such as pumpkins, squashes,
and cranberries. Since many Americans enjoy a four-day
holiday at Thanksgiving, the occasion encourages family
reunions and travel. Some Americans also contribute time and
food to the needy and the homeless during the Thanksgiving
holiday.
Another holiday that has lost its older, religious meaning in
the United States is Halloween, the eve of All Saints' Day.
Halloween has become a celebration of witches, ghosts, goblins,
and candy that is especially attractive to children. On this day
and night, October 31, many homes are decorated and lit by
jack-o'-lanterns, pumpkins that have been hollowed out and
carved. Children dress up and go trick-or-treating, during which
they receive treats from neighbors. An array of orange-colored
candies has evolved from this event, and most trick-or-treat bags
usually brim with chocolate bars and other confections.
The Fourth of July, or Independence Day, is the premier
American national celebration because it commemorates the day
the United States proclaimed its freedom from Britain with the
Declaration of Independence. Very early in its development, the
holiday was an occasion for fanfare, parades, and speeches
celebrating American freedom and the uniqueness of American
life. Since at least the 19th century, Americans have
commemorated their independence with fireworks and patriotic
music. Because the holiday marks the founding of the republic
in 1776, flying the flag of the United States (sometimes with the
original 13 stars) is common, as are _festive barbecues, picnics,
fireworks, and summer outings.
Most other national holidays have become less significant
over time and receded in importance as ways in which
Americans define themselves and their history. For example,
Columbus Day was formerly celebrated on October 12, the day
explorer Christopher Columbus first landed in the West Indies,
but it is now celebrated on the second Monday of October to

allow for a three-day weekend. The holiday originally served as
a traditional reminder of the 'discovery' of America in 1492, but
as Americans became more sensitive to their multicultural
population, celebrating the conquest of Native Americans
became more controversial.
Holidays honoring wars have also lost much of their original
significance. Memorial Day, first called Decoration Day and
celebrated on May 30, was established to honor those who died
during the American Civil War (1861-1865), then subsequently
those who died in all American wars. Similarly, Veterans Day
was first named Armistice Day and marked the end of World
War I (1914-1918). During the 1950s the name of the holiday
was changed in the United States, and its significance expanded
to honor armed forces personnel who served in any American
war.
The memory ofAmerica's first president, George Washington,
was once celebrated on his birthday, February 22nd. The date was
changed to the third Monday in February to create a threeday
weekend, as well as to incorporate the birthday of another
president, Abraham Lincoln, who was born on February 12th.
The holiday is now popularly called Presidents' Day and is less
likely to be remembered as honoring the first and 16th
American presidents than as a school and work holiday.
Americans also memorialize Martin Luther King, Jr., the great
African American civil rights leader who was assassinated in
1968. King's birthday is celebrated as a national holiday in
midJanuary. The celebration of King's birthday has become a
sign of greater inclusiveness in 20th-century American society.
2.4 EDUCATION
204.1 Role of Education
The United States has one of the most extensive and diverse
educational systems in the world. Educational institutions exist
at all learning levels, from nursery schools for the very young to
higher education for older youths and adults of all ages.
Education in the United States is notable for the many goals it
aspires to accomplish - promoting democracy, assimilation,
nationalism, equality of opportunity, and personal development.
Because Americans have historically insisted that their schools
work toward these sometimes conflicting goals, education has
often been the focus of social conflict.
While schools are expected to achieve many social
objectives, education in America is neither centrally
administered nor supported directly by the federal government,
unlike education in other industrialized countries. In the United
States, each state is responsible for providing schooling, which is
funded through local taxes and governed by local school boards.
In addition to these government-funded public schools, the
United States has many schools that are privately financed and
maintained. More than 10 percent of all elementary and
secondary students in the United States attend private schools.
Religious groups, especially the Roman Catholic Church, run
many of these. Many of America's most renowned universities
and colleges are also privately endowed and run. As a result,
although American education is expected to provide equality of
opportunity, it is not easily directed toward these goals. This
complex enterprise, once one of the proudest achievements of
American democracy because ofits diversity and inclusiveness,
became the subject of intense debate and criticism during the
second half of the 20th century. People debated the goals of
schools as well as whether schools were educating students well
enough.
2.4.2 History of Education in america
Until the 1830s, most American children attended school
irregularly, and most schools were either run privately or by
charities. This irregular system was replaced in the Northeast
and Midwest by publicly financed elementary schools,

known as common schools. Common schools provided
rudimentary instruction in literacy and trained students in
citizenship. This democratic ideal expanded after the Civil
War to all parts of the nation. By the 1880s and 1890s,
schools began to
expand attendance requirements so that more children and
older children attended school regularly. These more rigorous
requirements were intended to ensure that all students,
including those whose families had immigrated from
elsewhere, were integrated into society. In addition, the schools
tried to equip children with the more complex skills required in
an industrialized urban society.
Education became increasingly important during the 20th
century, as America's sophisticated industrial society demanded
a more literate and skilled workforce. In addition, school
degrees provided a sought-after means to obtain betterpaying
and higher-status jobs. Schools were the one American
institution that could provide the literate skills and work habits
necessary for Americans of all backgrounds to compete in
industries. As a result, education expanded rapidly. In the first
decades of the 20th century, mandatory education laws required
children to complete grade school. By the end of the 20th
century, many states required children to attend school until
they were at least 16. In 1960, 45 percent of high school
graduates enrolled in college; by 1996 that enrollment rate had
risen to 65 percent. By the late 20th century, an advanced
education was necessary for success in the globally competitive
and technologically advanced modern economy. According to
the U.S. Census Bureau, workers with a bachelor's degree in
1997 earned an average of $40,000 annually, while those with a
high school degree earned about $23,000. Those who did not
complete high school earned about $16,000.
In the United States, higher education is widely available and

obtainable through thousands of private, religious, and state-run
institutions, which offer advanced professional, scientific, and
other training programs that enable students to become
proficient in diverse subjects. Colleges vary in cost and level of
prestige. Many of the oldest and most famous colleges on the
East Coast are expensive and set extremely high admissions
standards. Large state universities are less difficult to enter, and
their fees are substantially lower. Other types of institutions
include state universities that provide engineering, teaching,
and agriculture degrees; private universities and small privately
endowed colleges; religious colleges and universities; and
community and junior colleges that offer part-time and two-
year degree programs. This complex and diverse range of
schools has made American higher education the envy of other
countries and one of the nation's greatest assets in creating and
maintaining a technologically advanced society.
When more people began to attend college, there were a
number of repercussions. Going to college delayed maturity and
independence for many Americans, extending many of the
stresses of adolescence into a person's 20s and postponing the
rites of adulthood, such as marriage and childbearing. As society
paid more attention to education, it also devoted a greater
proportion of its resources to it. Local communities were
required to spend more money on schools and teachers, while
colleges and universities were driven to expand their facilities
and course offerings to accommodate an ever-growing student
body. Parents were also expected to support their children
longer and to forgo their children's contribution to the
household.
204.3 Funding
Education is an enormous investment that requires
contributions from many sources. American higher education is
especially expensive, with its heavy investment in laboratory
space and research equipment. It receives funding from private

individuals, foundations, and corporations. Many private
universities have large endowments, or funds, that sustain the
institutions beyond what students pay in tuition and fees. Many,
such as Harvard University in Massachusetts and Stanford
University in California, raise large sums of money through
fund drives. Even many state-funded universities seek funds
from private sources to augment their budgets. Most major state
universities, such as those in Michigan and California, now rely
on a mixture of state and private resources.
Before World War Il, the federal government generally
played a minor role in financing education, with the exception
of the Morrill of 1862 and 1890. These acts granted the states
public lands that could be sold for the purpose of establishing
and maintaining institutions of higher education. Many socalled
land-grant state universities were founded during the 19th
century as a result of this funding. Today, land-grant colleges
include some of the nation's premier state universities. The
government also provided some funding for basic research at
universities.
The American experience in World War Il (especially the
success of the Manhattan Project, which created the atomic
bomb) made clear that scientific and technical advances, as well
as human resources, were essential to national security. As a
result, the federal government became increasingly involved in
education at all levels and substantially expanded funding for
universities. The federal government began to provide
substantial amounts ofmoney for university research programs
through agencies such as the National Science Foundation, and
later through the National Institutes of Health and the
departments of Energy and Defense. At the same time, the
government began to focus on providing equal educational
opportunities for all Americans. Beginning with the GI Bill,
which financed educational programs for veterans, and later in
the form of fellowships and direct student loans in the 1960s,

more and more Americans were able to attend colleges and
universities.
During the 1960s the federal government also began to play
more of a role in education at lower levels. The Great Society
programs of President Lyndon Johnson developed many new
educational initiatives to assist poor children and to compensate
for disadvantage. Federal money was funneled through
educational institutions to establish programs such as Head
Start, which provides early childhood education to
disadvantaged children. Some Americans, however, resisted the
federal government's increased presence in education, which
they believed contradicted the long tradition of state-sponsored
public schooling.
By the 1980s many public schools were receiving federal
subsidies for textbooks, transportation, breakfast and lunch
programs, and services for students with disabilities. This
funding enriched schools across the country, especially
innercity schools, and affected the lives of millions of
schoolchildren. Although federal funding increased, as did
federal supervision, to guarantee an equitable distribution of
funds, the government
BRITISH AND AMERICAN CULTURAL STUDIES
16Q
did not exercise direct control over the academic programs

schools offered or over decisions about academic issues.
During the 1990s, the administration of President Bill Clinton
urged the federal government to move further in exercising
leadership by establishing academic standards for public
schools across the country and to evaluate schools through
testing.
2.4.4 Concerns in Elementary Education
The United States has historically contended with the
challenges that come with being a nation of immigrants.
Schools are often responsible for modifying educational
offerings to accommodate immigrants. Early schools reflected
many differences among students and their families but were
also a mechanism by which to overcome these differences and
to forge a sense of American commonality. Common schools,
or publicly financed elementary schools, were first introduced
in the mid-19th century in the hopes of creating a common
bond among a diverse citizenship. By the early 20th century,
massive immigration from Europe caused schools to
restructure and expand their programs to more effectively
incorporate immigrant children into society. High schools
began to include technical, business, and vocational curricula
to accommodate the various goals of its more diverse
population. The United States continues to be concerned
about how to incorporate immigrant groups.
The language in which students are taught is one of the
most significant issues for schools. Many Americans have
become concerned about how best to educate students who are
new to the English language and to American culture. As
children of all ages and from dozens of language backgrounds
seek an education, most schools have adopted some variety of
bilingual instruction. Students are taught in their native
language until their knowledge of English improves, which is
often accomplished through an English as a Second Language

(ESL) program. Some people have criticized these bilingual
programs for not encouraging students to learn English more
quickly, or at all. Some Americans fear that English will no
longer provide a uniform basis for American identity; others
worry that immigrant children will have a hard time finding
employment ifthey do not become fluent in English. In response
to these criticisms, voters in California, the state that has seen
the largest influx of recent immigrants, passed a law in 1998
requiring that all children attending public schools be taught in
English and prohibiting more than one year of bilingual
instruction.
Many Americans, including parents and business
leaders, are also alarmed by what they see as inadequate
levels of student achievement in subjects such as reading,
mathematics, and science. On many standardized tests,
American students lag behind their counterparts in Europe
and Asia. In response, some Americans have urged the
adoption of national standards by which individual schools
can be evaluated. Some have supported more
rigorous teacher competency standards. Another response
that became popular in the 1990s is the creation of charter
schools. These schools are directly authorized by the state
and receive public funding, but they operate largely
outside the control of local school districts. Parents and
teachers enforce self-defined standards for these charter
schools.
Schools are also working to incorporate computers into

classrooms. The need for computer literacy in the 21st century
has put an additional strain on school budgets and local
resources. Schools have struggled to catch up by
providing computer equipment and instruction and by making
Internet connections available. Some companies, including
Apple Computer, Inc., have provided computer equipment to
help schools meet their students' computer-education needs. i
2.4.5 Concerns in Higher Education
Throughout the 20th century, Americans have attended
schools to obtain the economic and social rewards that
come with highly technical or skilled work and advanced
degrees. However, as the United States became more
diverse, people
debated how to include different groups, such as women
and minorities, into higher education. Blacks have
historically been excluded from many white institutions,
or were made to feel unwelcome. Since the 19th century,
a number of black colleges have existed to compensate
for this broad social bias, including federally chartered and
funded Howard University. In the early
20th century, when Jews and other Eastern Europeans
began to apply to universities, some of the most
prestigious colleges imposed quotas limiting their
numbers.
Americans tried various means to eliminate the most
egregious forms of discrimination. In the early part of the
century, 'objective' admissions tests were introduced to
counteract the bias in admissions. Some educators now view
admissions tests such as the Scholastic Achievement Test
(SAT), originally created to simplify admissions testing for
prestigious private schools, as disadvantageous to women and
minorities. Critics of the SAT believed the test did not
adequately account for differences in social and economic
background. Whenever something as subjective as ability or
merit is evaluated, and when the rewards are potentially great,
people hotly debate the best means to fairly evaluate these
criteria.
Until the middle of the 20th century, most educational
issues in the United States were handled locally. After World
War Il, however, the federal government began to assume a

new obligation to assure equality in educational opportunity,
and this issue began to affect college admissions standards. In
the last quarter of the 20th century, the government increased
its role in questions relating to how all Americans could best
secure equal access to education.
Schools had problems providing equal opportunities for all
because quality, costs, and admissions criteria varied greatly. To
deal with these problems, the federal government introduced the
policy of affirmative action in education in the early 1970s.
Affirmative action required that colleges and universities take
race, ethnicity, and gender into account in admissions to provide
extra consideration to those who have historically faced
discrimination. It was intended to assure that Americans of all
backgrounds have an opportunity to train for professions in
fields such as medicine, law, education, and business
administration.
Affirmative action became a general social commitment
during the last quarter of the 20th century. In education, it
meant that universities and colleges gave extra advantages and
opportunities to blacks, Native Americans, women, and other
groups that were generally underrepresented at the highest
levels of business and in other professions. Affirmative action
also included financial assistance to members of minorities who
could not otherwise afford to attend colleges and universities.
Affirmative action has allowed many minority members to
achieve new prominence and success.
At the end of the 20th century, the policy of affirmative
action was criticized as unfair to those who were denied
admission in order to admit those in designated group
categories. Some considered affirmative action policies a form
of reverse discrimination, some believed that special policies
were no longer necessary, and others believed that only some
groups should qualify (such as African Americans because of
the nation's long history of slavery and segregation). The issue
became a matter of serious discussion and is one of the most
highly charged topics in education today. In the 1990s three
states - Texas, California, and Washington - eliminated
affirmative action in their state university admissions policies.
Several other issues have become troubling to higher
education. Because tuition costs have risen to very high levels,
many smaller private colleges and universities are struggling to
attract students. Many students and their parents choose state
universities where costs are much lower. The decline in federal
research funds has also caused financial difficulties to many
universities. Many well-educated students, including those with
doctoral degrees, have found it difficult to find and keep
permanent academic jobs, as schools seek to lower costs by
hiring part-time and temporary faculty. As a result, despite its
great strengths and its history of great variety, the expense of
American higher education may mean serious changes in the
future.
Education is fundamental to American culture in more ways
than providing literacy and job skills. Educational institutions
are the setting where scholars interpret and pass on the meaning
of the American experience. They analyze what America is as a
society by interpreting the nation's past and defining objectives
for the future. That information eventually forms the basis for
what children learn from teachers, textbooks, and curricula.
Thus, the work of educational institutions is far more important
than even job training, although this is usually foremost in
people's minds.
2.5 ARTS AND LETTERS

The arts, more than other features of culture, provide avenues
for the expression of imagination and personal vision. They
offer a range of emotional and intellectual pleasures to
consumers of art and are an important way in which a culture
represents itself. There has long been a Western tradition
distinguishing those arts that appeal to the multitude, such as

popular music, from those - such as classical orchestral music -
normally available to the elite of learning and taste. Popular art
forms are usually seen as more representative American
products. In the United States in the recent past, there has been a
blending of popular and elite art forms, as all the arts
experienced a period of remarkable cross-fertilization. Because
popular art forms are so widely distributed, arts of all kinds have
prospered.
The arts in the United States express the many faces and the
enormous creative range of the American people. Especially
since World War Il, American innovations and the immense
energy displayed in literature, dance, and music have made
American cultural works world famous. Arts in the United
States have become internationally prominent in ways that are
unparalleled in history. American art forms during the second
half of the 20th century often defined the styles and qualities
that the rest of the world emulated. At the end of the 20th
century, American art was considered equal in quality and
vitality to art produced in the rest of the world.
Throughout the 20th century, American arts have grown to
incorporate new visions and voices. Much of this new artistic
energy came in the wake of America's emergence as a
superpower after World War Il. But it was also due to the
growth of New York City as an important center for publishing
and the arts, and the immigration of artists and intellectuals
fleeing fascism in Europe before and during the war. An
outpouring of talent also followed the civil rights and protest
movements of the 1960s, as cultural discrimination against
blacks, women, and other groups diminished.
American arts flourish in many places and receive support
from private foundations, large corporations, local
governments, federal agencies, museums, galleries, and
individuals. What is considered worthy of support often
depends on definitions of quality and of what constitutes art.
This is a tricky subject when the popular arts are increasingly
incorporated into the domain of the fine arts and new forms
such as performance art and conceptual art appear. As a result,
defining what is art affects what students are taught about past
traditions (for example, Native American tent paintings, oral
traditions, and slayé-narratives) and what is produced in the
future. While some practitioners, such as studio artists, are more
vulnerable to these definitions because they depend on financial
support to exercise their talents, others, such as poets and
photographers, are less immediately constrained.
Artists operate in a world where those who theorize and
critique their work have taken on an increasingly important
role. Audiences are influenced by a variety of
intermediariescritics, the schools, foundations that offer grants,
the National Endowment for the Arts, gallery owners,
publishers, and theater producers. In some areas, such as the
performing arts, popular audiences may ultimately define
success. In other arts, such as painting and sculpture, success is
far more dependent on critics and a few, often wealthy, art
collectors. Writers depend on publishers and on the public for
their success.
Unlike their predecessors, who relied on formal criteria and
appealed to aesthetic judgments, critics at the end of the 20th
century leaned more toward popular tastes, taking into account
groups previously ignored and valuing the merger of popular
and elite forms. These critics often relied less on aesthetic
judgments than on social measures and were eager to place
artistic productions in the context of the time and social
conditions in which they were created. Whereas earlier critics
attempted to create an American tradition of high art, later
critics used art as a means to give power and approval to
nonelite groups who were previously not considered worthy of
including in the nation's artistic heritage.
Not so long ago, culture and the arts were assumed to be an
unalterable inheritance-the accumulated wisdom and
highest forms of achievement that were established in the past.

In the 20th century generally, and certainly since World War Il,
artists have been boldly destroying older traditions in sculpture,
painting, dance, music, and literature. The arts have changed
rapidly, with one movement replacing another in quick
succession.
2.5. I Visual Arts
The visual arts have traditionally included forms of
expression that appeal to the eyes through painted surfaces,
and to the sense of space through carved or molded
materials. In the 19th century, photographs were added to
the paintings, drawings, and sculpture that make up the
visual arts. The visual arts were further augmented in the
20th century by the addition of other materials, such as
found objects. These changes were accompanied by a
profound alteration in tastes, as earlier emphasis on realistic
representation of people, objects, and landscapes made way
for a greater range of imaginative forms.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, American art
was considered inferior to European art. Despite noted
American painters such as Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer,
Mary Cassatt, and John Marin, American visual arts barely had
an international presence.
American art began to flourish during the Great Depression
of the 1930s as New Deal government programs provided
support to artists along with other sectors of the population.
Artists connected with each other and developed a sense of
common purpose through programs of the Public Works
Administration, such as the Federal Art Project, as well as
programs sponsored by the Treasury Department. Most of the
art of the period, including painting, photography, and mural
work, focused on the plight of the American people during
the depression, and most artists painted real people in difficult
circumstances. Artists such as Thomas Hart Benton and Ben
Shahn expressed the suffering of ordinary people through their
representations of struggling farmers and workers. While artists
such as Benton and Grant Wood focused on rural life, many
painters of the 1930s and 1940s depicted the multicultural life
of the American city. Jacob Lawrence, for example, re-created
the history and lives of African Americans. Other artists, such
as Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper, tried to use human
figures to describe emotional states such as loneliness and
despair.
2.5.1.1 Abstract Expressionism
Shortly after World War Il, American art began to gain
worldwide attention and admiration. This change was due to the
innovative fervor of abstract expressionism in the 1950s and to
subsequent modern art movements and artists. The abstract
expressionists of the mid-20th century broke from the realist
and figurative tradition set in the 1930s. They emphasized their
connection to international artistic visions rather than the
particularities of people and place, and most abstract
expressionists did not paint human figures (although artist
Willem de Kooning did portrayals of women). Color, shape,
and movement dominated the canvases of abstract
expressionists. Some artists broke with the Western art tradition
by adopting innovative painting styles-during the 1950s
Jackson Pollock 'painted' by dripping paint on canvases without
the use of brushes, while the paintings of Mark Rothko often
consisted of large patches of color that seem to vibrate.
Abstract expressionists felt alienated from their surrounding
culture and used art to challenge society's conventions. The
work of each artist was quite individual and distinctive, but all
the artists identified with the radicalism of artistic creativity.
The artists were eager to challenge conventions and limits on
expression in order to redefine the nature of art. Their
radicalism came from liberating themselves from the confining

artistic traditions of the past.
The most notable activity took place in New York City,
which became one of the world's most important art centers
during the second half of the 20th century. The radical fervor
and inventiveness of the abstract expressionists, their frequent
association with each other in New York City's Greenwich
Village, and the support of a group of gallery owners and
dealers turned them into an artistic movement. Also known as
the New York School, the participants included Barnett
Newman, Robert Motherwell, Franz Kline, and Arshile Gorky,
in addition to Rothko and Pollock.
The members of the New York School came from diverse
backgrounds such as the American Midwest and Northwest,
Armenia, and Russia, bringing an international flavor to the
group and its artistic visions. They hoped to appeal to art
audiences everywhere, regardless of culture, and they felt
connected to the radical innovations introduced earlier in the
20th century by European artists such as Pablo Picasso and
Marcel Duchamp. Some of the artists - Hans Hofmann, Gorky,
Rothko, and de Kooning - were not born in the United States,
but all the artists saw themselves as part of an international
creative movement and an aesthetic rebellion.
As artists felt released from the boundaries and conventions
of the past and free to emphasize expressiveness and
innovation, the abstract expressionists gave way to other
innovative styles in American art. Beginning in the 1930s
Joseph Cornell created hundreds of boxed assemblages, usually
from found objects, with each based on a single theme to create
a mood of contemplation and sometimes of reverence. Cornell's
boxes exemplify the modern fascination with individual vision,
art that breaks down boundaries between forms such as painting
and sculpture, and the use of everyday objects toward a new
end. Other artists, such as Robert Rauschenberg, combined
disparate objects to create large, collage-like sculptures known
as combines in the 1950s. Jasper Johns, a painter, sculptor, and
printmaker, recreated countless familiar objects, most
memorably the American flag.
The most prominent American artistic style to follow abstract
expressionism was the pop art movement that began in the
1950s. Pop art attempted to connect traditional art and popular
culture by using images from mass culture. To shake viewers
out of their preconceived notions about art, sculptor Claes
Oldenburg used everyday objects such as pillows and beds to
create witty, soft sculptures. Roy Lichtenstein took this a step
further by elevating the techniques of commercial art, notably
cartooning, into fine art worthy of galleries and museums.
Lichtenstein's large, blown-up cartoons fill the surface of his
canvases with grainy.
black dots and question the existence of a distinct realm of
high art. These artists tried to make their audiences see
ordinary objects in a refreshing new way, thereby breaking
down the conventions that formerly defined what was worthy
of artistic representation.
Probably the best-known pop artist, and a leader in the
movement, was Andy Warhol, whose images of a Campbell's
soup can and of the actress Marilyn Monroe explicitly eroded
the boundaries between the art world and mass culture. Warhol
also cultivated his status as a celebrity. He worked in film as a
director and producer to break down the boundaries between
traditional and popular art. Unlike the abstract expressionists,
whose conceptual works were often difficult to understand,
Andy Warhol's pictures, and his own face, were instantly
recognizable.
Conceptual art, as it came to be known in the 1960s, like its
predecessors, sought to break free of traditional artistic
associations. In conceptual art, as practiced by Sol LeWitt and
Joseph Kosuth, concept takes precedent over actual object, by
stimulating thought rather than following an art tradition based

on conventional standards of beauty and artisanship.
Modern artists changed the meaning of traditional visual arts
and brought a new imaginative dimension to ordinary
experience. Art was no longer viewed as separate and distinct,
housed in museums as part of a historical inheritance, but as a
continuous creative process. This emphasis on constant change,
as well as on the ordinary and mundane, reflected a distinctly
American democratizing perspective. Viewing art in this way
removed the emphasis from technique and polished
performance, and many modern artworks and experiences
became more about expressing ideas than about perfecting
finished products.
2.5. I .2 Photography
Photography is probably the most democratic modern art
form because it can be, and is, practiced by most Americans.
Since 1888, when George Eastman developed the Kodak
camera that allowed anyone to take pictures, photography has
struggled to be recognized as a fine art form. In the early part
of
BRITISH
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AND AMERICAN CULTURAL STUDIES
the 20th century, photographer, editor, and artistic impresario
Alfred Stieglitz established 291, a gallery in New York City,
with fellow photographer Edward Steichen, to showcase the
works of photographers and painters. They also published a
magazine called Camera Work to increase awareness about
photographic art. In the United States, photographic art had to
compete with the widely available commercial photography in
news and fashion magazines. By the 1950s the tradition of
photojournalism, which presented news stories primarily with
photographs, had produced many outstanding works. In 1955
Steichen, who was director of photography at the Museum of
Modern Art in New York, called attention to this work in an
exhibition called The Family of Man.
Throughout the 20th century, most professional
photographers earned their living as portraitists or
photojournalists, not as artists. One ofthe most important
exceptions was Ansel Adams, who took majestic photographs
of the Western American landscape. Adams used his art to
stimulate social awareness and to support the conservation
cause of the Sierra Club. He helped found the photography
department at the Museum of Modern Art in 1940, and six
years later helped establish the photography department at the
California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco (now the San
Francisco Art Institute). He also held annual photography
workshops at Yosemite National Park from 1955 to 1981 and
wrote a series of influential books on photographic technique.
Adams's elegant landscape photography was only one small
stream in a growing current of interest in photography as an art
form. Early in the 20th century, teacher-turnedphotographer
Lewis Hine established a documentary tradition in photography
by capturing actual people, places, and events. Hine
photographed urban conditions and workers, including child
laborers. Along with their artistic value, the photographs often
implicitly called for social reform. In the 1930s and 1940s,
photographers joined with other depression-era artists

supported by the federal government to create a photographic
record of rural America. Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, and
Arthur Rothstein, among others, produced memorable and
widely reproduced portraits of rural poverty and American
distress during the Great Depression and during the dust
storms of the period.
In 1959, after touring the United States for two years,
Swissborn photographer Robert Frank published The
Americans, one of the landmarks of documentary
photography. His photographs of everyday life in
America introduced viewers to a depressing, and often
depressed, America that existed in the midst of prosperity and
world power.
Photographers continued to search for new photographic
viewpoints. This search was perhaps most disturbingly
embodied in the work of Diane Arbus. Her photos of mental
patients and her surreal depictions of Americans altered the
viewer's relationship to the photograph. Arbus emphasized
artistic alienation and forced viewers to stare at images that
often made them uncomfortable, thus changing the meaning of
the ordinary reality that photographs are meant to capture.
American photography continues to flourish. The many
variants of art photography and socially conscious
documentary photography are widely available in galleries,
books, and magazines.
A host of other visual arts thrive, although they are far less
connected to traditional fine arts than photography. Decorative
arts include, but are not limited to, art glass, furniture, jewelry,
pottery, metalwork, and quilts. Often exhibited in craft galleries
and studios, these decorative arts rely on ideals ofbeauty in
shape and color as well as an appreciation of well-executed
crafts. Some of these forms are also developed commercially.
The decorative arts provide a wide range of opportunity for
creative expression and have become a means for Americans to
actively participate in art and to purchase art for their homes
that is more affordable than works produced by many
contemporary fine artists.
2.5.2 Literature
American literature since World War Il is much more diverse
in its voices than ever before. It has also expanded its view of
the past as people rediscovered important sources from
nonEuropean traditions, such as Native American folktales and
slave narratives. Rediscovering these traditions expanded the
range of American literary history.
American Jewish writing from the 1940s to the 1960s
was the first serious outpouring of an American literature
that contained many voices. Some Jewish writers had begun
to be heard as literary critics and novelists before World
War Il, part of a general broadening of American literature
during the first half of the 20th century. After the war,
talented Jewish writers appeared in such numbers and
became so influential that they stood out as a special
phenomenon. They represented at once a subgroup within
literature and the new voice of American literature.
Several Jewish American novelists, including Herman Wouk
and Norman Mailer, wrote important books about the war
without any special ethnic resonance. But writers such as
novelists Saul Bellow, Bernard Malamud, and Philip Roth, and
storytellers Grace Paley and Cynthia Ozick wrote most
memorably from within the Jewish tradition. Using their Jewish
identity and history as background, these authors asked how
moral behavior was possible in modern America and how the
individual could survive in the contemporary world. Saul
Bellow most conspicuously posed these questions, framing
them even before the war was over in his earliest novel,
Dangling Man (1944). He continued to ask them in various
ways through a series of novels paralleling the life cycle,

including The Adventures of Augie March (1953), Herzog
(1964), and Mr. Sammler's Planet (1970). One novel in the
series earned a Pulitzer Prize (Humboldt's Gift, 1975). Bellow
was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1976. Like
Bellow, Philip Roth and Bernard Malamud struggled with
identity and selfhood as well as with morality and fate.
However, Roth often resisted being categorized as a Jewish
writer. Playwright Arthur Miller rarely invoked his Jewish
heritage, but his plays contained similar existential themes.
Isaac Bashevis Singer was also part of this postwar group of
American Jewish writers. His novels conjure up his lost roots
and life in prewar Poland and the ghostly, religiously inspired
fantasies of Jewish existence in Eastern Europe before World
War Il. Written in Yiddish and much less overtly American,
Singer's writings were always about his own specific past and
that of his people. Singer's re-creation of an earlier world as
well as his stories of adjusting to the United States won him
a Nobel Prize in literature in 1978.
Since at least the time of the Harlem Renaissance in the
1920s, American writers of African descent, such as Richard
Wright, sought to express the separate experiences of their
people while demanding to be recognized as fully American.
The difficulty of that pursuit was most completely and
brilliantly realized in the haunting novel Invisible Man (1952)
by Ralph Ellison. African American writers since then have
contended with the same challenge of giving voice to their
experiences as a marginalized and often despised part of
America.
Several African American novelists in recent decades have
struggled to represent the wounded manner in which
African Americans have participated in American life. In
the 1950s and 1960s, James Baldwin discovered how much he
was part of the United States after a period of self-imposed
exile in Paris, and he wrote about his dark and hurt world in
vigorous and accusatory prose. The subject has also been at the
heart of an extraordinary rediscovery of the African American
past in the plays of Lorraine Hansberry and the fiction of Alice
Walker, Charles Johnson, and Toni Morrison. Probably more
than any American writer before her, Morrison has grappled
with the legacy that slavery inflicted upon African Americans
and with what it means to live with a separate consciousness
within American culture. In 1993 Morrison became the first
African American writer to be awarded a Nobel Prize in
literature.
Writers from other groups, including Mexican Americans,
Native Americans, Chinese Americans, Korean Americans, and
Filipino Americans, also grappled with their separate
experiences within American culture. Among them, N. Scott
Momaday, Leslie Marmon Silko, and Louise Erdrich have dealt
with issues of poverty, life on reservations, and mixed ancestry
among Native Americans. Rudolfo Anaya and Sandra Cisneros
have dealt with the experiences of Mexican Americans, and
Amy Tan and Maxine Hong Kingston have explored Chinese
American family life.
Even before World War Il, writers from the American South
reflected on what it meant to have a separate identity within
American culture. The legacy of slavery, the Civil War, and
Reconstruction left the South with a sense of a lost civilization,
embodied in popular literature such as Gone With the Wind
(1936) by Margaret Mitchell, and with questions about how a
Southern experience could frame a literary legacy. Southern
literature in the 20th century draws deeply on distinct speech
rhythms, undercurrents of sin, and painful reflections on evil as
part of a distinctly Southern tradition. William Faulkner most
fully expressed these issues in a series of brilliant and difficult
novels set in a fictional Mississippi county. These novels, most
of them published in the 1930s, include The Sound and the
Fury (1929), Light in August (1932), and Absalom, Absalom

(1936). For his contribution, Faulkner received the Nobel Prize
in literature in 1949. More recent Southern writers, such as
Carson McCullers, Flannery O'Connor, Walker Percy, James
Dickey, and playwright Tennessee Williams, have continued
this tradition of Southern literature.
In addition to expressing the minority consciousness of
Southern regionalism, Faulkner's novels also reflected the
artistic modernism of 20th-century literature, in which reality
gave way to frequent interruptions of fantasy and the writing is
characterized by streams of consciousness rather than by
precise sequences in time. Other American writers, such as
Thomas Pynchon, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., and E. L. Doctorow also
experimented with different novel forms and tried to make their
writing styles reflect the peculiarities of consciousness in the
chaos of the modern world. Doctorow, for example, in his
novel Ragtime juxtaposed real historical events and people
with those he made up. Pynchon questioned the very existence
of reality in The Crying ofLot 49 (1966) and Gravity's Rainbow
(1973).
Aside from Faulkner, perhaps the greatest modernist
novelist writing in the United States was migr Vladimir
Nabokov. Nabokov first wrote in his native Russian, and
then in French, before settling in the United States and
writing in English. Nabokov saw no limits to the
possibilities of artistic imagination, and he believed the
artist's ability to manipulate language could be expressed
through any subject. In a series of novels written in the
United States, Nabokov demonstrated that he could develop
any situation, even the most alien and forbidden, to that
end. This was demonstrated in Lolita (1955),
a novel about sexual obsession that caused a sensation and was
first banned as obscene.
Despite its obvious achievements, modernism in the United
States had its most profound effect on other forms of literature,
especially in poetry and in a new kind of personal journalism
that gradually erased the sharp distinctions between news
reporting, personal reminiscence, and fiction writing,
2.5.2.1 20th-Century Poetry
Modern themes and styles of poetry have been part of the
American repertoire since the early part of the 20th century,
especially in the work of T. S. Eliot and Ezra Pound. Their
works were difficult, emotionally restrained, full of non-
American allusions, and often inaccessible. After World War Il,
new poetic voices developed that were more exuberant and
much more American in inspiration and language. The poets
who wrote after the war often drew upon the work ofWilliam
Carlos Williams and returned to the legacy of Walt Whitman,
which was democratic in identification and free-form in style.
These poets provided postwar poetry with a uniquely American
voice.
The Beatnik, or Beat, poets of the 1950s notoriously
followed in Whitman's tradition. They adopted a radical ethic
that included drugs, sex, art, and the freedom of the road. Jack
Kerouac captured this vision in On the Road (1957), a
quintessential book about Kerouac's adventures wandering
across the United States. The most significant poet in the group
was Allen Ginsberg, whose sexually explicit poem Howl
(1956) became the subject of a court battle after it was initially
banned as obscene. The Beat poets spanned the country, but
adopted San Francisco as their special outpost. The city
continued to serve as an important arena for poetry and
unconventional ideas, especially at the City Lights Bookstore
co-owned by writer and publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Other
modernist poets included Gwendolyn Brooks, who retreated
from the conventional forms of her early poetry to write about
anger and protest among African Americans, and Adrienne
Rich, who wrote poetry focused on women's rights, needs, and

desires.
Because it is open to expressive forms and innovative
speech, modern poetry is able to convey the deep personal
anguish experienced by several of the most prominent poets of
the postwar period, among them Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath,
Theodore Roethke, Anne Sexton, and John Berryman.
Sometimes called confessional poets, they used poetry to
express nightmarish images of self-destruction. As in painting,
removing limits and conventions on form permitted an almost
infinite capacity for conveying mood, feeling, pain, and
inspiration. This personal poetry also brought American poetry
closer to the European modernist tradition of emotional
anguish and madness. Robert Frost, probably the most famous
and beloved of modern American poets, wrote evocative and
deeply felt poetry that conveyed some of these same qualities
within a conventional pattern of meter and rhyme.
Another tradition of modern poetry moved toward playful
engagement with language and the creative process. This
tradition was most completely embodied in the brilliant poetry
of Wallace Stevens, whose work dealt with the role of creative
imagination. This tradition was later developed in the
seemingly simple and prosaic poetry of John Ashbery, who
created unconventional works that were sometimes records of
their own creation. Thus, poetry after World War Il, like the
visual arts, expanded the possibilities of emotional expression
and reflected an emphasis on the creative process. The idea of
exploration and pleasure through unexpected associations and
new ways of viewing reality connected poetry to the
modernism of the visual arts.
2.5.2.2 Journalism
Modernist sensibilities were also evident in the emergence
of a new form of journalism. Journalism traditionally tried to be
factual and objective in presentation. By the mid-1970s,
however, some of America's most creative writers were using
contemporary events to create a new form ofpersonal reporting.
This new approach stretched the boundaries ofjournalism and
brought it closer to fiction because the writers were deeply
engaged and sometimes personally involved in events. Writers
such as Norman Mailer, Truman Capote, and Joan Didion
created a literary journalism that infused real events with their
own passion. In Armies of the Night (1968), the record of his
involvement in the peace movement, Mailer helped to define
this new kind of writing. Capote's In Cold Blood (1966), the
retelling of the senseless killing of a Kansas family, and
Mailer's story of a murderer's fate in The Executioner's Song
(1979) brought this hyperrealism to chilling consummation. No
less vivid were Didion's series of essays on California culture
in the late 1960s and her reporting of the sensational trial of
football star O. J. Simpson in 1995.
2.53 Performing Arts
As in other cultural spheres, the performing arts in the
United States in the 20th century increasingly blended
traditional and popular art forms. The classical performing arts-
music, opera, dance, and theater-were not a widespread feature
of American culture in the first half of the 20th century. These
arts were generally imported from or strongly influenced by
Europe and were mainly appreciated by the wealthy and well
educated. Traditional art usually referred to classical forms in
ballet and opera, orchestral or chamber music, and serious
drama. The distinctions between traditional music and popular
music were firmly drawn in most areas.
During the 20th century, the American performing arts began
to incorporate wider groups of people. The African American
community produced great musicians who became widely
known around the country. Jazz and blues singers such as
Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Billie
Holiday spread their sounds to black and white audiences. In
the 1930s and 1940s, the swing music of Benny Goodman,

Tommy Dorsey, and Glenn Miller adapted jazz to make a
unique American music that was popular around the country.
The American performing arts also blended Latin American
influences beginning in the 20th century. Between 1900 and
1940, Latin American dances, such as the tango from Argentina
and the rumba from Cuba, were introduced into the United
States. In the 1940s a fusion of Latin and jazz elements was
stimulated first by the Afro-Cuban mambo and later on by the
Brazilian bossa nova.
Throughout the 20th century, dynamic classical institutions
in the United State_s attracted international talent. Noted
Russian-born choreographer George Balanchine established the
short-lived American Ballet Company in the 1930s; later he
founded the company that in the 1940s would become the New
York City Ballet. The American Ballet Theatre, also
established during the 1940s, brought in non-American dancers
as well. By the 1970s this company had attracted Soviet
defector Mikhail Baryshnikov, an internationally acclaimed
dancer who served as the company's artistic director during the
1980s.
In classical music, influential Russian composer Igor
Stravinsky, who composed symphonies using innovative
musical styles, moved to the United States in 1939.
Germanborn pianist, composer, and conductor Andr Previn,
who started out as a jazz pianist in the 1940s, went on to
conduct a number of distinguished American symphony
orchestras. Another Soviet, cellist Mstislav Rostropovich,
became conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra in
Washington, D.C., in 1977.
Some of the most innovative artists in the first half of the
20th century successfully incorporated new forms into classical
traditions. Composers George Gershwin and Aaron Copland,
and dancer Isadora Duncan were notable examples. Gershwin
combined jazz and spiritual music with classical in popular
works such as Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and the opera Porgy
and Bess (1935). Copland developed a unique style that was
influenced by jazz and American folk music. Early in the
century, Duncan redefined dance along more expressive and
free-form lines.
Some artists in music and dance, such as composer John
Cage and dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham, were
even more experimental. During the 1930s Cage worked with
electronically produced sounds and sounds made with
everyday objects such as pots and pans. He even invented a
new kind of piano. During the late 1930s, avant-garde
choreographer Cunningham began to collaborate with Cage on
a number of projects.
Perhaps the greatest, and certainly the most popular,
American innovation was the Broadway musical, which also
became a movie staple. Beginning in the 1920s, the Broadway
musical combined music, dance, and dramatic performance in
ways that surpassed the older vaudeville shows and musical
revues but without being as complex as European grand opera.
By the 1960s, this American musical tradition was well
established and had produced extraordinary works by
important musicians and lyricists such as George and Ira
Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers,
Lorenz Hart, Jerome Kern, and Oscar Hammerstein Il. These
productions required an immense effort to coordinate music,
drama, and dance. Because of this, the musical became the
incubator of an American modern dance tradition that
produced some of America's greatest choreographers, among
them Jerome Robbins, Gene Kelly, and Bob Fosse.
In the 1940s and 1950s the American musical tradition was
so dynamic that it attracted outstanding classically trained
musicians such as Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein composed
the music for West Side Story, an updated version of Romeo
and Juliet set in New York that became an instant classic in

1957. The following year, Bernstein became the first
American-born conductor to lead a major American orchestra,
the New York Philharmonic. He was an international sensation
who traveled the world as an ambassador of the American style
of conducting. He brought the art of classical music to the
public, especially through his 'Young People's Concerts,'
television shows that were seen around the world. Bernstein
used the many facets of the musical tradition as a force for
change in the music world and as a way of bringing attention to
American innovation.
In many ways, Bernstein embodied a transformation of
American music that began in the 1960s. The changes that took
place during the 1960s and 1970s resulted from a significant
increase in funding for the arts and their increased availability
to larger audiences. New York City, the American center for art
performances, experienced an artistic explosion in the 1960s
and 1970s. Experimental off-Broadway theaters opened, new
ballet companies were established that often emphasized
modern forms or blended modern with classical (Martha
Graham was an especially important influence), and an
experimental music scene developed that included composers
such as Philip Glass and performance groups such as the
Guarneri String Quartet. Dramatic innovation also continued to
expand with the works
BRITISH
of playwrights such as Edward Albee, Tony Kushner, and
David Mamet.
As the variety of performances expanded, so did the serious
crossover between traditional and popular music forms.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, an expanded repertoire of
traditional arts was being conveyed to new audiences. Popular
music and jazz could be heard in formal settings such as
Carnegie Hall, which had once been restricted to classical music,
while the Brooklyn Academy of Music became a venue for
experimental music, exotic and ethnic dance presentations, and
traditional productions of grand opera. Innovative producer
Joseph Papp had been staging Shakespeare in Central Park since
the 1950s. Boston conductor Arthur Fiedler was playing a mixed
repertoire of classical and popular favorites to large audiences,
often outdoors, with the Boston Pops Orchestra. By the mid-
1970s the United States had several world-class symphony
orchestras, including those in Chicago; New York; Cleveland,
Ohio; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Even grand opera was
affected. Once a specialized taste that often required extensive
knowledge, opera in the United States increased in popularity
as the roster of respected institutions grew to include
companies in Seattle, Washington; Houston, Texas; and Santa
Fe, New Mexico. American composers such as John Adams
and Philip Glass began composing modern operas in a new
minimalist style during the 1970s and 1980s.
The crossover in tastes also influenced the Broadway
musical, probably America's most durable music form.
Starting in the 1960s, rock music became an ingredient in
musical productions such as Hair (1967). By the 1990s, it
had become an even stronger presence in musicals such as
Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk (1996), which used
African American music and dance traditions, and Rent
(1996) a modern, rock version of the classic opera La Bohme.
This updating of the musical opened the theater to new ethnic
audiences who had not previously attended Broadway shows, as
well as to young audiences who had been raised on rock music.
Performances of all kinds have become more available
across the country. This is due to both the sheer increase in
the number of performance groups as well as to advances in
transportation. In the last quarter of the 20th century, the number
of major American symphonies doubled, the number of resident
theaters increased fourfold, and the number of dance companies
increased tenfold. At the same time, planes made it easier for
artists to travel. Artists and companies regularly tour, and they
expand the audiences for individual artists such as
performance artist Laurie Anderson and opera singer Jessye
Norman, for musical groups such as the Juilliard Quartet, and for
dance troupes such as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
Full- scale theater productions and musicals first presented on
Broadway now reach cities across the country. The United
States, once a provincial outpost with a limited European
tradition in performance, has become a flourishing center for the
performing arts.
205.4 Libraries and Museums
Libraries, museums, and other collections of historical
artifacts have been a primary means of organizing and
preserving America's legacy. In the 20th century, these
institutions became an important vehicle for educating the
public about the past and for providing knowledge about the
society of which all Americans are a part.
2.5.4.1 Libraries
Private book collections go back to the early European
settlement of the New World, beginning with the founding of the
Harvard University library in 1638. Colleges and
universities acquire books because they are a necessary
component of higher education. University libraries have
many of the most significant and extensive book
collections. In addition to Harvard's library, the libraries at Yale
University, Columbia University, the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign in Urbana, and the University of California
in Berkeley and Los Angeles are among the most prominent,
both in scope and in number of holdings. Many of these libraries
also contain important collections of journals, newspapers,
pamphlets, and government documents, as well as private
papers, letters, pictures, and photographs. These libraries are
essential for preserving America's history and for maintaining
the records of individuals, families, institutions, and other
groups.
Books in early America were scarce and expensive. Although
some Americans owned books, Benjamin Franklin made a much
wider range of books and other printed materials available to
many more people when he created the first generally
recognized public library in 1731. Although Franklin's Library
Company of Philadelphia loaned books only to paying
subscribers, the library became the first one in the nation to
make books available to people who did not own them. During
the colonial period Franklin's idea was adopted by cities such as
Boston, Massachusetts; Providence, Rhode Island; and
Charleston, South Carolina.
These libraries set the precedent for the free public libraries
that began to spread through the United States in the 1830s.
Public libraries were seen as a way to encourage literacy among
the citizens of the young republi.c as well as a means to provide
education in conjunction with the public schools that were being
set up at the same time. In 1848 Boston founded the first major
public library in the nation. By the late 19th century, libraries
were considered so essential to the nation's well-being that
industrialist Andrew Carnegie donated part of his enormous
fortune to the construction of library buildings. Because
Carnegie believed that libraries were a public obligation, he
expected the books to be contributed through public expenditure.
Since the 19th century, locally funded public libraries have
become part of the American landscape, often occupying some
of the most imposing public buildings in cities such as New
York, Los Angeles, Detroit, and Philadelphia. The belief that the
knowledge and enjoyment that books provide should be
accessible to all Americans also•resulted in bookmobiles that
serve in inner cities and in rural counties.
In addition to the numerous public libraries and university
collections, the United States boasts two major libraries with
worldwide stature: the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.,
and the New York Public Library. In 1800 Congress passed
legislation founding the Library of Congress, which was initially
established to serve the needs of the members of Congress.
Since then, this extraordinary collection has become one of the
world's great libraries and a depository for every work
copyrighted in the United States. Housed in three monumental
buildings named after Presidents John Adams, Thomas
Jefferson, and James Madison, the library is open to the
public and maintains major collections of papers, photographs,
films, maps, and music in addition to more than 17 million
books.
The New York Public Library was founded in 1895. The
spectacular and enormous building that today houses the library
in the heart of the city opened in 1911 with more than a million
volumes. The library is guarded by a famous set of lion statues,
features a world-famous reading room, and contains more than
40 million catalogued items. Although partly funded through
public dollars, the library also actively seeks funds from private
sources for its operations.
Institutions such as these libraries are fundamental to the work
of scholars, who rely on the great breadth of library
collections. Scholars also rely on many specialized library
collections throughout the country. These collections vary
greatly in the nature of their holdings and their affiliations. The
Schmulowitz Collection of Wit and Humor at the San Francisco
Public Library contains more than 20,000 volumes in 35
languages. The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
in Harlem, part of the New York Public Library, specializes in
the history of Africans around the world. The Schlesinger
Library on the History of Women in America, located at
Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study in Massachusetts, houses
the papers of prominent American women such as Susan B.
Anthony and Amelia Earhart. The Bancroft Collection of
Western Americana and Latin Americana is connected with the
University of California at Berkeley. The Huntington Library,
Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino,
California, was established by American railroad executive
Henry Huntington and contains a collection of rare and ancient
books and manuscripts, The Newberry Library in Chicago, one
of the most prestigious research libraries in the nation, contains
numerous collections of rare books, maps, and manuscripts.
Scholars of American history and culture also use the vast
repository of the National Archives and Records Administration
in Washington, D.C., and its local branches. As the repository
and publisher of federal documents, the National Archives

contain an extraordinary array of printed material, ranging
from presidential papers and historical maps to original
government documents such as the Declaration of
Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. It
houses hundreds of millions of books, journals, photos,
and other government papers that document the life of
the American people and its government. The library
system is deeply entrenched in the cultural life of the
American people, who have from their earliest days insisted
on the importance of literacy and education, not just for the
elite but for all Americans.
2.5.4.2 Museums
The variety of print resources available in libraries is
enormously augmented by the collections housed in museums.
Although people often think of museums as places to view art,
in fact museums house a great variety of collections, from rocks
to baseball memorabilia. In the 20th century, the number of
museums exploded. And by the late 20th century, as institutions
became increasingly aware of their important role as interpreters
of culture, they attempted to bring their collections to the general
public. Major universities have historically also gathered various
kinds of collections in museums, sometimes as a result of gifts.
The Yale University Art Gallery, for example, contains an
important collection of American arts, including paintings,
silver, and furniture, while the Phoebe Hearst Museum of
Anthropology at the University of California at Berkeley
specializes in archaeological objects and Native American
artifacts.
The earliest museums in the United States grew out of
private collections, and throughout the 19th century they
reflected the tastes and interests of a small group. Often
these groups included individuals who cultivated a taste
for the arts and for natural history, so that art museums
and natural history museums often grew up side by side.
American artist Charles Willson Peale established the first
museum of this kind in Philadelphia in the late 18th century.
The largest and most varied collection in the United
States is contained in the separate branches of the
Smithsonian
Institution, which has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The
Smithsonian, founded in 1846 as a research institution,
developed its first museums in the 1880s. It now encompasses
16 museums devoted to various aspects of American history, as
well as to artifacts of everyday life and technology, aeronautics
and space, gems and geology, and natural history,
The serious public display of art began when the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York City, founded in 1870, moved to
its present location in Central Park in 1880. At its installation,
the keynote speaker announced that the museum's goal was
education, connecting the museum to other institutions with a
public mission. The civic leaders, industrialists, and artists who
supported the Metropolitan Museum, and their counterparts who
established the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Art Institute of
Chicago, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, were also
collectors of fine art. Their collections featured mainly works by
European masters, but also Asian and American art. They often
bequeathed their collections to these museums, thus shaping the
museum's policies and holdings. Their taste in art helped define
and develop the great collections of art in major metropolitan
centers such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston.
In several museums, such as the Metropolitan and the National
Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., collectors created
institutions whose holdings challenged the cultural treasures of
the great museums of Europe.
2.5.4.2.1 Funding
Museums continued to be largely elite institutions through
the first half of the 20th century, supported by wealthy patrons
eager to preserve collections and to assert their own definitions
of culture and taste. Audiences for most art museums remained
an educated minority of the population through the end of the
19th century and into the 20th century. By the second decade of
the 20th century, the tastes of this elite became more varied. In
many cases, women within the families of the original art
patrons (such as Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, Abby Aldrich
Rockefeller, and Peggy Guggenheim) encouraged the more
avant-garde artists of the modern period. Women founded new
institutions to showcase modern art, such as the Museum of
Modern Art (established by three women in 1929) and the
Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Although
these museums still catered to small, educated, cosmopolitan
groups, they expanded the definition of refined taste to include
more nontraditional art. They also encouraged others to become
patrons for new artists, such as the abstract expressionists in the
mid-20th century, and helped establish the United States as a
significant place for art and innovation after World War Il.
Although individual patronage remained the most significant
source of funding for the arts throughout the 20th century,
private foundations began to support various arts institutions by
the middle of the century. Among these, the Carnegie
Corporation of New York and the Rockefeller Foundation were
especially important in the 1920s and 1930s, and the Ford
Foundation in the 1960s. The federal government also became
an active sponsor of the arts during the 20th century. Its
involvement had important consequences for expanding
museums and for creating a larger audience.
The federal government first began supporting the arts during
the Great Depression of the 1930s through New Deal agencies,
which provided monetary assistance to artists, musicians,
photographers, actors, and directors. The Work Projects
Administration also helped museums to survive the depression
by providing jobs to restorers, cataloguers, clerical workers,
carpenters, and guards. At the same time, innovative
arrangements between wealthy individuals and the government
created a new kind ofjoint patronage for museums. In the most
notable of these, American financier, industrialist, and statesman
Andrew W. Mellon donated his extensive art collection and a
gallery to the federal government in 1937 to serve as the nucleus
for the National Gallery of Art. The federal government provides
funds for the maintenance and operation of the National Gallery,
while private donations from foundations and corporations pay
for additions to the collection as well as for educational and
research programs.
Government assistance during the Great Depression set a
precedent for the federal government to start funding the arts
during the 1960s, when Congress appropriated money for the
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) as part of the National
Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities. The NEA provides
grants to individuals and nonprofit organizations for the
cultivation of the arts, although grants to institutions require
private matching funds. The need for matching funds increased
private and state support of all kinds, including large donations
from newer arts patrons such as the Lila Wallace-Reader's
Digest Fund and the Pew Charitable Trusts. Large corporations
such as the DuPont Company, International Business Machines
Corporation (IBM), and the Exxon Corporation also donated to
the arts.
2.5.4.202 Expansion
The increased importance placed on art throughout the 20th
century helped fuel a major expansion in museums. By the late
1960s and 1970s, art museums were becoming aware of their
potential for popular education and pleasure. Audiences for
museums increased as museums received more funding and
became more willing to appeal to the public with blockbuster
shows that traveled across the country. One such show, The
Treasures of Tutankhamun, which featured ancient Egyptian
artifacts, toured the country from 1976 to 1979. Art museums
increasingly sought attractions that would appeal to a wider
audience, while at the same time expanding the definition of art.
This effort resulted in museums exhibiting even motorcycles as
art, as did the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 1998.
Museums also began to expand the kinds of art and cultural
traditions they exhibited. By the 1990s, more and more
museums displayed natural and cultural artifacts and historical
objects from non-European societies. These included objects
ranging from jade carvings, baskets, and ceramics to
calligraphy, masks, and furniture. Egyptian artifacts had been
conspicuous in the holdings ofNew York's Metropolitan
Museum and the Brooklyn Museum since the early 20th
century. The opening in 1989 of two Smithsonian museums in
Washington, D.C., the National Museum of African Art and the
National Museum of the American Indian, indicated an
awareness of a much broader definition of the American
cultural heritage. The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and
the Freer Gallery at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.,
maintain collections of Asian art and cultural objects. The 1987
opening of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, a new Smithsonian
museum dedicated to Asian and Near Eastern arts, confirmed
the importance of this tradition.
Collectors and museums did not neglect the long-venerated
Western tradition, as was clear from the personal collection of
ancient Roman and Greek art owned by American oil executive
and financier J. Paul Getty. Opened to the public in 1953, the
museum named after him was located in Malibu, California, but
grew so large that in 1997 the J. Paul Getty Museum expanded
into a new Getty Center, a complex of six buildings in Los
Angeles. By the end of the 20th century, Western art was but
one among an array of brilliant cultural legacies that together
celebrate the human experience and the creativity of the
American past.
2.5.4.3 Memorials and Monuments
The need to memorialize the past has a long tradition and is
often associated with wars, heroes, and battles. In the United
States, monuments exist throughout the country, from the
Revolutionary site of Bunker Hill to the many Civil War
battlefields. The nation's capital features a large number of
monuments to generals, war heroes, and leaders. Probably the
greatest of all these is Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia,
where there are thousands of graves of veterans of American
wars, including the Tomb of the Unknowns and the gravesite of
President John F. Kennedy. In addition to these traditional
monuments to history, millions of people are drawn to the
polished black wall that is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial,
located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The memorial
is a stark reminder of the losses suffered in a war in which more
than 58,000 Americans died and of a time of turmoil in the
nation.
No less important than monuments to war heroes are
memorials to other victims of war. The United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum, which opened in 1993 in Washington, D.C.,
is dedicated to documenting the extermination of millions of
Jews and others by the Nazis during World War Il. It contains
photographs, films, oral histories, and artifacts as well as a
research institute, and has become an enormous tourist
attraction. It is one example of a new public consciousness about
museums as important sources of information and places in
which to come to terms with important and painful historical
events. Less elaborate Holocaust memorials have been
established in cities across the country, including New York,
San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
Monuments to national heroes are an important part of
American culture. These range from the memorials to Presidents
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln
on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to the larger-than-life
faces of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore
Roosevelt carved into Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. Some
national memorials also include monuments to ordinary citizens,
such as the laborers, farmers, women, and African Americans
who are part of the new Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in
Washington, D.C.
Americans also commemorate popular culture with museums
and monuments such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and
Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Baseball Hall of Fame and
Museum in Cooperstown, New York. These collections of
popular culture are as much a part of American heritage as are
fine arts museums and statues of national heroes. As a result of
this wide variety of institutions and monuments, more people
know about the breadth of America's past and its many cultural
influences. This new awareness has even influenced the
presentation of artifacts in natural history museums. Where these
once emphasized the differences among human beings and their
customs by presenting them as discrete and unrelated cultures,
today's museums and monuments emphasize the flow of culture
among people.
The expansion in types of museums and the increased
attention to audience is due in part to new groups
participating in the arts and in discussions about culture. In
the early 20th century, many museums were supported by
wealthy elites. Today's museums seek to attract a wider
range of people including students from inner cities, families
from the suburbs, and Americans of all backgrounds. The
diverse American population is eager to have its many pasts
and talents
190 AND AMERICAN CULTURAL STUDIES
BRITISH
enshrined. The funding now available through foundations and
federal and state governments provides assistance. This
development has not been without resistance. In the 1980s and
1990s people challenged the role of the federal government in
sponsoring certain controversial art and culture forms, posing
threats to the existence of the National Endowment for the
Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Nevertheless, even these controversies have made clearer how
much art and cultural institutions express who we are as a
people. Americans possess many different views and pasts,
and they constantly change what they create, how they
communicate, and what they appreciate about their past.
The American people express their culture through

traditions in food, clothing, recreation, and ceremonies;
through the education system and institutions of learning,
including museums and libraries; and through the arts,
encompassing the visual, literary, and performing arts.
American culture is rich, complex, and unique. It emerged from
the short and rapid European conquest of an enormous landmass
sparsely settled by diverse indigenous peoples. Although
European cultural patterns predominated, especially in language,
the arts, and political institutions, peoples from Africa, Asia, and
North America also contributed to American culture. All ofthese
groups influenced popular tastes in music, dress, entertainment,
and cuisine. As a result, American culture possesses an unusual
mixture of patterns and forms forged from among its
diverse peoples. The many melodies ofAmerican culture have not
always been harmonious, but its complexity has created a society
that struggles to achieve tolerance and produces a uniquely casual
personal style that identifies Americans everywhere. The country
is strongly committed to democracy, in which views ofthe
majority prevail, and strives for equality in law and institutions.
While America is probably most well-known for its popular
arts, Americans partake in an enormous range of cultural
activities. Besides being avid readers of a great variety of
books and magazines catering to differing tastes and interests,
Americans also attend museums, operas, and ballets in large
numbers. They listen to country and classical music, jazz and
folk music, as well as classic rock-and-roll and new wave.
Americans attend and participate in basketball, football,
baseball, and soccer games. They enjoy food from a
wide range of foreign cuisines, such as Chinese, Thai, Greek,
French, Indian, Mexican, Italian, Ethiopian, and Cuban. They
have also developed their own regional foods, such as
SUMMARY
California cuisine and Southwestern, Creole, and Southern
cooking. Still evolving and drawing upon its ever more diverse
population, American culture has come to symbolize what is
most up-to-date and modern. American culture has also
become increasingly international and is imported by countries
around the world.
QUESTIONS FOR REVISION
Question 1: What are the features of the American culture?
Give your explanations and examples.
Question 2: What are the forces that shaped the culture of
the United States? In not more than 200
words, write about one of them up to your rate
of importance.
Question 3: Why has the development of mass media been
necessary and important in shaping the American
culture? Give your explanations and examples.
Question 4: Do you agree with the statement: "Popular culture
is linked to the growth of consumerism,
the repeated acquisition of an increasing

variety of goods and services."? Give your
explanations and examples to consolidate your
point of view?
Question 5: Give a brief introduction to the American
education. What is the role of education in the
making of the American culture?
Question 6: Give a brief introduction to the American arts and
letters. What is the role of arts and letters in the
making of the American culture?
Question 7: What makes up the celebrations and holidays in
the American culture?Give a brief introduction
to the special features of the celebrations and
holidays in the American culture.
After learning this unit, the learner will be able to:

Present, analyse and discuss the matters relating to the
United States on the aspects of traditions.
- Have profound insights into the traditions that the
American people have inherited from their forefathers and
passed on to the next generations.
- Identify the forces that shaped the traditions of the United
States.
- Recognize the role of traditions in the American culture in
providing avenues for the American experience.
208INTRODUCTION
How often
has each of
us seen
something
happen
while with
another
person and
much to our
by
disappointment we each come away

from the event with a different
recollection? The cumulative effect of
our life experiences creates in each of
us a lens through which we observe
what goes on around us. This lens
focuses our attention on particular
aspects of what we see. Society passes
principles and values to
Family Custom, Tradition or future generations through Customs,
Traditions and Rituals that mold this
we view our lives and shape our opinions.
cultures have passed their Family Values
these means.
have many Customs and Traditions rooted
of their forefathers who were either Native
settled this great land after journeying from
other nations in search of "The American
Dream". Very often the display of an object or symbol that is
meaningful to a family or to society can become a Custom,
Tradition or Ritual. Family Values are reflected in the Customs
and Traditions practiced.
Although tedious we must consider the definitions from the
dictionary:
Habit: A behavior pattern acquired by frequent repetition or
physiologic exposure that shows itself in regularity or
increased facility of performance. An acquired mode of
behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary.
Custom: A usage or practice common to many or to a
particular place or class, or habitual with an individual. Long
established practice considered as unwritten law, Repeated
practice. The whole body of usages, practices, or conventions
that regulate social life.
Tradition: An inherited, established, or customary pattern of
thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice or social
custom). The handing down of information, beliefs, and
customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation
to another without written instruction. Cultural continuity in
social attitudes, customs, and institutions. Characteristic
manner, method, or style.
Ritual: The established form for a ceremony; the order of
words prescribed for a religious ceremony. Ritual observance:
system of rites, a ceremonial act or action or a customarily
repeated often formal act or series of acts.
3.1.1 Freedom
Thomas Jefferson once said:
"If a nation expects to be
ignorant and free, in a state of
civilization, it expects what
never was and never will be."
President George W. Bush at his inauguration echoed this
sentiment: "America has never been united by blood or
birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond
our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us
what it means to be citizens. Every child must be taught
these principles. Every citizen must uphold them. And
every immigrant, by embracing these ideals, makes our
country more, not less, American." According to the
Americans, the story of Freedom in their Country must be
told and retold. It must be reviewed on National Holidays
and at Celebrations. Parents must tell the story of Freedom
to their Children and Grandchildren. Their Schools and
their Institutions must share the lessons and share the
philosophy of their Great Nation.
"We hold these truths to be self—evident, that all
men are created equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among
these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
"The land of the free and the home of the brave"
Why did people come here to
form The American Colonies in the first
place and why are they still arriving? What
made these settlers give their lives during
the American Revolution? Why did the
People of France give the American
People the Statue of Liberty? What is
it about this great Nation that is found to be so attractive?
According to the Americans, it is just in one word: Freedom. Like
The American Eagle, the human spirit wants to be free. The United
States ofAmerica is the greatest experiment known to man built
arpund a total culture of Freedom, Equality and Self-Reliance.
Through study of their own American History, the American
people understand the basis for the Freedom they have today.
Armed with this knowledge, they are then able to pass this on
to their children to ensure the survival of this great Nation
tomorrow. They teach their Children The Principle of Human
Freedom. The American Revolution started a phenomenon of
independent and self-reliant people on this planet. In the 1830's
Alexis de Tocqueville, a young French aristocrat, visited this
new Nation to understand what made it special.
But what most especially distinguished them [the
Americans] was the aim of their undertaking. They had not
been obliged by necessity to leave their country; the social
position they abandoned was one to be regretted, and their
means of subsistence were certain. Nor did they cross the
Atlantic to improve their situation or to increase their wealth;
the call which summoned them from the comforts of their
homes was purely intellectual; and in facing the inevitable
sufferings of exile their object was the triumph of an idea.
Those who were born here tend to
take "The American Dream" for granted, while those who
arrive here from other Nations seek the
refuge of a free society where personal
views can be expressed without fear of
persecution and a person can live their life
as they please. The Statue of Liberty remains
a welcome sight for many immigrants to
this day. The American people's Nation is
continuously changing where laws are
w ritten daily that interpret the words of their
Founding Fathers written into The Declaration of
Independence, The American Constitution and The Bill of
Rights.
Where issues of unfairness arise between Americans, some
might interpret this as a failure of this "Freedom Experiment".
The fact is, the mechanisms to resolve issues of unfairness are
built into our American Constitution. These issues will not,
however, resolve themselves. It takes people of action to work
with the system until a satisfactory resolution is achieved. The
long term key is in Family members understanding the
principles on which this great nation was founded and the
responsibilities they all have if they want to preserve their way
of life. These principles must be more than words, they must be
a way of life. The American people's Customs, Traditions and
Rituals must all be in "synch" with these Principles for this to
remain "The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave".
3. I . 1 . 1 Timeline of American History
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of
civilization, it expects what never was and what never will be."
In the American people's minds, if they as citizens of their
great Nation do not know and remember the lessons of their
American History, they will surely loose the great Nation of
theirs. Beginning with the American Revolution, all of the hard
work and sacrifice it has taken for their forefathers and
ancestors to establish and keep their country will be required to
keep it into the future. The lessons of the past are the
foundation for their future. The Statue of Liberty given to us by

France, stands as a reminder to all of them that the hopes and
dreams of many are in their hands. They must pass on their
History to their children. Many cultures do this in the form of
stories told by mouth. The American History began long before
Columbus discovered America or the signing of The
Declaration of Independence. It started in prehistoric times
with the movement of nomadic tribes from Asia across the land
that once bridged The Bering Straits...
Timeline of American History
Time Frame HISTORICAL EVENT
Nomadic tribes of woolly mammoth

30,000 - 40,000
hunters cross the Bering Strait land bridge
BC
to North America
Columbus sets sail from Palos, Spain aboard
the
August 3, 1492
Santa Maria accompanied by the Nina and
the Pinta
Columbus discovers the Americas: San
October 12,
Salvador, more likely Samana Cay in the
1492
Bahamas
Ponce de Leon searching for "The Fountain of

1513
Youth" reaches and names Florida
QOO
De Soto explores Florida

1539
De Soto discovers Mississippi River; Coronado
explores from New Mexico across Texas,
1541 Oklahoma and eastern Kansas
St. Augustine founded (razed by Francis Drake
1565 in 1586)
Sir Walter Raleigh supports an expedition
of colonists to Roanoke Island on present-
1585 day North Carolina Outer Banks
Sir Francis Drake finds Roanoke Island
colonists hungry and ready to return to
1586 England
Raleigh sent another 107 men and women to
help the Roanoke Island colonists and they are
nowhere to be found. To this day they have
1587 been dubbed "The Lost Colon
The Virginia Company and The Plymouth
Company given permission to "colonize"
1605 Vir •nia (North America).
1605 Santa Fe, New Mexico, founded (some say 1609)
The ships: Susan Constant, Godspeed and

December 20, Discovery; carrying 104 colonists depart
1606 England, arrive Chesapeake Bay 1607 and
f un wn
Virginia (Jamestown) Colony established: 1 of
1607
original 13 colonies
Henry Hudson set sail aboard the Half

Moon looking for "the northwest passage"
1609
to China, discovered the Hudson Bay, River
and Strait in
The starving time. Jamestown Settlement in
1609-1610
"dire straits": many dead, cannibalism etc.
QOI
John Rolfe crosses Virginia Tobacco with a

milder Jamaican Leaf resulting in the cash
1612 crop tobacco as we know it toda
Massachusetts (Plymouth and
Massachusetts Bay) Colony established: 2
1620 of original 13 colonies
The Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was the first
governing document of Plymouth Colony. It
was written by the colonists, later together
known to history as the Pilgrims, who
crossed the
Atlantic aboard the Mayflower. Almost half of
the colonists were part of a separatist group
seeking the freedom to practice Christianity
according to their own determination and not
the will of the English Church. It was signed
on November 11, 1620 by 41 of the ship's one
November 11, hundred and two passengers, in what is now
1620 Provincetown Harbor near Cape Cod.
New York (New Amsterdam) Colony
1626
established: 3 of original 13
Maryland Colony established: 4 of original 13

1633
colonies
Rhode Island and Connecticut Colonies

1636
established: 5 and 6 of original 13 colonies
Delaware and New Hampshire Colonies

1638
established: 7 and 8 of original 13 colonies
North Carolina Colony: 9 of original 13

1653
colonies
1663 South Carolina Colony: 10 of original 13

colonies
QOQ
New Jersey Colony established: 11 of original

1664 13 colonies
Pennsylvania Colony established: 12 of

1682 original 13 colonies
Salem Massachusetts: 19 "Witches" hung and
1692 one husband suffocated for practicing
witchcraft
Georgia Colony established: 13 of original 13
1732
colonies
The Boston Massacre: Crispus Attucks, former

March 5, 1770
slave, first to be killed
December 16,
The Boston Tea Party
1773
April 18, 1775 Paul Revere's Ride
"The shot heard round the world"; 8

April 18, 1775 Minutemen killed by British troops at
Lexington Massachusetts
April 18, 1775
Revolutionary War: 6,188 Americans Wounded,
February 3, 4,435 Americans Killed
18
The Declaration of Independence is
July 4, 1776
signed
June 14, 1777

The first Flag design adopted by Congress
The Continental Congress votes to submit The
September 17,
U. S. Constitution to The States for
1787
ratification.
June 1788 The Constitution is Ratified by all States
December 15,
The Bill of Rights is ratified
1791
The Statue of Liberty is presented by the
1886 French People to the American People;
designed b Frederic-Au uste Bartholdi.
Dr. Condoleezza Rice's Testimony before the
April 8, 2004
September 11th Commission
003
3. I I .2 The American Flag
It has become customary to fly
The Flag on National Holidays, and many people now fly The Flag
daily from their homes. This action demonstrates Patriotism and
Loyalty to the Country and Honors the sacrifice of all who have
made this Great Nation possible.

"Old Glory, Long May It Wave"
The Flag of The United States of America will stand only as
long as all of them want it to stand. It is the symbol of this great
Nation of theirs built from the hard work and sacrifice of those
who have gone before them. The strength of their Nation is the
sum total of that hard work and sacrifice, and the strength,
cunning and prowess of those who their forefathers, sons and
daughters have fought and defeated in battle to defend it.
Most of the American people have heard the stories of Betsy
Ross and their first Flag. Congress adopted the first Flag design June
14, 1777. As States have been added so have stars. Congress
formally adopts any modifications to their flag and prescribes the
etiquette required for the display and handling of this great national
symbol.
Over the years the Flag of The United States has been burned and
trampled both home and abroad by citizens who are not happy with
their country and want to make a point. For their citizens at home
who make this choice it is difficult to make sense of this
disrespectful action when so many have died defending their right
of free speech.
Many men and women have died defending this nation on the
field of battle or "on duty" under the colors of their Flag. They
have listed below casualties of war through the years to
illustrate the significance of the sacrifice of many for their
country. These statistics are humbling in the face of the
significance of their sacrifice.
*United States War Casualties
WAR NUMBER
WOUNDED KILLED
SERVING
Revolutionary War 6,188 4 435
War of 1812 286,730 4,505 2,260
Mexican War 78,718 4,152 1,733
Civil War 3,213,363 354,805 191,963
(Both Sides)
Spanish American
306,760 1,662 385
War
World War 1 4,734,991 204,002 53,402
World War 11 16,112,566 671,846 291,557
Korean Conflict 103,284 33,651
Vietnam Conflict 153,303 47,378
3. I . I .3 The Declaration of Independence
What a bold move on the part of the American people's
Founding Fathers. To feel strong and confident enough to break
away from the English and risk death and destruction was
nothing short of extraordinary. They were driven to
IN CON G R 4,
of an Ideal; a place on earth were
A 1) C LAR TION people could be free and equal. "We
sTA'1'ES 01 AMERICA*
hold these truths to be self—evident,
Q05
that all men are created equal, that
declare themselves free they are endowed by their Creator
from "The British Crown" with certain unalienable rights, that
by their passion for among these are life, liberty and the
Freedom and the attainment pursuit of happiness." Now
they may scoff a bit at this statement because even today they
struggle with issues of equality. Even their Founding Fathers had
such struggles when it came to slavery for example. Study the
history, it has been a struggle of an ideal, a principle, a value,
against rationalized accepted practices thought commonplace
throughout human history. The passion Americans have felt for the
principles written in their founding documents drove them to a Civil
War; one of the bloodiest wars in American History. Their
fundamental belief in Freedom and the Equality of People will
continue to move this great Nation toward the ideals expressed in
The Declaration of Independence.
More Information About The Declaration
Drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776,
the Declaration of Independence is at once the nation's most cherished
symbol of liberty and Jefferson's most enduring monument. Here, in
exalted and unforgettable phrases, Jefferson expressed the convictions
in the minds and hearts of the American people. The political
philosophy ofthe Declaration was not new; its ideals of individual
liberty had already been expressed by John Locke and the Continental
philosophers. What Jefferson did was to summarize this philosophy in
"self- evident truths" and set forth a list of grievances against the King
in order to justify before the world the breaking of ties between the
colonies and the mother country.
Transcription: The Declaration of Independence
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for
one people to dissolve the political bonds which have
connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of

the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature
and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of
mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel
them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That
to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving
their just powers form the consent of the governed. That whenever any
form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of
the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying
its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form,
as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should
not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all
experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while
evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to
which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and
usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to
reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to
throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future
security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such
is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of
government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history
of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the
establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let
facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and
necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and
pressing importance, unless suspended in their Öperation till his
assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly
neglected to attend to them.
Q07
He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large

districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right
ofrepresentation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and
formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual,
uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public
records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with
his measures.
He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for
opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the
people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause
others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of
annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise;
the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of
invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for
that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners;
refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and
raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.
He has obstructed the administration ofjustice, by refusing his
assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.
He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of
their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither
swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their
substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies
without the consent of our legislature.
He has affected to render the military independent of and superior
to civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction
foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving
his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any

murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these
states:
For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing taxes on us without our consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:
For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended
offenses:
For abolishing the free system ofEnglish laws in a neighboring
province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and
enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit
instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies:
For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable
laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:
For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves
invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his
protection and waging war against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns,
and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign
mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and
tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and
perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and
totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high
seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners
of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has
endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless
Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished
destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for
redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions
009
have been answered only by repeated injury, A prince, whose
character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant,
is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren.
We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their
legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We
have reminded them ofthe circumstances ofour emigration and
settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and
magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our
common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would
inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. We
must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our
separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind,
enemies in war, in peace friends.
We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of
America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the
Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do,
in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these
colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies
are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they
are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all
political connection between them and the state of Great Britain,
is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and
independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude
peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other
acts and things which independent states may of right do. And
for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the
protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each
other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.
New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple,
Matthew Thornton Massachusetts: John Hancock,
Samual Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine,
Elbridge Gerry Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William
Ellery Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington,

William Williams, Oliver Wolcott New York: William
Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey: Richard Stockton,
John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart,
010
Abraham Clark Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benj amin

Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer,
James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas
Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton Virginia: George
Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson,
Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis
Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes,
John Penn South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas

Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George
Walton2
3. I . I .4 The Constitution
The Constitution Is the American people's Rule Of
Law
The United States Constitution is the framework for their
government. It lays out the principles of their republic placing
everyone including their rulers under the law. Most recently, U. S.
citizens were directly exposed to the importance of their
Constitution in defining "The Rule of Law" during The 2000
Presidential Election.
In 1781 the original 13 states signed the Articles of
Confederation. This action formally established The Federal
Government. Weaknesses in The Articles of Confederation were
debated over time and by 1786 that feeling became strong enough
that every state but Rhode Island voted in favor of a
Constitutional Convention. The Convention was held in May
1787 in Philadelphia. After much discussion and debate the
Constitution was ratified by all States in June 1788.
The world watched as our Founding Fathers debated the issues
associated with forming our Federal Government. The seriousness
and importance of this endeavor was recognized; in Alexander
Hamilton's words:
It has been frequently remarked that it seems to have been
reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and
011
example, to decide the important question, whether societies of

men are really capable or not of establishing good government
from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined
to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force.
From October 27, 1787 to May 28, 1788 there were 85
Federalist papers written by Alexander Hamilton, James
Madison and John Jay. The United States Supreme Court uses
these papers to this day to aid in interpretation of their
Constitution.
3.1.1.5 The Bill of Rights
The Constitution was ratified by all States in June 1788. During
the discussions leading to the ratification there were many heated
debates about individual rights. Many felt the Constitution lacked
protection for the rights of the Citizens. The Document considered to
be The Bill of Rights is the draft version of 12 proposed
Amendments to The Constitution. The Document was dated March
4, 1789. On September 25, 1789, the 12 Amendments were proposed
to The First Congress. On December 15, 1791 Amendments 3 thru
12 were ratified by the required 3/4 vote. These 10 Amendments are
considered to be The Bill of Rights. There is no Document
containing just The 10 Ratified Amendments. The March 4, 1789
draft is The Document retained by The National Archives.
The Amendments that constitute The Bill of Rights are
summarized as follows: The First (not ratified) - Regulates the
number of Representatives according to the population of the
state, The Second (not ratified) - Senators and Representatives
cannot increase their salaries during their present term of office,
The Third - Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Speech, Freedom
ofthe Press, Freedom ofAssembly, Right to petition the
Government for redress of grievances, The Fourth - Right to keep
and bear Arms, The Fifth - No Soldier to be Quartered in any
House in time of peace unless by consent of the owner, The
Sixth - Freedom from unreasonable Search and Seizure, The
Seventh - Provisions concerning Prosecution, Trial, and
Punishment; Just Compensation for Property taken for public
use, The Eighth - Right to Speedy and Public Trial,
QIQ
The Ninth - Right of Trial by Jury, The Tenth - Excessive Bail or

Fines and Cruel Punishment prohibited, The Eleventh - All
Rights to be retained By The People except those regulated in
The Constitution, The Twelfth - The Powers reserved to the
States or the People.
3. I .6 The American Eagle
Displaying the eagle is a traditional practice that celebrates the
individual's freedom of choice guaranteed to all citizens of The
United States of America. Americans through the years have
displayed sculptures of eagles in prominent locations in their
homes. Many families have an eagle with spread wings above their
hearth or displayed on the external surfaces of their homes above
doors, entries or garages. It is often used as an ornament for
flagpoles.
The eagle represents
Freedom. The bald eagle was
chosen June 20, 1782 as the
emblem of the United States of
America, because of its long
life, great strength and majestic
looks, and also because it was
then believed to exist only on
this continent. It has become a tradition to display the eagle, or
the Seal of the United States which contains the eagle, in
locations where the Federal Government has offices or conducts
official business. The eagle is found on U.S. currency and coins
and also forms the basis for many emblems of government
agencies.
More About The American Eagle
The Eagle, the American people's National Emblem:
On the backs of their gold coins, the silver dollar, the half
dollar and the quarter, we see an eagle with outspread wings. On
the Great Seal of the United States and in many places which are
exponents of their nation's authority we see the same emblem.
The eagle represents freedom. Living as he does on the tops of
lofty mountains, amid the solitary grandeur of
BRITISH AND AMERICAN CULTURAL STUDIES Q13
014
Nature, he has unlimited
freedom, whether with strong pinions he sweeps into the
valleys below, or upward into the boundless spaces beyond. It
is said the eagle was used as a national emblem because, at
one of the first battles of the Revolution (which occurred early
in the morning) the noise of the struggle awoke the sleeping
eagles on the heights and they flew from their nests and
circled about over the heads of the fighting men, all the while
giving vent to their raucous cries. "They are shrieking for
Freedom," said the patriots. Thus the eagle, full of the
boundless spirit of freedom, living above the valleys, strong
and powerful in his might, has become the national emblem of
a country that offers freedom in word and thought and an
opportunity for a full and free expansion into
the boundless space of the future.

The Eagle became the National emblem in 1782 when the
great seal of the United States was adopted. The Great Seal
shows a wide-spread eagle, faced front, having on his breast a
shield with thirteen perpendicular red and white stripes,
surmounted by a blue field with the same number of stars. In
his right talon the eagle holds an olive branch, in his left a
bundle of thirteen arrows, and in his beak he carries a scroll
inscribed with the motto: "E Pluribus Unum." The Eagle
appears in the Seals of many of the American States, on most
of their gold and silver coinage, and is used a great deal for
decorative patriotic purposes. At the Second Continental

Congress, after the thirteen colonies voted to declare
independence from Great Britain, the colonies determined
they needed an official seal. So Dr. Franklin, Mr. J. Adams,
and Mr. Jefferson as a committee prepared a device for a Seal
of the United States of America. However, the only portion of
the design accepted by the congress was the statement E
Pluribus Unum, attributed to Thomas Jefferson. Six years and
two committees later, in May of 1782, the brother of a
Philadelphia naturalist provided a drawing showing an eagle
displayed as the symbol of "supreme power and authority."
Congress liked the drawing, so before the end of 1782, an
eagle holding a bundle of arrows in one talon and an olive
branch in the other was accepted as the seal. The image was
completed with a shield of red and white stripes covering the
breast of the bird; a crest above the eagle's head, with a cluster
of thirteen stars surrounded by bright rays going out to a ring
of clouds; and a banner, held by the eagle in its bill, bearing
the words E PluribÜs Unum. Yet it was not until 1787 that the
American bald eagle was officially adopted as the emblem of
the United States. This happened only after many states had
already used the eagle in their coat of arms, as New York
State did in 1778. Though the official seal has undergone
some modifications in the last two hundred years, the basic
design is the same. While the eagle has been officially
recognized as America's national bird, there have been
dissenters who feel that the bird was wrong choice.
It was Benjamin Franklin's wish that the bald eagle had not
been chosen as the representative of their country. He is a
bird of bad moral character and he does not get his living
honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead tree,
where, too lazy to fish for himself. He watches the labor of
the fishing-hawk, and when that diligent bird has at length
taken a fish, and is bearing it to its nest for the support of his
mate and young ones, the bald eagle pursues him and takes it
from him.... Besides he is a rank coward; the little kingbird,
not bigger than a sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him
out of the district. He is therefore by no means a proper
emblem for the brave and honest...of America...For a truth,
the turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird,
and withal a true original native of America . . . a bird of
courage, and would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the
British guards, who should presume to invade his farmyard
with a red coat on.
Franklin was clearly against the eagle and let everyone
know it. Likewise, the artist John James Audubon agreed with
this opinion of the bald, or white-headed, eagle. Nevertheless,
selected as the American people's national bird, the eagle has
appeared on all official seals of the United States, as well as
on most coinage, paper money, and on many U.S. stamps. It is
curious to note the minted eagles have been issued in a great
variety of shapes and positions. Also, there is great variation
in the species depicted. Some of the famous images have
species other than the bald eagle----for example the famous
ten-dollar gold pieces exhibit the "double eagle" instead.
Numerous people have complained because many, if not
most, of these illustrations show the wide-ranging golden
eagle rather than their own national bird, the bald eagle. They
feel these representations mislead the general public into
believing that they are looking at a bald eagle. The easiest
way to distinguish between the golden and bald eagles is by
the feathering on the legs. The golden is feathered down the
entire leg, while the bald eagle has no feathérs on lower part
of the leg until at least two or three years of age, when bald
eagles also start developing the white head and tail.
3.1.2 Family
Family is forever. Family is comfortable. Family is fun.
Families are loyal. This is the one place on earth where
Q16 BRITISH AND AMERICAN CULTURAL STUDIES
forgiveness and understanding must be abundant. This does

not mean that a family should aid criminal or unethical
behavior of one of its members. It does mean the family
stands with that family member as he or she takes
responsibility for his or her actions. Love, support, tolerance
and caring must be the basis for the relationship. These things
must always be there and never held back or withdrawn.
They must be unconditional. Family life today is more
challenging than ever but "Love will see us through".
"There's no place like home"
Family Values are passed to our children through a variety
of family activities. Family life today is also influenced by the
principles and values of our surrounding society. This
influence is rapidly changing and expanding as technology
has enabled quick travel and communication over long
distances. With the advent of the Internet the influence is
global. In the end, every parent strives to instill their
fundamental beliefs within their children through every
possible means at their disposal.
"Family is forever."
Families nurture future generations in their image by the
sharing of Family Values. Family structure may vary but one
thing remains constant in family life today: "family is
forever". American History has shown that American Families
pass on their proud history along with their own personal
ethics to form the basis for their sense of what is right and
wrong for the rest of their lives. Home is safe and familiar. It
is one place in the world where they can be comfortable and
be themselves. They all expect love, support, tolerance and
caring from their Family members to help them grow to their
full potential. By the same token they each owe the same
support to other Family members. Although children may turn
from their families during adolescence, most return as adults
with the principles and values they learned from their family
experience. Failure to take the time to develop their sons and
daughters will at some point become a lifetime regret. Many
families adopt individuals as sons, daughters, aunts, uncles
etc. One of the most satisfying contributions they make in life
is the investment of their personal time and caring in those
they love.
3. I .2.1 Marriage and Weddings
The United States is "a melting pot" of cultures each with
their own unique Marriage Customs and Traditions. There has
been a set of Customs and Traditions generally accepted as
common to Marriage in The United States unless the marriage
is a Common Law Marriage.
Dating is the accepted pre-engagement practice between
couples. Families generally establish requirements for the
details of acceptable activities, time of day, single or group
dating etc. The age, personality and maturity of dating
children generally drive the conditions set by parents if the
children are still at home.
Love between the couples is believed to be a
prerequisite to marriage.
Proposal of marriage by the man and acceptance by the
woman results in an Engagement. Couples enter into
marriage with the belief that the relationship is permanent.
The engagement is marked by the gift of an Engagement
Ring from the man proposing to the woman accepting.
A Marriage License is required by all States including a

Blood Test and a prescribed waiting period.
A Wedding Rehearsal Dinner is usually celebrated between
the immediate families of spouses in the late afternoon the day
before the wedding. The Groom's Family traditionally
provides for this celebration.
A Bachelor Party is held for the Groom and usually

sponsored by The Best Man the night before the Wedding.
A Bridal Shower is usually sponsored by The Bride's Maid.
It has become very popular now for The Bride's Maid to also
sponsor a Bachelorette Party for the Bride.
The Wedding Ceremony is most often performed as part of
a religious ceremony each with its own specific customs and
traditions. On the day of the wedding the Groom does not see
the Bride until the actual ceremony. As Custom would have it
from Victorian Times: the Bride wears Something Old,
Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and
a Sixpence in her shoe.
Rings are exchanged to mark the permanent commitment
of the new spouses to each other.
A Wedding Reception is usually held after the ceremony
for all family and friends to celebrate. The Bride's Family
usually provides for this celebration.
A Honeymoon is taken by the Bride and Groom to a
secret place where they go off for their first night together
in Marriage. It is thought that the Honeymoon Custom
was established to
avoid the European Custom Charivari where family and
friends banged on pots and pans outside the couple's bedroom
their first night of marriage.
It has become customary at many Wedding Receptions to
leave a Wedding Camera on each table. The guests all take
candid photos during the reception making a wonderful array
of photo-memories of family and friends for the Bride and
Groom to go along with their Wedding Album. Some couples
have even used the negatives from these cameras to construct
their Wedding Album themselves, fully filled with 8X10,
5X7, and smaller photos as desired. Many camera shops and
film developers produce excellent enlargements to help
couples create an economical Wedding Album.
Q18 BRITISH AND AMERICAN CULTURAL STUDIES Q19
The gift of fresh Flowers is a "live" reminder of the love

and affection we feel for one another.
"Until Death Do Us Part"
Marriage is a social institution that defines the relationship
between a man and a woman. It defines in legal terms the
obligations of spouses to each other and to their children. This
forms the basis for also defining the rights of the children
born into the family created by the marriage relationship.
It takes 18-21 years to raise a child to adulthood. The level
of commitment required between a man and a woman to
sustain a relationship and a home for child rearing is
significant. A permanent loving relationship between spouses,
and between spouses and children, provides the best nurturing
environment for continuation of society. Society's Principles
and Values are passed to children within the Family
environment. This process ensures the continuation of a
Nation.
Customs and Traditions associated with marriage, and the
wedding ceremony that marks the beginning of the marriage
contract, are wide and varied. Details vary from culture to
culture and also evolve over time. Generally there is a legal
aspect to the contract with requirements under State laws, and
a religious ceremony to mark the event.
3. I .2.2 Wedding Anniversaries
Once a year, a married man and a woman celebrate
their commitment to one another on the Anniversary Date
of
019
their Wedding by exchanging gifts and celebrating together. It is

customary for spouses to exchange gifts on Wedding Anniversaries
made of certain materials depending upon which Anniversary is
being celebrated. Each spouse, by Custom, gives a gift made of the
material that is specified for the Anniversary Year. As an example,
the 25th Wedding Anniversary is the Silver Anniversary so that
each spouse exchanges a gift made of silver. There is general
agreement with the list below under the heading: Traditional
Wedding Gifts. In "modern" times many people have specified
materials of differing substances or category. There is not universal
agreement on "modern" gifts as is illustrated by the 2 lists below
labeled: Modernl and Modern2. There are many more lists in the
"modern" category not shown here. It is safe for spouses to use the
Traditional list if the Traditional Anniversary Gift Custom is to be
observed. Truly it is the thought and the expression of love that
counts here. Many spouses have fun picking out or making gifts of
the traditional materials just to keep it interesting.
TRADITIONAL
ANNIVERSARY MODERN 1 MODERN 2
GIFT
1 Paper Clocks Plastic

2 Cotton China Calico
Crystal/
3 Leather Leather
1
Linen/Silk/
4 Fruit/Flowers Appliances
N Ion
5 Wood Silverware Wood
6 Candy/lron Candy/lron Wood
Copper/
7 Wool/Copper Desk Sets
Wool/Brass
Bronze/
8 Bronze/Pottery Linens
A liances
Pottery/Willow
9 Linen/Lace Leather
10 Tin/Aluminum Leather Diamond

QQO
11 Steel Jewelry Steel
12 Silk/Linen Pearls Silk/Linen
Textiles/
13 Lace Lace "To
Furs
Gold/
achieve
14 Ivory Ivory or
Jewelry
15 Crystal Watches Glass
20 China Platinum China

25 Silver Silver Silver
Pearl/
30 Pearl Diamond
Cloisonne
35 Coral Jade Coral/Jade
Ruby/
40 Ruby Ruby
Garnet
45 Sapphire Sapphire Sapphire
50 Gold Gold Gold
Emerald/
55 Emerald Emerald
Turquoise
Diamond/
60 Diamond Diamond
Gold
75 Diamond Gold
accumulate anything of value we must be of single purpose."

This quote could not be truer in any situation than it is in marriage.
For a man and woman to build a Family with loving children, a home,
and all the accumulated wonderful memories; daily each spouse must
go about the work of life with total commitment. Whether at work or
play, the consistent thread
must be loyalty and devotion to each other and their Family. The
marriage relationship must be treasured above all else as the basis for
creating the environment and conditions necessary to the achievement
of "Family" on a permanent basis. Wedding Anniversaries are
engulfed in Custom and Tradition.
QQI
3. I .2.3 The Family Meal

Family Together at the End of the Day
Although modern life seems to have overtaken The Family Meal in
many areas, there are still many American Families that practice the
Custom of either the Daily (evening) Family Meal or a Sunday
Family Meal. Often, the Sunday Family Meal is a time for gathering
children and grandchildren.
Talk over the Day's Activities
As hectic as Family schedules can be, sometimes the Family Meal
is the only way to get everyone together to talk over the happenings
ofthe day or discuss upcoming family plans or events. This is also a
good setting to share Family Values through stories and discussions
that inevitably will take place. It is important for parents to seize this
opportunity to share values.
Family Values
The Family Meal is the event that always reflects what a Family
holds dear because the things that are discussed at this gathering
are the most important things happening within a Family.
Sometimes it is good for parents to reflect on the quality of the
time spent with the Family and make adjustments.
Family Rituals
Many cultures have rituals associated with them that teach Values.
4th Of July picnics have become a Ritual in The United States for
example. The meaning behind the Ritual is a celebration of Freedom.
Religious Holydays have Rituals associated with them that reinforce
Religious Values. Many Cultures teach History or Values through
Ritual Meals.
Significance is attached to every aspect of the Meal.
An American Family Ritual Meal
The below arrangement relates each Day of the week to a particular
relationship of Food Group, Color, and Principle or Value. It is all tied
together by a Ritual Meal where all of the Food groups, Colors and
Principles and Values are celebrated. If one understands the
significance of the Days of the week, Universal Principles, Human
Values, and the Colors; the Ritual Meal carries with it significant
lessons for life.
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Saturday Sunday
QQQ
Day of The Week

The 7 Days of the week are used to remember a particular human
Principle or Value or to celebrate a Ritual Meal. Monday through
Friday focus on 5 Human Values while Saturday focuses on the 2
Universal Principles of Life. Sunday is used to celebrate a Ritual
Family Meal that recognizes the Principles and Values through the
symbolism offered by Colors and Food Groups.
Food
The 5 Food Groups consist of Grains, Vegetables, Fruits,
Meat/Fish, and Dairy. The first 3 Food Groups are "Primary" Food Groups
because they do not feed on other living things. The last 2 Food Groups are
"Secondary" Food Groups because their sources feed on "Primary" Food
Groups.
Principle or Value
The 2 Universal Principles are The Principle of Human Freedom
and The Principle of Universal Harmony. The 5 Human Values
consist of 3 "Primary' Human Values: Integrity, Self—Discipline, and
Proactivity; and 2 "Secondary" Human Values: Empathy, and
Humility. The "Primary" Values are prerequisites to the "Secondary"
Values. Mastery of these Values is required before we can master
those necessary to interact with other Human Beings.
Color
The Colors selected consist of 3 Primary Colors: Blue, Green and
Red; and 2 Secondary Colors: Violet and Orange. White is used to
signify the unity or sum of all colors because it is. A candle of the
appropriate color is burned during dinner each day with all 7 candles
burned during the Family Ritual Meal on Sunday.
Credits
The Universal Principles come from the American people's
Documents of Freedom and the recognition that they all live in a
setting provided by Mother Nature. The Human Values come from
many historical writings and most especially Stephen Covey. The
Colors, Days of the week, and Food Groups are common knowledge.
The relationship described above is offered as an aid to sharing things
important within a Family setting.
BRITISH AND AMERICAN CULTURAL STUDIES QQ3
3. I .2.4 The Candle In The Window

The Tradition of placing a
Candle in the Window goes back to the Colonial times in the United
States and back much further in time for other cultures. It is a
Tradition practiced throughout the year. It symbolizes the warmth
and security of the Family hearth and signals loyalty to Family
members and loved ones who are not present in the home. At
Christmas Time it follows the tradition of The Colonial
Williamsburg Christmas.
A Window Candle has been a traditional practice in many
cultures. It has a variety of meanings in The United States. The
practice starts with the fundamental use of fire by mankind.
Throughout the history of man a campfire has represented warmth
and security. It is the source of heat to cook food and warm the
body and the spirit. It is the barrier between the safe and the
unsafe in an untamed and unfriendly_wilderness. Over the course
of history, as the American people have moved their campfires
into their homes, there, the hearth has represented these very same
things. The family hearth has been the center of activity because
of its warmth and practical use for food preparation. They love to
watch the dancing flames as the fire's warmth flows into the
deepest and coldest parts of our bodies. Sitting in front of the
hearth on a cold wintry day gives them a feeling of warmth and
security. It makes them feel like all is right with the world. In
most cultures a Candle in the Window was used to signal a
Family's loyalty to a loved one who was away traveling. It let
that person know the family awaited their return and the hearth
was warm and waiting for them. In Ireland during times of
religious persecution, the Window Candle signaled the location
of religious services.
In Colonial America a Candle in the Window was used to honor
dignitaries, announce births and just plain celebrate (Hodges and
QQ4 BRITISH AND AMERICAN CULTURAL STUDIES
Miley Theobold p. 42). Every Christmas in Williamsburg Window

Candles are illuminated in each window of the homes and
businesses in that community to commemorate an old fashioned
Christmas (Hodges and Miley Theobold p. 38). Many other cultures
around the world practice the Candle in the Window Tradition.
3.102.5 Children
Our Children Are Our Country's Future
The writing quoted below is probably the best summary of how
important the American people's interaction with their children is to
their health and well-being for life. The message is one of consistent
caring.
Children Learn
What They Live
Family Tradition CHILDREN LEARN WHAT

THEY LIVE by Dorothy Law
Nolte
If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn. If

children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be
apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for

themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn
confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation. If
children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like
themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to
have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness. If
children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they
learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in
themselves.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is
a nice place in which to live.
01982 Dorothy Law Nolte
Birthstones
The Tradition of Birthstones goes back further than written
history. People wear jewelry containing stones designated for
their Birth Month. The chart below designates the Traditional
Birthstones.
MONTH TRADITIONAL STONE
January Garnet
February Amethyst
March Bloodstone
April Diamond
May Emerald
June Alexandrite
July Ruby
August Sardonyx
September Sapphire
3. I .2.6 Tie a Yellow Ribbon

Display of a Yellow Ribbon is a sign of loyalty to family, friends
or loved ones who are welcome home. Customarily it is used to
welcome home men and women who have been away for a long
time under adverse or particularly difficult circumstances such as
war or prison.
Did you ever wonder where the Yellow Ribbon Tradition came
from? Most Music Historians trace the Custom to a 19th Century
Civil War Song. Reportedly the Custom comes from a Civil War
story about a prisoner's homecoming returning from Andersonville
Prison. In 1973 Tony Orlando and Dawn cut their number one song
of that year and their all-time classic: "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round
the Ole Oak Tree."
Folklore has it that the inspiration for the 1973 song came from a
true incident that occurred on a bus bound for Miami, Florida. It
seems that one of the passengers had just been released from prison
and he was bound for home. He had written his wife and let her
know he still loved her and wanted to be with her. He asked her to
tie a yellow ribbon around the lone oak tree in the Town Square of
White Oak, Georgia, if she still had feelings for him and wanted him
to be with her. Everyone in the bus asked the Driver to slow down
as they approached, there it was!
The Driver pulled over and phoned the wire services to share the
story. It quickly spread throughout the country. Songwriters Irwin
Levine and L. Russell Brown wrote the ballad from the news story.
And now, "the rest of the story"! L. Russell Brown had the
inspiration for writing the song. One late Spring morning he drove
33 miles to Irwin Levine's house and told him the story of the oak
tree. It had nothing to do with any convict or news story. It was
about a civil war soldier, a stagecoach and yellow handkerchiefs.
Irwin changed the yellow handkerchiefs to ribbons so as not to
offend anyone with the reality of what makes handkerchiefs yellow!
L. Russell Brown and and Irwin Levine updated the story by
changing the stagecoach to a bus. L. Russell Brown picked up a
guitar and wrote the first eight or so lines of music and lyrics
himself, Irwin picked up the ball and wrote the ending: "100 ribbons
round the ole oak tree". There was discussion about use of the word
Dawn and then the ole song was written. According to L. Russell
Brown: "Sorry Paul Harvey, but now you know the rest of the
story".
"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree" was released in
February 1973. It was the number one hit by April 1973.
The song became a hit again in 1981 when the 52 Iran Hostages
were returned after 444 days of captivity. The song was played
throughout the United States because by then the Yellow Ribbon
had become a symbol of loyalty.
Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the ole oak Tree I'm coming
home. I've done my time.
Now I've got to know what is and isn't mine. If you
received my letter telling you I'd soon be free,
Then you'll know just what to do if you still want
me,
If you still want me,

Oh, tie a yellow ribbon 'round the ole oak tree.
It's been three long years.
Do you still want me?
(Still want me?)
If I don't see a ribbon 'round the ole oak tree,
I'll stay on the bus,
Forget about us,
Put the blame on me, If I
don't see a yellow ribbon
'round the ole oak tree.
Bus driver, please look for me,
'Cause I couldn't bear to see what I might see.
I'm really still in prison, and my
love, she holds the key.
A simple yellow ribbon's what I need to set me free.

I wrote and told her please,
Oh, tie a yellow ribbon 'round the ole oak tree.
It's been three long years.

Do you still want me?
(Still want me?)
If I don't see a ribbon 'round the ole oak tree,
I'll stay on the bus,
Forget about us,
Put the blame on me, If I don't
see a yellow ribbon 'round the
ole oak tree.
Now the whole damn bus is cheering,
And I can't believe I see,
A hundred yellow ribbons 'round the ole oak tree.
I'm coming home, mm-hmm.
(Tie a ribbon 'round the ole oak tree.

Tie a ribbon 'round the ole oak tree.
Tie a ribbon 'round the ole oak tree.
Tie a ribbon 'round the ole oak tree. Tie a
ribbon 'round the ole oak tree. Tie a ribbon
'round the ole oak tree.
Tie a ribbon 'round the ole oak tree...)
Lyrics: Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the ole oak Tree,
Dawn
3. I .2.7 American Family Values

The American people teach their children the Principles and
Values of Free Individuals in a Free Society. Although at times they
may fail, they work tirelessly to be men and women of Integrity,

Self-discipline, Proactivity, Humility and Empathy. They believe in
the Principle of Human Freedom to ensure they sustain their Free
Society. They believe in the Principle of Universal Harmony so they
sustain their Families by living in "synch" with the earth and the
universe.
Principles and Values
Now here is a good question: "What is the difference between a
Principle and a Value?" This has many answers depending upon
who you ask. From the World Book Dictionary, a Value is an
established ideal of life, objects, customs, ways of acting, and the
like, that the members of a given society regard as desirable. Again,
from the World Book Dictionary, a Principle is a fundamental
belief, a rule of action or conduct, a truth that is a foundation for
other truths; fundamental, primary, or general truth.
In simple terms, Values are the building blocks of Principles,
while Principles show how Values are related to each other.
Examples of Values might be: 1. Life, 2. Liberty and 3. the Pursuit
of Happiness. An example of a Principle might be: 1. Human
Beings have an inherent right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of
Happiness.
Values of A Good Free Individual
What are the Values held true by a Free Individual in a Free
Society? What Values equip a person to function well in a Free
Society? A person who lives the Values that permit them to thrive in
a Free Society would be called a good person.
Fundamentally, Human Beings expect to be treated fairly. To be
fair we must be honest, forthright and sincere with others. This is
called Integrity. It means we keep our word; "you can take it to the
bank". "Our word is our bond." This is why our Credit Rating is
important, it is an "objective" measure of how well we keep our
promises in modern society. Remember The Golden Rule: "Do unto
others as you would have them do unto you."
Human Beings are able to choose; unlike animals and plants who
merely react to external stimulus. When we choose we are accepting the
consequences of our choices. We must have Self—discipline to choose
wisely and grow responsibly. As Free
Q30
Individuals we must accept responsibility for the consequences

of our choices if we are to remain free to choose.
Going about life each day requires us to know where we are
and know where we are headed. We are each "Captain of our
own ship". Freedom of choice enables us to exercise
Proactivity, to go after our goals and visions. We must each
take responsibility for our lives and control our own destiny. A
Free Society provides the best opportunity to make our dreams
come true.
Communication between Free Individuals requires us to give
each other a chance. Giving each other a chance requires one
Free Individual to understand and have Empathy for another
where we "put ourselves in the other's shoes". There is an old
Native American saying: "Do not judge another until you have
walked 20 miles in their moccasins".
Interaction with other Human Beings requires us to
understand the relationship of one Free Individual to another.
As we exercise Humility we demonstrate this knowledge. We
understand the worth of each Free Individual, including
ourselves, in our Free Society. Coexistence with Free
Individuals requires that we respect each other and
treat each other with dignity until a Free Individual proves
through their actions and words that they are unworthy.
Universal Principles
The two
Universal
Principles are
the Principle of
Human Freedom
and the Principle
of Universal
Harmony. These
powerful statements of principle relate
those things in life that are of value in a
way that will ensure Free Individuals
thrive with each other while sustaining a
place in the Universe without destroying
it.
3. .2.8 Flowers
It has become customary to give the gift of fresh Flowers to
the opposite sex on almost any occasion. In times of illness and
death, Flowers are given regardless of gender. The gift of
Flowers to couples is customary for such occasions as
Weddings,
931
Anniversaries and Holidays. Many men buy Flowers for their

favorite woman on a weekly basis to show their love and
affection.
Flowers have fascinated mankind throughout history
because of their varied beauty and fragrances. The Customs
and Traditions associated with Flowers go back beyond
recorded history. Perhaps the oldest Custom; more than 50,000
years, is the placing of Flowers on the grave of a loved one as a
sign of remembrance and respect.
In addition to the Customs associated with Flowers, there is
also their symbology. Almost every human emotion can be
expressed with the selection of the proper Flower. The first
book written on the subject was "Le Language des Fleurs" in
1819 by Madame Charlotte de la Tour (Louise Cortambert).
The most popular resource on this subject remains a book
published in 1884 by Kate Greenaway: "Language of Flowers".
In the United States today, Flowers are most often given for
the following occasions:
Births and
Birthdays
Weddings
Anniversaries
Reminders of Love
Valentine's Day
Christmas
Illness
Death
Flowers are worn as corsages by women and boutonnieres
by men for very special "dress-up" occasions.
The National Flower of the United States is the Rose. The
following table provides the Flower selected by each State of
The United States to be the "State Flower".
STATE FLOWERS
Camellia MONTANA Bitter Root
Forget-Me-Not NEBRASKA Goldenrod
Saguaro Giant
NEVADA Sagebrush
Cactus
Apple Blossom NEW HAMPSHIRE Purple Lilac
NEW JERSEY Violet

Golden Poppy
Rocky
Mountain NEW MEXICO Yucca Flower
Columbine
Mountain
NEW YORK Rose
ECTICUT Laurel
Flowering
Peach Blossom NORTH CAROLINA
AWARE Dogwood
Orange Wild Prairie
NORTH DAKOTA
ORIDA Blossom Rose
Scarlet
Cherokee Rose OHIO
ORGIA Carnation
AWAII Hibiscus OKLAHOMA Mistletoe
Mock Orange
AHO OREGON Oregon Grape
Syringa
Native Violet Mountain
INOIS PENNSYLVANIA Laurel
Purple
DIANA Peony RHODE ISLAND Violet
Yellow
Jasmine
(Carolina
OWA Wild Rose SOUTH CAROLINA Jasmine)
Q33
Americ
an
Pasqueflo
SOUTH wer:
KANSAS
DAKOTA Wild
Crocus
Sunflower or
Prairie
Crocus
TENNESSE
KENTUCKY Goldenrod Iris
E
Magnolia Bluebon
LOUISIANA TEXAS
net
White Pine
MAINE UTAH Sego Lily
Cone and Tassel
Red
MARYLAND Black-eyed Susan VERMONT
Clover
MASSACHU Flowering
Trailing Arbutus VIRGINIA Dogwood
SWITS
Coast
WASHIN
MICHIGAN Apple Blossom Rhododen
GTON
dron
Pink and
WEST Rhododen
MINNESOTA White
VIRGINIA dron
Lady's-slipper
Wiscorqs Wood
MISSISSIPPI Magnolia
m Violet
Indian
MISSOURI Hawthorn WYOMING Paintbr
ush
3. .2.9 The Recipe Box
It has become customary to keep favorite Family Recipes in
a special container called "The Recipe Box". All of the secret
ingredients that go into The Family's favorite meals are written
on 3x5 inch or 4x6 inch Recipe Cards. The Recipe Box is a
Family Heirloom and its contents are priceless. Newlywed
couples usually buy The Recipe Box early in their marriage and
spend a lifetime together gathering the recipes that become their
favorites.
Throughout the history of man a campfire has
represented warmth, security and a source of heat to
cook food. Cooking
(234
makes food more digestible and the process kills harmful

bacteria that may be on the raw food. Over time, as we have
moved our campfires into our homes we have become very
sophisticated in the use of cooking utensils and the use of
technology to apply energy to heat our food.
The preparation of vegetables for raw consumption as salads
does not require a careful process of assembling ingredients and
application of heat. Most cooked meals; however, require the
assembly of spices and food in the correct combination and the
application of the right amount ofheat over time to consistently
result in a particular flavor or appearance. The "formula" for a
particular dish is called a recipe.
Foods/Recipes differ between cultures because of the
predominant plants and animals in a particular region of the
world. Religion has also played a key role in the definition of
the foods consumed by certain cultures. Over the years, as the
United States has absorbed millions of people from all over the
world, we find an abundance of recipes available with which to
experiment.
3. I .20 10 Some rules for safe food preparation
Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds
before beginning food preparation and after handling raw
meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs.
Prevent juices from raw meat, poultry, or seafood from
touching cooked foods or foods that will be eaten raw, such
as fruits or salad ingredients.
Wash counters, equipment, utensils, and cutting boards with
soap and water immediately after use.
Thaw frozen foods in the refrigerator, never on the counter.
Or, thaw the food in a microwave oven, then cook it
immediately.
Marinate foods in the refrigerator, never on the counter.
Discard the marinade after use because it contains raw juices.
If you want to use the marinade as a dip or sauce, reserve a
portion before you add the raw food.
Always cook foods thoroughly. Ifharmful bacteria are
present, only thorough cooking will destroy them. Freezing or
rinsing foods in cold water is not sufficient to destroy bacteria.
035
Use a meat thermometer to determine if your meat or poultry

has reached a safe internal temperature, Check the product in
several spots to assure that a safe temperature has been reached.
To be safe, beef and pork must reach 160 degrees F (71 degrees
C); whole poultry and poultry thighs, 180 degrees F (82 degrees
C); and poultry breasts, 170 degrees F (77 degrees
Avoid interrupted cooking. Never refrigerate partially cooked

meat or poultry dishes to later finish cooking them on a grill or
in the oven. Meat and poultry products must be cooked
thoroughly the first time, and then they may be refrigerated and
safely reheated later.
When serving, keep hot foods hot--140 degrees F (60 degrees
C) or higher--and cold foods cold--41 degrees F (5 degrees C)
or lower.
Never leave foods, raw or cooked, at room temperature for
longer than two hours.
3.1 .2.1 1 Terms used in Cooking
Baste is to moisten a food while cooking it, usually by
brushing or pouring melted butter, cooked meat drippings, or
another liquid over it.
Beat is to mix one or more ingredients vigorously with a
spoon, an eggbeater, or an electric mixer.
Blanch is to precook or preheat a food in boiling water or
steam for a short time.
Braise is to cook meat slowly in a small amount of liquid
in a tightly covered pan.
Bread is to coat a food with breadcrumbs, cracker crumbs, or
crushed breakfast cereal before cooking.
Brown is to cook a food quickly, often in a small amount
of fat, until the food turns golden-brown.
Cream is to mix one or more ingredients with a spoon or an
electric mixer until the mixture becomes soft and creamy.
Dice is to cut into small cubes.
Fold IS to add an ingredient to a mixture by gently
turning one part over another with strokes of a flexible spatula
or scraper.
Glaze is to give a shiny appearance to food by coating it with
a sauce, syrup, or another liquid.
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Grate is to shred a food by rubbing it against a

grater.
Grease is to lightly coat the inside of a pan with butter,
shortening, or other fat.
Marinate is to soak a food in a seasoned liquid to enhance its
flavor and texture.
Pare is to cut the peel or outer covering off a food.
Poach is to simmer a food in water or another liquid.
Puree is to form a paste from a food, usually by cooking it
and then pressing it through a sieve or whipping it in a
blender.
Saute is to fry a food in a small amount of fat until it turns
golden- brown.
Skim is to remove the top layer from a liquid food, such as
removing fat from soup.
Whip is to beat food rapidly to add air and increase
volume.
3. I .3 American Culture through Generations
Thé American parents teach their children about American
Culture. They teach them to be good Americans by sharing
their traditions of Citizenship, American Holiday Celebration,
Craftsmanship, Entrepreneurship, Competition, Leadership,
Know-How, and Positive Attitude.
American Culture
Beyond the walls of the American people's home lies a great
Nation with a culture of its own. The structure of their
Government, their laws and the way people relate to each other
have great influence on the American people's actions and
attitudes. What do you think about when you hear the words:
The United States of America? The Americans are used to
display the quote "The land of the free, and the home of the
brave". Many of them think of that quote, or quotes from the
song: "America The Beautiful", like "spacious skies" or "amber
waves of grain".
"Only in America"
There is a culture in this country whether spoken or
unspoken that manifests itself in everything the American
people say, do, or think. For example, in the United States they
expect to compete in every aspect of our lives. At the same
Q37
time they expect to compete, they also expect to be given equal

opportunity to grow to their potential. They believe they all
have equal rights under the law. They expect American
Industry to put out a quality product and for their Nation to be
a leader in the world. Sometimes they even find themselves "on
the soap box" spouting expectations of their Nation's
performance or the performance of American Industry not
realizing that unless they each live up to these expectations,
their Nation and their Industries cannot. Frequently,
many of their competing interests and their strong desire to
ensure Individual Freedom, result in extraordinary events
taking place that can only be explained by the expression:
"Only in America".
Passing on Culture to Future Generations
Whatever their "National" culture may be, many of the
american people depend on their schools and institutions to
teach their children. Should we leave this precious part of
our children's education just to schools and other
institutions? According to the American people, emphasis
and example at home are very important to the development
of their children so that their Nation remains strong into the
future. They observe the Customs and Traditions in their
family so that they pass on the important aspects of
their American Culture essential to their future
survival.
3. I .3.1 U. S. National Holidays & Celebrations!
Let's Celebrate!
Americans find many reasons to celebrate. On a National
scale there are 10 Federal Holidays. Not all States recognize
the same Holidays as the Federal Government. States and local
governments have a separate list of Holidays which may be
different from the Federal list. Holidays may have a religious
or non-religious origin. One thing Holidays do have in
common: most companies give us a paid day off to celebrate!
There are many other Days with attached significance that
provide the American people the opportunity to enrich their
lives. In any case, Americans love any excuse to celebrate!
Federal Holidays
From The Office of Personnel Management: Federal law (5
U.S.C. 6103) establishes the following public holidays for
(238
Federal employees. Please note that most Federal employees

work on a Monday through Friday schedule. For these
employees, when a holiday falls on a non workday - Saturday
or Sunday - the holiday usually is observed on Monday (if the
holiday falls on Sunday) or Friday (if the holiday falls on
Saturday). Following are the Federal Holidays:
New Year's Day
Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Washington's Birthday* Memorial
Day
Independence Day Labor Day
Columbus Day
Veterans Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day
3.103.2 Christmas Traditions
Anna's Christmas
Our traditions center around how we spend the Thanksgiving
and Christmas holidays. My husband Bill's Mother hosts
Thanksgiving dinner and all of her 5 children and their children
are always there. For Christmas, names are drawn for the
children to exchange gifts. Everybody congregates around
Mom's tree and the Gift Marathon begins. Wrapping paper that
has been hurriedly torn off gifts is balled up and tossed at each
other as we open presents. Certain "traditional" foods are served
at both occasions and recipes are passed from Mom to all of us.
Another tradition for me (Anna) is whenever we visit Bill's
Mom, she and I go to the local Botanical Garden for a long
walk. We also go there every Christmas Season to walk through
their
Holiday Light Display,
Sherry Ward's Christmas
When my first daughter was born in 1995, I told myself
that every year during the Christmas Holiday that she and I
would gather toys, clothes and books and other items around
the house and donate them to other families that didn't have as
much as us. I wanted her to appreciate the meaning of giving
(239
and not always expect to receive gifts for Christmas. She is

now 7 and we continue to do this. One year, I let her pick
out $50.00 worth of toys from the local Dollar Store and we
went to the Hospital on Christmas Eve day and I had her
hand out the toys to all the children that were staying there.
She truly enjoyed seeing the kids and I hope it made her
appreciate her health, family and what she has.
Terry Clark's Irish—American Christmas Tradition
Although this is not truly an Irish tradition, we associate it
with the Irish because of the great potato famine. Every year
since I was little ( a very long time ago), my mother and father
used to have an open house for all of their neighbors, family
and friends on Christmas Eve, to celebrate It was always a
potluck buffet style affair. Always lots of goodies and those
special treats. We were the poorest among them all and this was
a glorious day for us as children. So many people, so much
food, the clothes were so pretty and the tree so big.
Before the arrival of all the guests, my mother made a very
simple pot of potato soup. Nothing fancy, just what she had in
the cupboard, usually including canned milk and ham. When
asked why we were to eat such a simple soup before all of the
delicious cakes, cookies and candies, you would think that she
would say that it was good for you to eat simple before all of
the rich food. But her comment was, "To remind us that there
are those who do not even have this simple soup to eat and to
remind us of all of our blessings." To even think of it to this
day, makes me teary. We have kept this simple tradition for
almost 50 years now and my children have no other request for
Christmas eve supper except for potato soup.
Martha Fernandez' Cuban—American Christmas
Tradition
I have three children and five grandchildren. In the morning
of Christmas, my children with their respective families plus
my mother, father, a cousin and her mother (a total of 16
people) come to my house to exchange our gifts and spend most
of the day together. Our tradition is not only to get together at
my house every year which we have been doing since my
children were born but also to open our gifts by order of age,
one by one. In other words, the youngest person opens her gifts
while everybody else
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just watches and celebrates. We like to give more than one gift
per person, especially to the children who get many toys. Only
when that person is done, the next person in line (according to
age) opens hers/his. This is done rather early in the morning,
we gather in the living room and while we open the gifts we eat
breakfast. We usually have a light breakfast, i.e., caT con leche
and pound cake. The pound cake is another tradition since it is
made for us, every Christmas and brought to us the night before
by the eldest aunt in the family who happens to live next door
to us and will be turning 89 years old next March 2004! By the
time we finish opening the gifts, it's time to set a buffet table
with lots of food, including left-overs from the night before that
we celebrate Xmas Eve in the Cuban style, roast pork, etc. We
take lots of pictures and spend most of the day together until
late afternoon when the young couples and their children go
visit other relatives. All throughout the day, family members
and friends come and go visiting us. Usually about 50 people
come by our house Christmas Day. I feel very fortunate that we
are a close knit family and able to do this, we wouldn't change
it for anything.
Sandy Swanson's Christmas
We have been cutting down our Christmas tree for many
years now. Every Christmas tree that we have had, my husband
cuts off a thin piece of the trunk, maybe 1/4 inch thick. He
sands it on both sides and drills a small hole on the top of the
trunk piece, writes the year in very small letters or numbers
(1995, 1996, etc.) above the hole. He then varnishes the piece
(shellac, polyurethane, etc.) and I put a thin piece (four or five
inches) of fancy ribbon through the hole making a nice bow at
the top. We hang these pieces on our Christmas tree every year.
We probably have over 25 now.
This year, I actually bought a small artificial tree and I am
going to hang them on this tree.
You can cut down your own tree, or purchase it from a
lot. It just has to be a live tree.
Eddie's Memories of Christmas Shared with
Brothers and Sisters
My first memories of Christmas go back to a time when I
remember just the Christmas tree, Mom singing and Dad
decorating. In the beginning I remember the smell of a fresh
cut tree most of all and then the beautiful colors and finally the
shiny bulbs and tinsel. The shiny bulbs and tinsel were most
beautiful when the lights were out on the tree, the living room
was dark and the presents were tucked under the lower branches.
Sisters and brothers were added to my memories each year it
seemed until I was 8 years old. I remember lying under the tree
looking up through the branches.. .it seemed the tree was so tall! Jan
and I knocked the tree over one year in Erie crawling out from under
it after enjoying the upward view. My favorite bulbs were the plastic
lanterns and my favorite lights were Noma Lights with red beads to
hug the lights to the branches.
Dad was always in charge of the decorating on Christmas Eve and
we usually bought the tree in the afternoon just before decorating.
Mom was always busy in the kitchen cleaning up from dinner and
stuffing the turkey for Christmas Dinner the next day. When her
work was done, Mom would hang a bulb or two and a few pieces of
tinsel. She seemed to just take it in and enjoy the view while Dad
stood proudly.
Although I must admit I am not real religious, my early memories
included the Manger Scene with the Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
the Wise men and the lambs. How warm and welcome a scene it
was. I would stare at the Baby Jesus hoping to seem him move his
out-stretched arms or turn his head toward me. I always felt he
looked down upon our family with tenderness and love.
From the very beginning I felt the love, joy and security of
Christmas. Mom and Dad made sure we all felt that way... although I
do remember in Richmond, Jan singing "Tammy... Tammy's in Love"
for which she was scolded because it was not a Christmas song. We sat
in the corner together while she played with her doll and we both
looked at each other knowing nothing could really spoil Christmas.
Mom and Dad would never really let that happen.
The challenge in my younger years was discovering where Mom
and Dad hid the presents. My most successful Safari was in either
Erie or Wilkinsburg. The present was hidden on the top shelf of Mom
Q4Q
and Dad's closet. It rattled and it was quite large. Little steel balls
seemed to be rolling around on a metal surface...l was sure it was
broken. On Christmas morning I unwrapped a shooting range,
complete with pistol, steel balls, target and a metal base all contained
in a plastic funnel-like structure. I loved it.
My favorite hiding place to explore was inside the foldaway
couch. It was always packed with presents. The problem was they all
felt the same and my hand could only reach about 3 inches into the
"treasure chest" of presents. My imagination always ran wild. What
could they be? I wonder if I'm touching one of mine? Of course I
could not share my joy and expectation with anyone. Mom and Dad
would be mad. The rest of you knew Santa had the presents.
Ahhh! Santa Clause. I found out when I was 4 years old. We were
living in Erie at the time, Jan was 3, John was 1 and Annie was on
the way! I was helping Mom make Mom and Dad's bed in the
morning after Dad went to work. Out of the blue I asked Mom the
big question. She tried to avoid it but I made that impossible ...and so
my suspicions were confirmed. She kept my spirit alive by
challenging me to make sure each of you was sure Santa would be
there for you each year. Christmas became even more fun for me
then! This was my kind of challenge: tie Adam and Eve to the birth
of Jesus and then to a little fat man in a red suit who slides down
chimneys with presents! I have always loved every minute of it!
I learned that the adventure of Christmas starts as soon as you
want it to. The adventure gets better as you see the same spark in
a brother or sister's eye as you feel in your heart. The
expectation, the desire to surprise each other on Christmas
morning...knowing how happy Mom and Dad always were
during that time of year. The taste of cookies, the Christmas
stories on TV ...Scrooge every Christmas Eve, and most
especially decorating the tree!
Nothing can surpass the Adventure of looking for a Christmas
Tree on Christmas Eve. What was easy when I was a little boy
became a crisis as I got older. I felt responsible to find the best
tree.. .even when all the lots were empty. Dad seemed to thrive on
the challenge of doing the impossible. Sometimes it was dark when
we finally found a tree! Best of all I remember 2 hunts for a tree on
Christmas Eve.
The first great hunt was actually when the family had moved to
Amarillo and I was in Oklahoma with my young family. Dad as
usual had put off the hunt until Christmas Eve. Mary and I and the
kids had just arrived an hour or two after lunch. We went out looking
around 4 PM. Most lots were closed or out of trees. We, the boys and
Dad because this was real man's work, were debating about which
tree was the best tree. There were only a few to pick from and it was
almost dark. We were sure the girls were worried. We were at K-
Mart, we finally picked it out, the lot was closed, it was free, I tossed
it over the fence and broke off the top 2 feet of the tree. Dad
immediately proclaimed, "Awe the ... with it! Pick any tree!" We did
and it was beautiful as always when we all finished decorating it
together. The second great hunt was with my own children... but that
is another story!
The art of picking out the right Christmas Tree is not learned from
a book. It is acquired through endless cumulative hours of lifting,
turning tilting and discussing.. .measuring, oohs and ahhhs etc. etc.
Each year we become more adept at carrying on the lessons from the
previous year and all of those from before. It is as if we each carry
the burden of all of mankind's experience with Christmas Trees, for
each one is quickly assessed and pronounced either fit or unfit be as
it may. We are each Judge and Jury and when we shop together all
judges and juries must be in agreement: '"'that is the perfect tree!"
And so each year we go about this most important ritual. My early
lessons taught me that a tree is tall and full and it is as wide as it is
tall. I learned this finally when I returned from my first few months
in the Navy. Dad picked out his usual tree and I suddenly realized it
was 6 feet tall and 6 feet wide.. .the thumb rule I knew in my heart I
now consciously understood!
Surely an adventure which ranks up there with Safaris for presents

and hunting for a Christmas tree on Christmas Eve is Christmas
morning. But wait, Christmas Eve after going to bed. I remember the
sound of my heart reverberating through my bedsprings, I remember the
flurry of noise from present wrapping downstairs. The noise usually
continued to 3 or 4 AM and then it got quiet. I always waited a
respectable amount of time (30 minutes or so) before embarking on "the
great
exploration". But first the stocking chock full of wonderful

goodies and fascinating tiny toys.. .and a flashlight.. .always a
flashlight with fresh batteries! Now downstairs to the tree! As
time went on my exploration party grew from a group of one to
two and then to three...for this was also man's work and John first
stepped up then Dan. We were like Lewis and Clark and Dan,
complete with flashlights! Squeezing, shaking, name
reading...Santa Clause signature identification...all were a part of
an annual adventure unsurpassed by anything I can remember.
Then and finally are the memories of opening the presents
Christmas Morning...as brief and as precious as Christmas Eve. After
making quiet noises to ensure a gentle awakening for the rest of the
family it was time to tear into the presents. In my younger years it
was the joy of opening my own presents. As I have gotten older it has
become the pleasure of seeing the joy on the faces of those opening
their presents. I remember Glen Bernie when Jan got the record
player and Annie danced all morning to the music. I remember Mary
wearing boxing gloves in Meadville, standing there grinning like the
World Champion Boxer.
There are so many snapshots in my memories of Christmas... but
what rings true throughout is the warmth, security, closeness and
happiness of sharing something truly wonderful together each year. It
is a time of year when we all remember to act like the human beings
we really are. We are each important to each other and have an
intense desire to share happiness. We work quickly, efficiently and so
very happily. We should live our lives as happily and selflessly all the
year through. I love my Family through all times and circumstances.
These are my fondest memories of Christmas at home with Mom and
Dad!
3. I .33 New Years Traditions
Katie Hart's Family New Year

On New Year's day our family gets together and exchanges gifts. It
is the same people that just met one week earlier for Christmas. The
only difference is that we give gifts on a much smaller scale. Where
for Christmas I might have gotten a sweater set, for New Year's I will
get a set of hangers or some socks. The tradition started when Granny
Scott was doing her after Christmas cleaning. She found a lot of small
inexpensive gifts that she forgot to give to everyone. She quickly had
an idea. Our family believes that whatever you are doing on the first
day of the year is what you will be doing the rest of the year. She
called everyone and told them to be at her house by eight o'clock on
New Year's Day. Her reasoning was to have everyone to get up early.
That way they would not oversleep at all that year. Everyone came
over. That means that the family would be close all year long. The
entire family helped cook breakfast and the all ate together. That
meant that they would eat good food all year long. After all of that,
she surprised everyone with their gifts. She loved to have parties and
give gifts. On New Year's day, the first day of the year, she gave
gifts. That meant that she would give gifts all year long. For every
year after that our family always gets together and gives small gifts
and eats lunch together.
3.103.4 St. Valentine's Day!
Have You Ever Wondered Where The Valentines Day
Tradition Started?
Valentine's Day cards are exchanged between friends and lovers.
In school students draw names to exchange gifts or just pass
Valentines to classmates. Men usually present gifts of candy and
flowers to their Sweethearts. Many couples today make a treat of
Dark Chocolate and a fine Merlot Wine in the privacy of their
Valentine's Day evening!
Some authorities trace the origin of this Tradition to the Roman
feast called Lupercalis celebrated on February 15th to ensure
protection from wolves. The celebration involved young men striking

people with whips. Young women endured the blows because they
believed this would enhance their fertility.
Cupid was the ancient Roman god of love and according to myth
was the son of Mercury, winged messenger of the gods, and Venus,
goddess of love. He was also the counterpart of the Greek god Eros.
He is usually portrayed as a winged infant with a quiver of arrows
and a bow. His wounds are said to inspire love or passion in those
who are struck.
In the third century A.D. there were: two Roman Martyrs
beheaded on February 14th named St. Valentine, and a third St.
Valentine who suffered and died on February 14th in Africa
recognized by The Catholic Church.
Tradition has it that one of the Roman Martyrs was a Priest who
was imprisoned because he married young couples in love against
the orders of the Roman Emperor Claudius Il who forbad yoUng
men to marry. While in prison the young Priest fell in love with a
young girl, who might have been his jailor's daughter. Some believe
before his death he wrote a love note to her signing it "From your
Valentine"
Another story talks of a Christian man named Valentine who was
kind to children and imprisoned for not worshiping Roman gods.
While he was in prison, the children tossed loving notes to him
between the bars of his cell window.
In A.D. 496 Saint Pope Gelasius I outlawed the pagan festival
Lupercalis and named February 14th as St. Valentine's Day. Many
believe this was to replace the pagan god Lupercus with a morally
suitable "Lovers" Saint.
St. Valentine's Day as a Lover's Festival probably came into
widespread practice around 1400 A.D. Some historians attribute the
custom of sending verses on Valentine's Day to a Frenchman named
Charles, Duke of Orleans. He was captured by the British in 1415 at
the Battle of Agincourt. In an English prison it is said he sent verses
to his wife on Valentine's Day.
English women in the 1700's wrote the names of men on a piece of

paper and dropped them into the water. The first paper to rise to the
surface was to be their one true love. Also in the 1700's single
English women would pin 5 bay leaves to their pillow to inspire
dreams of their future lovers.
One description in the 1700's depicts groups of friends drawing
names from ajar. Gifts were given to the names drawn and for several
days the men wore the name of their Valentine on their sleeve. The
saying, "wearing his heart on his sleeve" probably came from this
custom. The sending of Valentine cards became very popular in the
1800's and has continued to this day.
Over time the traditions associated with the Roman Festival
Lupercalis, the mythology associated with Cupid and the Folklore
associated with St. Valentine have all combined with customs of gift-
giving and the exchanging of cards to our modern day St. Valentine's
Day!
3. I .3.5 Memorial Day
Have you ever wondered what the level of Human Sacrifice
has been to establish and preserve The United States of
America?
Memorial Day is when the American people, wear their poppies,
fly their Flags and place flowers and flags on the graves of Military
Personnel. Many volunteers and Volunteer Organizations march in
patriotic parades. Frequently there is a reading of Abraham Lincoln's
Gettysburg Address. Patriotic speeches are made and declarations by
The President and Heads of the Armed Services are also read. They
all take time to remember the Human sacrifice it has taken to
establish and maintain this great Nation of theirs. Later in the day on
Memorial Day, time is set aside for picnics and other outdoor
activities. This Holiday generally marks the beginning of the Summer
Season.
History
Memorial day is celebrated as a National Holiday the last Monday
of May. It is sometimes called Decoration Day or Poppy Day. It is set
aside to honor those Americans who gave their lives for their
country.
The Holiday was first celebrated by the people of Waterloo, New
York on May 5, 1866 and then again on May 5, 1867. The
Remembrance was first suggested by a druggist named Henry C.
Welles in 1865.
General John A. Logan, Commander in Chief of the Grand Army
of The Republic, proclaimed May 30th as Decoration Day by General
Order 11 on May 5, 1868. This was 2 years after the 1866 and 1877
celebrations in Waterloo, New York.
Since the end of World War I Memorial Day has also been known
as Poppy Day. This was the idea of Moina Michael inspired by the
poem John McCrae's poem "In Flanders Fields"3
In 1971 The Federal Government designated the last Monday in
May as Memorial Day.
*United States War Casualties
NUMBER BATTLE
WAR WOUNDED DEATH
Revolutionary
217,0003 6,188
War
War of 1812 286,730 4,505 2,260
Mexican War 78,718 1,733
Civil War
3,213,363 354,805 191,963
(Both Sides)
Spanish American 306,760 1,662 385
World War 1 4,734,991 204,002 53,402
World War 11 16,112,566 671,846 291,557

Korean Conflict 103,284 33,741
Vietnam Conflict 153,303 47 , 424
Persian Gulf 467 147
War
3. I .3.6 Independence Day
The 4th of July
"We hold these truths to be self—evident, that all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable rights, that among these are life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness?'
Independence Day, also known as The 4th ofJuly, is when the
American people celebrate their Freedom with Flags, Picnics and
Fireworks. Many volunteers and Volunteer Organizations march in
patriotic parades. There are reenactments of the writing and signing
of The Declaration of Independence. Politicians give rousing patriotic
speeches and they all take a moment to remember what a gift they
have in this great Nation of theirs. Many Americans mark the 4th of
July as the middle of the summer.
History
Independence day is celebrated on the 4th of July as a National
Holiday. This is the Anniversary of the adoption of The Declaration
of Independence. Signing of the document completed in August
1776.
The first Independence Day was celebrated on July 8, 1776; 4
days after the signing of The Declaration of Independence.
In the early years fireworks, cannons and guns were fired and
there were many deaths from the celebrations, By the early 1900's
many laws had been enacted by states outlawing fireworks because
of the deaths.
Congress made July 4th a National Holiday in 1941. It has
become the greatest secular holiday in the United States.
3. .3.7 Labor Day
Labor Day is the day the American people honor American
Working People. They fly their Flags, observe parades, listen to
speeches reviewing Labor's contributions to their society and picnic
outdoors. This Holiday generally marks the end of the Summer
Season and the start of the school year.
History
Labor Day is a Federal Holiday honoring working people; it is
dedicated to the social and economic achievements ofAmerican
workers. It is celebrated on the first Monday in September
throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada. The day is
marked by speeches reviewing labor's contributions to society,
along with parades and fine food consumed outdoors. This Holiday
marks the end of the Summer and is usually the last big picnic day
in the U.S. It also marks the start of a new school year.
Matthew Maguire, a machinist from Paterson, New Jersey, and
Peter J. McGuire, a New York City carpenter, are generally considered
the Founders of Labor Day. The first Labor Day parade in the U.S.
was held in New York City in September 1882. In 1887, Oregon
became the first state to make Labor Day a legal holiday. Other states
soon followed. President Grover Cleveland signed a bill in 1894
making Labor Day a national holiday after striking workers were
killed and their leaders jailed in an incident in Illinois.
Labor groups in the Canadian cities of Ottawa and Toronto first
organized parades and rallies in 1872, ten years before the first
Labor Day celebration in the United States. The Canadian
Parliament passed legislation making Labour Day an official
holiday in 1894.
In Australia, Labor Day is called Eight Hour Day, and it
commemorates the successful struggle for a shorter working day. In
Europe, Labor Day is observed on May 1.
3. I .3.8 Veterans Day
Have you ever wondered what the level of Human
Sacrifice has been to establish and preserve The United
States of America?
Veterans Day is when the American people, honor all
Veterans living and dead, fly their Flags and place flowers and
flags on the graves ofMilitary Personnel who have passed.
Many volunteers and Volunteer Organizations march in
patriotic parades. Patriotic speeches are made and declarations
by The President and Heads of the Armed Services are also
read. They all take time to remember the Human sacrifice it has
taken to establish and maintain this great Nation of their.
History *United States War Casualties
3. I .3.9 American Craftsmanship

The American people are "proud to be an American"! They
work hard and do their best. They are men and women of
Integrity. They are always striving to improve their skills.
Taking on more responsibility with experience is expected and
they teach less experienced people all we know. Most of all,
they are proud of the results of their labor. They do their jobs as
if their own families were going to buy the products they
produce. Cherish American Craftsmanship and praise the
efforts of their Children who like to work with their hands.
There is a great shortage of Skilled Craftsmen in the country.
Every Engineer's or Architect's Plan, Blueprint, Specification or
Great Idea must be physically built by a Craftsman or by a
machine built by a Craftsman. It is a noble and honorable
profession! By the way, most Engineers and Architects also like
working with their hands and turning Science into reality in
partnership with The American Craftsman.
At the most basic level, Craftsmanship is the demonstrated skill
or dexterity resulting from years ofpractical experience. The United
States of America has been known throughout history for the
performance of its Craftsmen. The Industrial Revolution in many
ways challenged many of the values held true by our Craftsmen of
old. There are still some areas of work where one man or one
woman is responsible in total for the quality of their product...but
this is rare. In most cases the American people's trades have been so
broken down into specialties that no single individual produces an
entire product.
To make more products faster, factory owners broke the
manufacturing process into a sequence of small steps that
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when placed together produced a fully manufactured product. This

sequence of steps was called a manufacturing process manifested by
the appearance of The Assembly Line. The idea was to break the work
down into simple enough "bites" so that with just a little bit of training
a man or women could be put to work full-time almost immediately.
By breaking up the work into small enough pieces, the level of skill
and experience required could be greatly reduced. Another result was a
bored worker performing endless simple repetitive tasks.
Delivering quality became a function of the process: the proper
sequence of steps, exact instructions and specifications, quality
oversight etc. What eventually happened was a loss of pride in
workmanship of The American Craftsman in many areas of
manufacturing. Quality Control Inspectors set quality standards rather
than the Worker (Craftsman), or the machines and tools set the
standard. By only working a small piece of a large item, The
American Assembly Line Worker lost the feeling of ownership of the
product and its quality. This disassociation ofthe Assembly Line
Worker from the product has made much of their manufacturing an
impersonal process and has caused many businesses to fail.
Current Situation
Today, world competition has thrust Americans into competition
with many countries with a lower standard ofliving and therefore
cheaper labor. Modern impersonal manufacturing processes, discussed
above, have in many cases produced a poorly motivated workforce:
producing poor quality and getting high wages that results in
expensive products. Many advocate high tariffs to protect themselves
from foreign products produced by cheaper labor and in many cases
having better quality. Is this the right answer? Should they accept the
current result in many manufacturing areas and just perpetuate the
"system" through high tariffs that eliminate the competition? Since
when do Americans hate competition?
Some companies have "broken the code" and have
decided to educate their workforce, to depend on their
workforce by including their ideas to improve
manufacturing processes and to procure sophisticated
equipment with the latest technology. Their end result is a new
manufacturing process that requires
053
hard-working, skilled, motivated and sharp Craftsmen to produce a

hundredfold or thousand fold the number of products produced by one
worker in the past. Knowledge in many areas including math, computers,
communication, writing, team building etc. is required to succeed in
today's best manufacturing facilities. A whole new "skill set" is required
to guide their new massive machines through their "light speed"
processes and detect problems before they affect production.
The Future
The American people must boldly move forward. Industry needs
Leaders and Craftsmen who are not afraid of competition. There must
be investment in technology and in the education and training of their
future Craftsmen. Company Executives and Craftsmen must respect
each other and recognize the importance of each other's role and the
necessity for each to be competent. Continuous improvement in
process, skills and productivity must be a way of life if we are to
regain their slipping reputation.
3. I .3.10 American Entrepreneurship
If an Entrepreneur wants to succeed, persistence is the key.
Failure along the way is no reason to quit dreams if dreams are to
become reality. Failures along the way are a normal result of
earnest effort in pursuit of goals. People came to America to be
Free and Self-Sufficient. In The United States the American are
presented with 2 choices: be either the Entrepreneur or the
Employee of an Entrepreneur. There is pride in both if they are
each done well. The Entrepreneurs are the "risk takers" and
therefore earn the most when their business succeeds.
Entrepreneurs enjoy the most freedom of choice in any business
enterprise.
"The Land of Opportunity"
At the most basic level, Entrepreneurship is the demonstrated ability to
organize, manage, and assume the risks of a business or enterprise. The
United States is a Free Society that fosters Free Enterprise.
Current Situation
Nowhere in the world is there so much entrepreneurship as there
is in the United States. Small Business is "booming"!
Small Business employs more than large companies; 68.2 million

workers or 58% of the total employed workforce. On average 2,346
small businesses are established each business day! Of course many
are disestablished too, about 2106 per business day! There are about
5.8 Million firms and about 10.1 million self-employed people in this
country. Entrepreneurship is alive and well and it keeps this country
moving!
Federal, State and Local laws all encourage the
development of business. Many books have been written on
the subject and courses are available in our learning
institutions. The Small Business Administration also provides
support for Entrepreneurs.
The Future
The Internet is promoting an explosion of Commerce at
"light speed" on a global scale. Free help is available to those
who have access to a computer and want to learn. Immigrants
continue as always to flow into this Country because it truly
is "The Land of Opportunity".
3. I .3. I I American Know-How
Invention, Innovation and Creativity are the subject of
Patents, Trade Secrets, Copyrights and Trademarks. The
American understand that within each of them lies the
creativity and imagination to solve almost any problem.
Their own energy is their only limit! Within each of them
lives an Inventor, a Builder, Scientist and Engineer. They
are innovators. There isn't anything that they can't dream
up and build. The United States has the world's best
reputation for Innovation and Invention! They must also
protect their creativity with a
knowledge of the Law associated with Patents, Trade Secrets,

I Copyrights and Trademarks.
Human Beings have made tools to build homes,
machines, bridges, roads, structures, transportation devices
etc. to take them to the moon and beyond. All of these
things were created from ideas in a person's head! What is
this thing called KnowHow, Innovation and Invention?
First let us look up the word Know—How; from Merriam
— Webster: "knowledge of how to do something smoothly and
efficiently"
055
Now let us look at the word Innovation: "a new idea, method, or
device"
Now let us look at the word Invention: "a product of the
imagination, a device, contrivance, or process originated after study
and experiment"
From the above definitions it is clear that this process results in the
creation of a device, process or idea that has never before manifested
itself to other Human Beings. This ability to be Creative allows Human
Beings to move far beyond what Mother Nature has placed in our
genes or in this Universe before each individual's existence.
Couple the Creativity of a Human Being with a Social System that
supports Human Freedom and you have a powerful combination. "The
unique American formula of individual Liberty and free enterprise has
cultivated risk taking, experimentation, innovation, and scientific
exploration on a grand scale that has never occurred anywhere before."
3. I .3.12 American Competition
Where there is not enough of something the American people desire,
they must compete fairly to attain it. This is true everywhere. From
their Declaration of Independence, their Constitution and Bill of Rights
flows the Principle of Human Freedom:
Each individual should be treated with dignity, respect and fairness.
The uniqueness of Human Life requires that where more than one
individual is involved that each is given equal opportunity to grow to
potential within the resources of the group. The growth to potential is
fostered in an environment which recognizes each individual's
responsibility to work hard and do their best and each individual's right
to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness while balancing this with
the need to provide for the common good of the group.
Competition
Americans love Competition, it permeates everything we do. We
love to participate in Sports or be a spectator observing the
competition. In business we compete for customers, development of
products, exploration, building the biggest, building the fastest etc. In
school we have Spelling B's, achievement tests, grades etc.
Competition is the act or state of trying hard to win or gain

something wanted by others; rivalry, competing. The
implication in all competition is that everyone who wants the
thing desired cannot have it and there are rules to define how
fair competition must proceed for the prize to be won. This is
true whether it be sports, business, job selection etc. In The
United States they do not compete to go to High
School but they do compete to go to College. In their Free
Society they have all agreed to provide for school through the
12th Grade so there is enough High School to go around.
Competition without rules creates an unfair environment
for a society to effectively operate. Stephen Moore in his
book: It's Getting Better All The Time, offers the following
explanation for why The United States has made so much
progress over the past 100 years:
"The unique American formula of individual Liberty and
free enterprise has cultivated risk taking, experimentation,
innovation, and scientific exploration on a grand scale that

has never occurred anywhere before."
For individual liberty and free enterprise to thrive there
must be fair competition to gain sales of products and services. This is
frequently termed winning market share. We have laws against
monopoly in this Country to ensure fair competition. Fair competition
forces the delivery of products in the cheapest, fastest way possible. If
the desired quality is not there, different manufacturers will
be sought until the quality and service desired are found at a price the
customers are willing to pay.
All of them have the right to compete in the market
place 1 in this Country. The only limitations are they must compete
fairly, and then they must work within their own limitations of
energy, knowledge etc. to attain the prize: market share.
Sportsmanship
In business the American people have rules for
obtaining a Business License and for how they must conduct our
business. In sports there are rules for each sport being played and
then there is Sportsmanship that defines their conduct. From the
dictionary, Sportsmanship defines the qualities or conduct of a
good sportsman; fair play. It is best summed up as follows:
Q57
Greet and be courteous to opponents' coaches and players.

Know the rules of your sport; teach them to every member of your
team.
Respect officials and their decisions.
All athletes must abide by official's decisions without emotional
display.
Compete vigorously and hard; be gracious to your opponent when
he/she does the same.
Display concern for the physical well being of your team and for the
opponent.
Win with humility; lose with grace. Do both with dignity.
Coaches encourage your team to interact with the opponent. Provide
opportunities for pre-game and post-game interaction. Be helpful.
Coaches offer your assistance and that of your staff and players to
the opponent and officials.
Do not accept unruly behavior. Set standards of conduct. Coaches
maintain control.
SUMMARY
The cumulative effect of American people's life experiences creates
in each of them a lens through which they observe what goes on
around them. This lens focuses their attention on particular aspects
ofwhat they see. Society passes principles and values to future
generations through Customs, Traditions and Rituals that mold this
lens through which the American people view their lives and shape
their opinions. Throughout history, cultures have passed their Family
Values to future generations by these means.
The Americans have many Customs and Traditions rooted in the
cultures of their forefathers who were either Native Americans or who
settled this great land after journeying long distances from other
nations in search of "The American Dream". Very often the display of
an object or symbol that is meaningful to a family or to society can
become a Custom, Tradition or Ritual. Family Values are reflected in
the Customs and Traditions practiced.
Question 1: According to the American people, why must the story

of Freedom in their Country be told and retold through
generations?
Question 2: What is the meaning of the Flag of The United States
of America?
Question 3: What does the American Eagle represent?

Question 4: How important and meaningful is Family in the
American people's lives?
Question 5: Why do the American people value high Family Meal?
Question 6: What is the tradition of placing a Candle in the
window in the American people's lives?
Question 7: What is the meaning of the traditional display of a
Yellow Ribbon?
Question 8: What are the American Family Values?

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BRITISH AND AMERICAN CULTURAL STUDIES 133

OF THE UNITED STATES

202 FORCES THAT SHAPED AMERICAN

expression, as the paintings of Georgia O'Keeffe demonstrated, it

looked to expand their slave economy into Western lands, and

many of the new housing developments, builders constructed

Massachusetts; and San Francisco, California. To cope, many

buy their own home. Private efforts, such as Habitat for

I increased In recent as years, higher the real importance

nation, especially among young people. Nevertheless,

contributions of indigenous peoples. In the Southwest, for

and pickles. By the mid-20th century, packaged products had

home and consumed at a leisurely pace - common in the rest of

and many recent immigrants, like their immigrant predecessors,

regularly. Americans, however, do not have distinctive folk

Jacob Davis, who together with dry-goods salesman Levi Strauss

enshrined in the wardrobes created by world-famous U.S.

Americans to enjoy camping, fishing, hiking, and rafting.

city-based loyalties and all-American aura, baseball appealed

culminates in the championship series. The winner is awarded

bodies, sports have become a significant component of many

Women's college basketball, part of the National Collegiate

Because the United States is a secular society founded on

indigenous American bird - accompanied by foods common in

but it is now celebrated on the second Monday of October to

and Midwest by publicly financed elementary schools,

In the United States, higher education is widely available and

space and research equipment. It receives funding from private

the form of fellowships and direct student loans in the 1960s,

did not exercise direct control over the academic programs

often accomplished through an English as a Second Language

Schools are also working to incorporate computers into

War Il, however, the federal government began to assume a

2.5 ARTS AND LETTERS

distinguishing those arts that appeal to the multitude, such as

highest forms of achievement that were established in the past.

radicalism came from liberating themselves from the confining

stimulating thought rather than following an art tradition based

photographers joined with other depression-era artists

ways through a series of novels paralleling the life cycle,

Fury (1929), Light in August (1932), and Absalom, Absalom

Rich, who wrote poetry focused on women's rights, needs, and

the 1930s and 1940s, the swing music of Benny Goodman,

and Juliet set in New York that became an instant classic in

and publisher of federal documents, the National Archives

The American people express their culture through

the repeated acquisition of an increasing

After learning this unit, the learner will be able to:

disappointment we each come away

foundation for their future. The Statue of Liberty given to us by

Time Frame HISTORICAL EVENT

Nomadic tribes of woolly mammoth

Ponce de Leon searching for "The Fountain of

De Soto explores Florida

1605 Santa Fe, New Mexico, founded (some say 1609)

The ships: Susan Constant, Godspeed and

Henry Hudson set sail aboard the Half

John Rolfe crosses Virginia Tobacco with a