British & US Culture and Society

US Culture and History

Pr. El Bakkali
SIII- Session VII
Nov ‘22
 Outline

Introduction
• History
• People
• Heterogeneity
• Religion
• Values
References
 Introduction
• In 1492, Christopher Columbus, who was in search of a new route to India, landed on the
shore of a Caribbean island (that is now San Salvador) and discovered the "New World".
In 1507, the new continent was given the name America (it was named after Amerigo
Vespucci, an Italian sailor).
• In 1620, The Mayflower, a boat filled with more than a hundred people (the pilgrim fathers)
sailed across the Atlantic and settled in the New World, in what is now Massachusetts. Just
before landing, they all wrote and signed the Mayflower Compact, a document which is
considered to be the basis for the American Constitution that was drafted in 1787.
• The United States of America were actually born on the 4th of July 1776, when the thirteen
colonies (Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island,
North/South Carolina, New York, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Georgia) decided
to secede from Great Britain and proclaim their independence.
• Today, the USA is made of fifty states (including Alaska and Hawaii). It is more than
seventeen times bigger than France (9.364.000 square meters). There are
about 331,9 millions (2021) inhabitants.
• The American flag is called the "Stars and Stripes" or "Old Glory". It has thirteen red stripes
which represent the thirteen original colonies, and fifty stars that represent the fifty states of
America. The national anthem, which is very often sung at school, on TV, etc., is entitled
the Star-Spangled Banner
 The History

• Early America: By 12,000 years ago, humans lived throughout much of what is now the Americas.
• Colonial Period: By 1690, 250,000 people lived in the New World. By 1790, there were 2.5 million
people.
• The Road to Independence: The ideas of liberalism and democracy are the basis of the U.S.
political system.
• Revolution: The American Revolution and the war for independence from Britain began with a
small fight between British troops and colonists on April 19, 1775.
• Forming a National Government: In 1783, the 13 colonies became the United States.
• Early Years, Westward Expansion, and Regional Differences: George Washington became the
first president of the United States on April 30, 1789.
• Conflict within the United States: In 1850, the United States was a large country, full of contrasts.
• Civil War and Post-War Reconstruction: The American Civil War started in April 1861.
• Growth and Transformation: The United States changed after the Civil War.
 The History -2
• Discontent and Reform: By 1900, the United States had seen growth, civil war, economic
prosperity, ane economic hard times.
• World War I, 1920s Prosperity, and the Great Depression: In 1914, Germany, Austria-
Hungary, and Turkey fought Britain, France, Italy, and Russia.
• The New Deal and World War II: President Roosevelt believed that democracy had failed
in other countries because of unemployment and insecurity.
• The Cold War, Korean Conflict, and Vietnam: After World War II, the United States and
Great Britain had long-term disagreements with the Soviet Union over the future of Europe,
most of which had been freed from Nazi rule by their joint effort.
• Cultural Change 1950–1980: At home, some Americans began to have easier lives.
• End of the 20th Century: The United States always has been a place where different ideas
and views compete to influence law and social change.
• Transformation: The United States has dramatically changed from its beginnings as 13
little-known colonies.
 Heterogeneous People
• The United States is a mixture of many different cultures without a
dominant or mainstream culture.
• The metaphor, which is often used to reflect this assumption, is the
“melting pot.”
• People from around the globe bring their cultures here and throw
them into the American pot. The mixture is stirred and heated until
the various cultures melt together.
• The U.S. is a culturally diverse society. However, there is also a
dominant culture and immigrants became a part of this culture by
giving up their differences so that they could fit into the mainstream
of the society.
• A more historically accurate metaphor is that the U.S. has had a
cultural “cookie-cutter” with a white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant, male
mold or shape.
 Religion in the US
• Those immigrants who had the most dramatic impact on American culture
were Calvinists, who were persecuted for their religious beliefs in Europe.
They were religious minorities in Europe who were opposed to the
Roman Catholic Church or the official religion of their country.
• They were often willing to go to jail in defense of their religious beliefs
and thus they were often considered religious fanatics. Religion has always
been an important value for Americans.
• Many of the first independent states were formed by particular
religious groups that later merged into the United States where all
religions were valued.
• Today, about 70 percent of all Americans would categorize themselves as
Protestants, and church attendance in the U.S. today is higher than any
other country in the industrialized world.
 Religion in the US -2

• A study shows that 94 percent of Americans expressed faith in God, as compared with
70 percent of Britons and 67 percent of West Germans. Almost 80 percent of
Americans surveyed report that religion is very or quite important in their lives,
while only 45 percent of Europeans (German, French, Britons, Italians, Austrians, and
Dutch) on average give similar answers.
• Americans expect their leaders to value religion and they expect the President to end his
speeches to the country with the phrase “God bless America.” The phrase “one nation
under God” can be found on the dollar bill.
• While religion is a very strong cultural value, it is also considered a somewhat
personal value. There is no official state religion in America.
• The Constitution forbids the government from supporting any religion or
interfering with any religious practices.
• In European countries where there are state or national religions, religion has become
less important over the years.
 Risk Taking

During the 1700 and 1800s, there was little physical mobility in Europe. Most people lived in the same
house as their parents. Immigrants to the U.S. were willing to leave their homes to go half way around
the globe while knowing that 20 percent of them would die en route. They risked their lives to go to
the new world where there was religious and political freedom. Most importantly, there was opportunity
to advance economically if one was willing to take the risk to go to the “New World.

•The willingness of the individual to take risks is a basic aspect of the American culture even today. In
Europe, there was no realistic hope of escaping poverty and oppression. There was little change in life.
If you were born poor, you died poor. Yet these immigrants believed that change could take place if they
were willing to take risks.

• The “American Dream” of economic advancement and success is still shared by immigrants today.
 US Value of Independence
• Immigrant coming to the U.S. from Europe in the mid-1800’s, experience living in an overcrowded
urban area in poverty, as is true of many immigrants today. Most worked hard to save money to take
advantage of economic opportunities in the West where there was land, natural resources, gold and
employment.

• There were wagon trails going west. But, these were not group tours. Each family had its own wagon,
ate alone and had a separate destination. To survive on the frontier the pioneers had to be very self-
reliant and independent. These pioneer values were added to the European Calvinist values to form
the core cultural values of America.

• Almost every politician wants a picture of himself or herself wearing a cowboy hat. Why? Because
when Americans think of a cowboy, they picture a lone individual sitting on a horse out on the prairie.
Cowboys never traveled in groups. They were men of action, self-reliant and independent
individualists who survived without any help from anyone else. For Americans, the cowboy is a
Calvinist on horseback and represents the dominant values of this society
 References
• Bhattacharya, U., & Groznik, P. (2008). Melting pot or salad bowl: Some
evidence from US investments abroad. Journal of financial markets, 11(3), 228-
258.
• Corrigan, J., & Hudson, W. S. (2018). Religion in America. Routledge.
• Foner, E. (Ed.). (1997). The new American history (Vol. 79). Temple University
Press.
• Gaustad, E. S., Noll, M. A., & Carter, H. W. (Eds.). (2018). A documentary
history of religion in America. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.
• Kempton, W., Boster, J. S., & Hartley, J. A. (1996). Environmental values in
American culture. mit Press.
• Traube, E. G. (1996). " The Popular" in American Culture. Annual Review of
Anthropology, 127-151.
• https://www.maxicours.com/se/cours/a-map-and-a-brief-history-of-the-united-
states-of-america/