UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURE OF THE UNITED STATES

To understand about things about united states you have to remember two main things :

 The immense size of the united states

 Its great ethnic diversity

It’s no difficult to imagine how different daily life climates(climates can change, i.e Miami is
warm – Washington is raining) , or how lifestyles could vary in cities or towns so far apart.

Ethnic diversity ---> probably even more influencing factor in American lifestyle

Aside from tha native americans who were living on the North American continent when the
first European settlers arrived, all Americans came from other countries.

In the 1500´s Spain established settlements in Florida, California, and the southwest, and
France claimed large territories in the center of North American continent

From 1600´s to the birth of the united states most immigrants to the colonies that would form
the United States were from northern Europe, and the majority were from England . it was
these people who shaped the values and traditions that became the dominant, traditional
culture of the United States.

A nation of immigrants
In 1815 the population of United States was 8.4 million. In 1882, 40.000 Chinese arrived, and
between 1900 and 1907 there were more than 30.000 Japanese immigrants.

The new immigrants brought different languages and different cultures to the United States,
but gradually most of them assimilated to the dominant American culture they found here.

Israel Zangwill used the term “melting pot” where all the races of Europe are melting and
reforming into the crucible with you all God is making the American.

Two thing are certain: the dominant American culture has survived, and it has more o less
successfully absorbed vast numbers of immigrants at various points in its history. It also been
changed over time by all the immigrant groups who have settled here.

By the 1910 census, almost 15 percent of all Americans had been born in another country. In
1921, however, the country began to limit immigration, and the immigration act of 1924
virtually close the door. The total number of immigrants admitted oer year dropped from as
many as one millon to only 150.000. a quota system was stablished that specified number of
immigrants that could come from each country.

Immigration laws began to change in 1965

By the late 1900´s, 90 percent of all immigrants were coming from Latin America , the
Caribbean, and Asia.

Between 1990 and 2010, the number of foreign- born living in the United States almost
doubled from 20 million to 40 million, with about one-third arriving since 2000.

By the year 2010, about 13 percent of all Americans were foreign born.

21 century The percentage of white American of

European descent continues to decrease.

More than half of of all new immigrants were from Latin

America, resulting in large concentrations of Spanish speakers

around the country .

“majority minority” ---> term used to describe that more than half of population are
members of minority groups

Cultural pluralism in the United States

The principle that people of different races, religions, and political beliefs can live togheter
peacefully in the same society.

 Cultural pluralism is more accepted in the United States today than it was in the first
half of the twentieth century, and some schools systems have bilingual programs and
multicultural curricula.
 The evidence of the racial acceptance was the 2008 election of Barack Obama, the first
African- American president.
 In the United states, most people are very sensitive to the language used to describe
racial and ethnic groups, and they try to be politically correct or “P.C “.
 There is no term such as United Statesians in the English language, so people call
themselves Americans.
Making generalizations about American beliefs.

The ways in which some Americans practice their beliefs may differ, resulting in a great
variety of lifestyles.

Most immigrants have lost the language have lost the language and culture of their
grandparents and they think of themselves as just plain “Americans”.

Frenchman who visited United States in 1831 to study the

Alfred Toqcueville American form of democracy and what it might mean

to the

rest of the world.

Wrote a remarkable book called democracy in America, which is

a classic study of American way of life.

Traditional American values and beliefs

Concepts PLURALISM: IS DEFINED AS A SOCIETY WHERE

MULTIPLE PEOPLE, GROUPS OR

ENTITIES SHARE POLITICAL POWER.

“THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITIES” : ASSOCIATED WITH

THE CONCEPT OF FREEDOM AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE KING
AND THEIR GOVERNMENT.

IMMIGRANTS CAME FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES FOR A BETTER LIFESTYLE

REASONS
 NATURAL RESOURCES – MANY APPORTUNITIES OF JOB

 IMMIGRANTS THOUGHT THAY THEY COULD BE RICHEST THERE.

 THEY WANT TO ESCAPE OF THE CONTROLS THAT EXISTED IN EUROPEAN
SOCIETIES.

THE THREE WAVES OF CULTURAL VALUES AND BELIEFS

INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM AND SELF RELIANCE

PEOPLE WANT TO BE FREE OF THE KINGS . THEY SEPARATE THE CHURCH
AND THE STATE
BY FREEDOM americans mean the desire and the right of all individuals to control
their own destiny without outside interferencefrom the government, a ruling noble
class, the church or any other organized authority.

EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITIES AND COMPETITION

IMMIGRANTS HAVE TO COMPETE TO FIT IN USA.
FOR AMERICANS EQUALITY MEANS THAT EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE AN EQUAL CHANCE TO
ENTER THE RACE AND WIN .
THE PRICE TO BE PAID FOR THIS EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY IS COMPETITION. The
pressure of competition in the life of an American begin in chilhood and continue
until retirement from work.
learning to compete sucessfully is part of growing up in USA.

MATERIAL WEALTH AND HARDWORKING

MATERIAL GOODS ARE PART OF AMERICAN DREAM (THEY ARE MATERIALISTIC, BUT THEY
DON´T LIKE BE CALLED WITH THIS WORD)
Material wealth is conected with the concept of social status according to the material
The term “American Dream” is connected with hardworking for a better
life for the next generation of children. Americans work a lot in order to
raise the opportunities of their next generations.

Important dates and characters

1776 : independence from England, a new nation was established, The United
States of America.

1787: the constitution of USA was written, it established that church and state.

Tocqueville : french man who describe the lifestyle of USA in the 1830´s

Abraham Lincoln : ex-president that encourage the equality of opportunities in

USA.

1964: a law prohibits discrimination on the race , color, religion and sex.

The American religious heritage

PREVIOUS INFORMATION:
 THE TERM “religious” HASN´T THE SAME MEANING THAN “spiritual”
 SOME VALUES ARE INVOLVED IN THE RELIGIOUS HERITAGE : INDIVIDUAL
FREEDOM – SELF RELIANCE- MATERIAL WEALTH AND HARDWORK.
 IN 1500´S CATHOLIC FAITH WAS BROUGHT BY THE SPANISH.
 IN 1600´S SOME COLONIES WERE ESTABLISHED IN NORTH AMERICA, THE
VAST MAJORITY WERE EUROPEAN PROTESTANTS.

THE PROTESTANTISM
Protestants insisted that all individuals must stand alone before God. If people seened,
they should seek their forgiveness directly from God rather than a priest speaking in
God´s name. in place of the power and authority of priests, protestants substituted
what they called “priesthood of all believers”. This meant that every individual was
solely responsible for his or her own action relationship with God.

1789 Constitution was adopted and the government was forbidden

To established a national church.

The government and the church had to remain separate, and

freedom of religion was guaranteed by the first amendment.

*Under these conditions a great variety of different protestant denominations developed

and grew.

Self-reliance and the protestant heritage of self-improvement

American Protestantism is a value of self-improvement, and outgrowth of self-
reliance. Protestantism has traditionally encourage a strong and restless desire for
self-improvement. The most dramatic example of the idea of self-improvement is
experience of being “born again”. Individuals who have had these experience say that
open in their hearts to God and Jesus Christ changed their lives completely that it was
like been born again.

Material success, hard work, and self-discipline

The achievement of material success is probably the most widely respected form of
self-improvement in the United States.

Some of the early European Protestant leaders believe that people who were blessed
by God might be recognized in the world by their material success.
American religious leaders , however, never encourage the idea of gaining wealth
without hard work and self-discipline. Protestants leaders believed that the capacity
for self-discipline was a holy characteristic blessed by God .

Self- discipline was often defined as the willingness to save and invest one´s money
rather than spend it on immediate pleasures, Jhon Wesley, the leader of the Methodist
faith, told his followers, “Earn all you can.” Encouraging people to save may also have
helped create a good climate for the industrial growth of the United States, which
depend on hard work and a willingness to save and invest money.

Americans take an average of only two weeks of vacation time a year, while workers
in others countries take as many as four, five, or even more weeks. Also many
Americans who could retired at age 65 or 66 continue to work for more years.

Volunteerism and Humanitarianism

The idea of self- improvement includes more than achieving material gain through hard
work and self- discipline. It also includes the idea of improving oneself by helping others.

Historically some extremely wealthy Americans have made generous contributions to help
others. In the early 1900s , for example, Andrew Carnegie, a famous American
businessman, gave away more than $300 million to help support schools and universities
and to build public libraries.

Rockefeller gave a large sum from his private fortune to establish a university.

Rosenwald helped pay for the building of 5000 black schools in the rural south.

Bill Gates have established charitable foundations and have donated huge sums of money.

Their motivation may be part idealism and part self- improvement, a desire to be
acceptable in the eyes of God and also in the eyes of other Americans.

The spirit of giving can be seen outside religious contexts as well. Many business
encourage their employees to do volunteer work, such as helping clean up parks, helping
a child who is having a difficulty in school, or working in an animal shelter in their spare
time.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, and the National Religion
Terrorist had attacked the World Trade Center and The Pentagon in September 11, 2001.
People in New York City and Washington D.C, where especially devastated. Everyone
knew someone who was touched by the tragedy. Immediately, there was an outpouring of
love, charity and patriotism around the country. So many people volunteered to have that
official had to limit the numbers. Millions of dollars were raised for the family of the
victims, and Americans felt a huge surge of pride and love for their country.

This mixture of religion and patriotism is an example of what some scholars have called
“the national religion” of the United States. The main function of this national religion is to
provide support for the dominant values of the nation and comfort in times of grief.

The religious landscape today: polarization vs pluralism

Campbell discuss two forces at work in the United States today: religious polarization
and pluralism. There is growing polarization between evangelicals, or religious
conservatives, and secular liberals. Evnagelicals are socially (and often politically)
more conservative than religious moderates or liberals. They may be against abortion
and gay marriage, for example, and they may believe in creationism instead of
evolution.

One of the most dramatic developments in recent years is the rapid raise in the of
people who say they have no religious affiliation. Almost adults and one third of those
and a thirty do not consider themselves to be a part of any particular charge or faith

Nones : people who don´t choose a religion affiliation.

Religious diversity in the United States: A spiritual kaleidoscope

this chapter began with the assertion that the United States has been and still is a
religious country, but that landscape is complicated and changing. The historical “live
and let live” tolerance of early Protestant faith has led to a modern acceptance of
diverse religions by most Americans. Different have broken down so that Americans
frequently marry people of different faiths. More and more people work with, live
near and are friends with people with different culture and faiths. This has created a
spiritual kaleidoscope .Where people moved between faiths, sometimes creating their
own collection of beliefs drawn from a number of different religion traditions.

America´s religious heritage seems to have encouraged certain basic values that
member of many diverse faiths find easy to accept. This has helped to unite many
different religious groups in the United States without requiring any to abandon their
faiths