Topic 3.

11: Developing an American Identity

A unique American identity would take at least a generation, if not more, to become clearly established
and recognized. Admiration of the influence of the “founding fathers,” the leaders who declared
independence, fought a war to achieve it, and created a new system of government, became the core of
an American identity which continues today.

- Clear example of this influence: George Washington

o Farewell address and two – term tradition as president retain their relevance in varying
degrees today
o The debate of the meaning in Washington’s words and ideas reflects their importance in
understanding the United States and its people
- In the process of creating an identity, Americans retain much of their ancestors’ culture and
traditions. The evolving identity would be built on:
o Foundation of the people and culture of the 13 colonies
o Thought and experience of the Revolution
o Regional differences
o Continuous addition of immigrants

Social Change

Some changes occur immediately after the war ends, others evolve gradually as the ideas of the
Revolution began to filter into the attitudes of the common people.

Together these changes fostered a growing knowledge of how the United States was different from Great
Britain and the rest of Europe at that time.

- Abolition of Aristocratic Titles

The rules made by the constitutions in each state and the laws made by the federal government, got rid
of some really old traditions that started in medieval Europe. Therefore, important changes occurred:

1) No government group could give important titles to noble people anymore.

2) Courts could not follow the old way of passing down family stuff, where the first-born son
(primogenitor) got everything.

Any aristocracy (the rich and powerful class🤑) that existed in colonial America was further weakened
because the government sold and divided the largest estates of loyalists (people who supported the
British during the Revolutionary War) to raise money for the war effort.

- Separation of Church and State

In the early American days, most states decided to keep a clear separation between them and church.
This means they didn't want to give financial support to any particular religious group.
A clear example of the above can be see it in the Anglican Church (later becomes the Episcopal Church in
the U.S) that used to be closely connected to the King of England. But in the south, it lost state support
and was not funded by the government anymore!!!

However, only in 3 New England states: New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Massachusetts the
Congregational church continued to get money from the states in the form of a religious tax. However,
years later, they stopped this practice, and the states stopped financially supporting any specific church
in that region.

- Regional Variations

States didn't all change together. The differences between regions from the colonial times continued to
influence how each state developed. For example, the people starting to use the term "southerner" and
the biggest difference was slavery; because it was decreasing in the northern states but getting stronger
in the southern ones.

Visitors, such as Jefferson also noticed that people acted differently too. He says that you could figure
out where a person were just by observing how they behaved. Generally, he thought northerners were
more serious and hardworking, while southerners were more generous and straightforward in their
speech.

Political Change

When political parties started in the U.S., it both shaped and showed what it meant to be American.
The first two parties, the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans, came from arguments about whether
to approve the Constitution. Their differences grew because of where people lived and how they saw
the federal government's role.

Even today, political parties are still changing, and the idea of being American is still unique. So, the way
people see politics and the country's identity has been evolving since the beginning.

Cultural Change

Even though a lot of America's culture originally came from Britain, over time, the country developed
its own unique identity.

--- > This happened partly because more expansion of newspapers 📰 as a means of communication and
source of political debate.

Some people, like writer Charles Brockden Brown, used novels to explore what it meant to be
American. In Philadelphia, Charles Wilson Peale opened the first art gallery.

As time went on, more things, like the first dictionary for American English 📚 and a book about American

geography 🇺🇸, helped shape a unique American culture.